Final Project Proposal

Maddie Stoll
Photo
Julee H.

Photo Copy  

           For my final project I decided to emulate Annie Leibovitz who is best known for her photography for the magazine “Rolling Stone”. Her absolutely stunning work of black and white portraits intrigued me and I knew I could work with the many pictures she had taken. The lighting and backgrounds of every celebrity she photographs  as well as her use of space always drew me in. She is considered one of the best photographers of portraiture. She was born October 2, 1949, in Waterbury, Connecticut and enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute, originally for painting and then she discovered her love for photography. As she was working for Rolling Stone, she took one of her many iconic photos which was a naked picture of John Lennon with his clothed wife nearly hours before his death. She then left Rolling Stone and started working for Vanity Fair where her photographs broadened to presidents, celebrities, and teen heart-throbs. There, “one of Leibovitz’s most famous portraits is of the late artist Keith Haring, who painted himself like one of his canvases for the photo.” She also photographed for companies such as American Express. Another great success is when she photographed for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She also has over 200 photographs exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Her more recent successes include publishing a photography book, “Woman,” as well as a collection of her work exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. “She was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography in 2009.” With all her amazing accomplishments and experience she has many gorgeous portraits that I am in love with and will try my best to emulate. A quote of hers that also drew me in is, “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”

I will do several photo shoots of about 10 of her photographs that I attach myself to the most. Using different people I will have them do each pose and then choose which person emulates the beauty of the photograph the best. Through editing and multiple experimental photoshoot I will achieve my emulation project. 

Final Prints

Contact Sheets for Portrait Project

Pictures taken with a home-made pinhole camera

5 Best Still Life

Contact Sheets for Still Life

Artist Statement for Flaneur Project

To be honest, I really didn't think I was going to do a good job on this project. I have really only worked with landscape and doing a "photo shoot" with my friends. I didn't think I could just walk around and find interesting things to photography. But this project taught me something. It taught me that something that could be a "boring photography/subject" could be created into the most beautiful picture. Take the old Ford for example. It's just an old rusty truck right? Well with some editing and placing in a landscape, that old Ford now tells a story that really attracts the eye. Also the open marsh field, I took that from a moving car where it was blurry on the bottom and at first I thought it was just a crappy picture. With a little cropping and editing it turned out to be one of my best pictures that had beautiful depth of field. And the picture of the apples on the group. Apples are so ordinary everyday objects, but when you find them in tire tracks that have water in them with great lighting and a cool angle, editing will make the picture come alive. The biggest critique I have for myself is the print job that I did. Unfortunately I was sick and had to print from home which produced tiny little lines but in my defense, nobody noticed except for me. Over all I loves this project, I am extremely proud of the work I produced, and I learned a lot of what I can do as a photographer. Many of my pictures would be just boring object with everything from flowers to a clock to an old Ford but with imagination, editing, and angles you can truly get a picture to say 1,000 words.

Photos From Flaneur Project