Critical Analysis of a Photograph
Henri Cartier-Bresson
This photo is called Rue Mouffetard, named after the paris street in which the photograph was taken on. It shows a young boy walking down the street, smiling proudly with a bottle of wine held in each of his hands. .
The composition of this photo is very simple, focusing on the young boy. It does not follow the rule of thirds as the main focus is in the middle. The photographer used natural daylight in his photography, giving the photo a natural tone. The photo was taken from above eye-level/ from a higher angle of the boy. The mood of the photo is very delightful and relaxed, because the tone of the photo is light and natural. Henri Cartier-Bresson was known for his collection "The Decisive Moment" and he said that he would stand at a spot for a long period of time with his camera and wait for something interesting to happen. When he saw something interesting, he would then take a photo. He didn't find the subjects in his photo, he waited for them to come to him, which is probably why the mood of his photographs, including Rue Mouffetard, is shown as very relaxing and humorous photographs. |
Weegee
http://www.artspace.com/weegee/in_the_paddy_wagon
In this photo, there are two men in black suits sitting opposite of each other, covering their faces with black hats. This photo is called in the paddy-wagon -- a vehicle that transports prisoners. The setting is a cabin of a 'paddy-wagon', showing that these two people in the photograph are prisoners. . The composition of this photo is quite interesting because it focuses on 2 points. I don't think it supports the rule of thirds. Unlike most photographs of people, this photo does not follow any rule of threes or odds, and instead kind of follows the rule of symmetry. The photographer used flash in this photograph as there aren't light sources in this closed space. The mood of the photograph is quite serious and somewhat sad. I think that the photographer has interacted with people in the photo because the people must have known that their photo was taken to have covered their faces.
The most dominant factor of this photo is the high contrast of the photo. The high contrast between the hands and the hat and between the dark suits and the light background, immediately gives the photo a very bold feeling.
The most dominant factor of this photo is the high contrast of the photo. The high contrast between the hands and the hat and between the dark suits and the light background, immediately gives the photo a very bold feeling.
This is a photo of a few women and children, all looking to the same direction and crying sorrowfully. This photo is called a grieving woman with young boy, Cyprus. The setting of this photo looks like the streets of a poor village.
This photo supports the rule of thirds, because the focus of the photo is on the woman at the intersection of the grid of thirds. The image is high contrast, but the photographer must not have used flash photography because the light source is not coming from the side of the camera. The thing that stands out most is the emotions of the picture.. The emotion and mood is very strong on the woman's face and the image itself is also very strong because of its high contrast and bold lines. |