Irving Penn, a master of photography

 

In this case study i will be looking at the well-known fashion photographer Irving Penn's work and learn how he composed his most famous works.

 

Irving Penn was an American born photographer who has caught my attention with his high contrasting Portraits. the first of penn’s images that i viewed was the portrait of Pablo Picasso, i found that the way the image was lit added mystery with half his face disappearing into darkness of the background and the texture of his face so crisp you could get lost in the wrinkles so i can see why penn made a name for himself. Though pens repetuar mainly consists of portraits he also composed a number of still life images and took a series of ethnographic pieces. it is no argument why penn achieved his success, he was a skilful artist, his work has been exhibited internationally and he continues to inform the art of photography even after his death.

 

Penn attended Philadelphia University of arts where he studied drawing, painting, graphic and industrial arts under a Alexey Brodivitch who interned by him at harper's bazaar were penn had a handful of drawings published. he then spent two years after finishing his studies as a freelance designer. then became a art director at Saks Fifth Avenue which he stayed for a year before leaving to spend time practicing with drawing and the art of photography across the US and Mexico. after returning from this venture penn was offered a associate position in vogue magazines art department were he worked on layout eventually he was asked to have a go at photography. Penn was one of the first photographers to use simple backdrops to produce his artworks, his composition in his still life are well thought out usually consisting of unusual collaborations of objects to create a beautiful distinctive image. All of Irving Penn's collective work are composed with great attention to detail in which he carried on when it came to the development of prints, he experimented with printing techniques in the dark room which is evident after viewing his black and white images and no wonder vogue printed his first magazine cover in 1943 and continued to be commissioned him throughout his career. after all his success he went on to found his own studio and started work in advertising.

 

I became drawn to Irving Penn's collective of images from his travels, were he took along a simple backdrop, his camera and his lights with him and scouted ordinary people from different cultures composed their photo and showcased them in such a way it looks almost surreal. looking at this mans work has encouraged me to be more experimental with my own work, it has also made it more evident on how important lighting is in the composition of a photo, it adds feeling to an image makes you examine it closely and really appreciate what the artist is trying to show, and as quoted from Irving Penn "A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it; it is in one word, effective." although penns success it wasn't always the case. while infatuated with the modernist tradition, Penn ventured out of his creative boundaries his exhibition "Earthly Bodies" contains a series of posed nude photographs which contained a variety of different body shapes. this collection was not put on exhibition until the 1980's. it shows the progression of modern culture and how much it had changed in just a couple of decades. he helped shaped what feminine chic and glamour photography what it is today.

 

It is obvious that Vogue was massive part in Penns life, with a page dedicated to him on their website they describe him as "one of the twentieth century’s great artists, a photographer with a style so uniquely his own that it had already earned its own “aesthetic copyright,”. he worked for vogue for a total of 7 decades and racked up 158 covers. he combined 19th century techniques example platinum printing collaborated with modern technology seeing that he worked at vogue for that amount of time it isn't suprising that he met his wife on the set of a shoot. it was with his wife to be he created a breathtaking 18 page spread in grey black and white perfectly representing the clothes they showcasing. this shoot was so successful vogues editors described them to have "burned on the page" Conde Nast editorial director described young penn as "who seemed unspoiled by European mannerisms or culture. I remember he wore sneakers and no tie. I was struck by his directness and a curious unworldliness, a clarity of purpose, and a freedom of decision.” it is clear from the website that Penn was a big part of vogue and credited to be a visionary

 

it is clear to me after looking into irving penn's working background it obvious that he was incredibly dedicated to his work, he took time to think out his picture and compose it, even more time when it came to the development of the photo, he experiment and continued to add to a lifetime of experience and produce a portfolio that is iconic to generations. i can admit that penn will be a big influence in my work as i start to experiment with light. i want to create a series of black and white images that look as they have just been painted, i want people to look at my subject choice differently, i want to get people questioning their views. I've learned from penn, that with dedication, experimentation and pure determination you can succeed.