Connecting Essay Analysis 'Shape/ Form' -

Connecting Essay -

Shape/ Form:

Vivian Maier Photograph:

My Photograph:

Of the images shown above the first is by Vivian Maier whilst the second is my own photograph.

Some technical similarities between the work is that both are taken outside rather than in studios as Maier was a street-documentary photographer and was, therefore, often outside. The days on which the photographs were taken were both sunny and well lit meaning that the settings used would have been similar allowing for the natural brightness of the days.

Furthermore, the composition of the images are similar in that both feature a self-portrait in the idea of a shadow depicting form but more specifically shape due to the 2D nature of photography and shadows. Also, both final pieces portray ideas of negative space and how it can be used as a tool to exaggerate the positive space.

However, there are multiple differences in the two final outcomes. One difference being the techniques used to create the images. For example, Maier as a photographer in the 1900s used a less developed camera that relied on film meaning that images were limited. Maier had access to less camera settings, a limited size of images and also had to process images from film in dark rooms. I, on the other hand, as a modern photographer have access to modern technology such as digital cameras with a wide array of settings, the possibility to take larger scale images and also access to post-production software such as Photoshop. As a result of these technical differences the outcomes are different; Maier's image is square and in black and white whilst my image is rectangular and in colour.

Both images, as mentioned above, explore similar ideas through self-portraiture in the form of shadows which delves into the idea of identity and anonymity. Maier often photographer herself and explored self-identity through portraiture and thus the shadow featured in my photograph is myself to reminisce over the same ideals.

If I was to improve the pastiche of my final outcome then I would experiment with some post-production techniques such as Photoshop. I would rotate and then crop my image to the same scale of Maier's and edit the image into black and white to reflect the non-colour camera's used to take Maier's photographs at the specific time period. If I was to completely re-shoot then I would use a more interesting and advanced background, like Maier's, but also explore shape to create a more dynamic shadow and thus a more interesting and analytical response to identity.