Irving Penn

Irving Penn was a wonderful photographer know for his portraiture and fashion photography. He was born in 1917 and just recenlty died at the age of 92. He attended the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art. He worked for Vogue magazine for many years before starting his own studio. At this studio he started making new techniques that many photographers after him followed. One of these techniques was posing his subjects in a closed, small space.

If you are going to take a picture of a product, you can just take a picture of it, just the prduct. and it may sell. But take a look at these :

I don't wear makeup, however I would buy that mascara.

This is making me rethink lipstick.... Look at the texture...

The two above pictures I am in love with...

There is a lot of emotion and symbolism in light. If you have half of a face hidden it could mean you are torn between dark and light. A single spotlight can tell the story of fame, all light can show perfection,grey can be the unknown. Irving Penn understood this, and used it. This image is grey to me. It tells me- I'm not getting up just yet, and whn I do, I don't know whats going to happen quite yet, but do I really need to?
This image says one word, to me : Fame. This womans confidence is raditating off of her whole body. Sure, alot of photographers could do this and it would be a good photo... but they can't tell this story, this well.
A child doesn't know evil from pure, wrong from right. The uncertianty on this little girls face tells us this. it shows us this. This is my favorite of Irving Penn's black and white.