photographer presentation 4

Koto Bolofo was born in South Africa in 1959 and raised in Great Britain. Bolofo has photographed and made short films for magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair & GQ. He has created advertising campaigns for companies including Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Dom Perigon. He is said to be one of fashions most individual and iconic photographers. When asked about his approach and process of picture taking Bolofo replied, "Before even beginning to take picture I find an idea in one's head and think it over in 'motion' like film directors. My brain searches for characters in the labyrinths of my mind. Once that is established the goal with my camera is to achieve a timeless photograph which has an emotional quality to ones eye and not produce a piece of 'throw away art'."

Richard Avedon was an American photographer whose portrait photographs 'helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century', as quoted from the New York Times. He also photographed patients of mental hospitals, the Civil Rights Movement, Protesters of the Vietnam War and later the fall of the Berlin Wall. Born May 15, 1923 in NYC to a Jewish-Russian family. Avedon started his photography career at a department store and was quickly discovered by Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar. In '46 Avedon set up his own studio and began providing images for magazines including Vogue & Life. Avedon did not conform to the standard technique of taking fashion photographs, where models stood emotionless and seemingly indifferent to the camer. Instead, Avedon showed models full of emotion, smiling, laughing, and many times, in action. Avedon was always interested in how portraiture captures the personality and soul of its subject. As his reputation as a photographer became widely known, he brought in many famous faces to his studio and photographed them with a large-format 8x10 view camera. his portraits were easily distinguished by their minimalist style, where the person is looking squarely at the camera.

Arnold Newman was born March 3, 1918 in NYC. An American photographer noted for his 'environmental portraits' of artists and politicians. Newman attended the University of Miami studying painting and drawing with an introduction to Modernism. Unable to afford continuing after two years, he moved to Philly to work for a studio making 49cent portraits. His time there taught him the importance of interacting with his subjects and allowed him to develop his technique. Newman found his vision in the empathy he felt for artists and their work. Although he photographed many personalities such as JFK, Picasso, Marilyn Monroe, Mikey Mantle & Audrey Hepburn he maintained that even if the subject is not known, or is already forgotten, the photograph itself must still excite and interest the viewer.