David Bailey

The fifth photographer that I will be analysing in greater detail is David Bailey. In this detailed log, I will be writing about who David Bailey is, what style of photography he uses, why I have chosen him, what it is about his photography that I like, and how his work relates to any of the formal elements commonly used by photographers. This photographer is famous for his portraits of famous people, both black and white and coloured (though almost always black and white). The first photograph of his that I saw was this portrait, taken from a very slight high angle and is black and white. I liked this photograph because of the use of shadow's across his face (which is also use of the one of the formal elements, form).

A second photograph by David Bailey that I like was a portrait of a man wearing a coat with a fur hood. I liked this photograph especially due to the use of the formal element of texture found within the fur hood. The photograph has been taken at such an angle that allows the texture of the hood to be noticeable, which is a good way to take a professional photograph due to the fact that texture is one of the formal elements used by every photographer to be able to describe what is shown within their photograph.

 The third photograph that I liked was also a portrait, but this time it portrays two people instead of just one. This photograph in particular includes specifically one of the formal elements that I identified straight away. This formal element is contrast. The contrasts that can be identified within this portrait is the contrast between male and female, between their skin colour, and the contrast between the emotions of the two people in the photograph. Due to this, I find this photograph works quite effectively in terms of how professional it looks.

The final photograph by David Bailey is probably one of my favourite photographs by him. It includes the formal element of tone, which is effective due to the fact that the viewer is able to identify colour through a black and white photograph. The portrait also features the formal element of texture, which is used to allow us to be reminded of what an object or person feels like, making the picture seem more realistic.

David Bailey has influenced me to not be apprehensive about taking photographs of people, due to the closeness in which he gets to the people. I also have taken to how the use of black and white photographs can actually be more effective in terms of portraying emotion, rather than using colours. Another influence from David Bailey is the fact that he includes texture in his portraits, which I think works well. An example of a photograph which shows that I have gotten closer to people without fear of invading their personal space is from my Mapplethorpe location shoot. This photograph of my classmate, Keir, is similar to the work of David Bailey due to the detail that can be seen in his skin and hair. Here is the photograph:

To summarise, David Bailey is a photographer that specialises in portraits, particularly of famous celebrities. He manages to capture emotion, and many of the formal elements in his portraits, such as texture, contrast and tone. All of the images I've seen of him are similar in the aspect that they all have blank, white background, which I also think works well, for the viewer is made to focus on the people and not be distracted.