Untitled 1995Richard Billingham is a photographer mostly concerned with portraiture. His most famous series of photographs where his parents were the subjects are what caught my eye about him.
His photos are similar to what I want to photograph - people in their natural environment, mostly their home. I want the background to be equally as important as the subjects as it can tell you so much about their personalities - in the same way as when you enter someones house you can get such an accurate feel for who that person is by material things alone.
Another aspect of his work that really inspires me is the vintage look to his photography, it makes it look like there is so much history and so many stories behind a still image of a split second in time. I don't have a camera that will give this effect however have found couple of really useful websites that show you how to get vintage effects and lomo effects using photoshop - which is the route I think I would have to take.
The one aspect of his photographs which I think will be different to mine will be the fact that he was their son so the images produced will be natural and almost uneffected by the fact that a camera would be there. I will need to build up a relationship with the sitter for numerous reasons, mainly so that the photos would be genuine and so that there is a depth behind the image. At the moment I am drawing elderly people from images that I have found online which is fine for developing my skills as a portrait artist, and for getting an idea about composition and materials - but I desperately need to find primary sources of my own to work from.
His photos are similar to what I want to photograph - people in their natural environment, mostly their home. I want the background to be equally as important as the subjects as it can tell you so much about their personalities - in the same way as when you enter someones house you can get such an accurate feel for who that person is by material things alone.
Another aspect of his work that really inspires me is the vintage look to his photography, it makes it look like there is so much history and so many stories behind a still image of a split second in time. I don't have a camera that will give this effect however have found couple of really useful websites that show you how to get vintage effects and lomo effects using photoshop - which is the route I think I would have to take.
The one aspect of his photographs which I think will be different to mine will be the fact that he was their son so the images produced will be natural and almost uneffected by the fact that a camera would be there. I will need to build up a relationship with the sitter for numerous reasons, mainly so that the photos would be genuine and so that there is a depth behind the image. At the moment I am drawing elderly people from images that I have found online which is fine for developing my skills as a portrait artist, and for getting an idea about composition and materials - but I desperately need to find primary sources of my own to work from.
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