Anaylsis of My Own Photograph

Out of my own set of ten pictures, I had to choose one to analyze.  The one I chose was taken at the National Gallery of Art, and is composed of a large painting with man sitting on a low couch in front of it.

            The first major design element found is the contrast in the picture.  Both the wall paneling and the painting itself are made of warm browns and reds. The couch and the man sitting on it are both a dark blue however, providing some difference in the tones of the photograph.  With the smaller amount of blue however, it really makes that section of the picture stand out, and you wonder what is causing the difference.  That leads you to see the man on the couch, and ponder what exactly he is doing there.

            Secondly, the structure of the photograph is very important. Both the couch and the painting are located in the center.  Approximately the same length, they create a geometric form in the middle of the picture, one that really helps to organize the photograph for the audiences' eyes.

            Lastly, the photograph showcases more than one implied texture. There is the cloth and fabric of the man's suit as well as the couch, and they are grouped together. You can clearly tell that the couch is covered by some sort of fabric. Next is the warm wood paneling.  The setting and sight showcase how the would be incredibly smooth and flat. And third of all is the painting itself.  With the knowledge and understanding that people have of paintings, there is an understanding of what the texture of a piece of art is. 

10 of My Own

I was having trouble putting them all onto a blog post, so I made a Flickr set instead.

Flickr Set

Photo Essay Powerpoint

Pulitzer Prize Photo Analysis

            The piece I chose to analyze was a photograph by Carol Guzy, who in 2000 visited an Albanian refugee camp. One of the most important factors in this picture are the colors. The infant in the picture is clothed in a vibrant blue that instantly draws the attention of the eye to the baby. The blue of the clothing serves as a good bridge between the more muted blues of the skies and mountains, but at the same time also creates great contrast between the child’s clothing and the tan ground in the background.

Another fascinating feature is the humanity that comes through the picture when the audience looks at the different faces in the frame. Of particular interest are the baby’s face and the girl who his receiving the child on the other side of the fence. The child’s face shows such innocent feelings like bewilderment and also a bit of amusement I think. He does not understand the gravitas of situation at hand, and seems to be slightly enjoying being lifted up in the air.  Conversely, the young woman on the right hand side of the picture has a face of anguish. She seems old enough to be cognizant of what is happening, but young enough to feel the helplessness that permeates the situation that she is in. The framing of the picture is brilliantly done by the photographer, capturing both the act and the faces.

Lastly, the crossing of diagonal lines create a sense of motion. They also give strength to the picture as well, by being lines, and also by the simple fact that they are barbed wire. That in itself conveys more about the setting and scenario than anything else in the picture. Without the barbed wire, it would be hard to understand that they are refugees trying to escape from a war zone. These lines are a vital part of the picture.

Resume

Business Card

Here is the business card design:

Advertisement Analysis

The ad I chose to use was one for Crystal Cruises. This advertisement really caught my eye for several important reasons. The first of which is the medium through which it is being portrayed. It appears to be champagne, which indicates a luxurious and important lifestyle, but of more importance to me is how they shaped the liquid. I’m fascinated by the capture of liquids and droplets in motion, so it definitely made me stare at the page in detail to really examine it. With the liquid shaped into two opposing horses, it made me look at the rest of the page to understand what the symbol meant and represented.

                Secondly, the colors and contrast really made the subject of the image pop off the page.  The background was a black fading into dark blue as you approached the center, and the difference between that and the white and clear liquid really made it stand out.  In addition to that, the symmetry of the image lends the picture to be very organized, and it leads the eye to where the designer wanted it to go, the logo.

                This leads into the third thing that makes this advertisement great, the understatement and simplicity of the logo of the company that commissioned the ad. It has the perfect elegance to go along with the rest of the image, and you end up reading about it without it being massive in size, quite to the contrary it is quite small. All of these reasons put together are what made this ad one that seriously grabbed my attention and gave me pause to look over the entirety of it before moving on.  

Self-Portrait