Critical Review of Photography of Shelby Lee Adams Essay

Critical Review of Photography of Shelby Lee Adams - Essay Example Adam Lee is well known photographer whose pictures are viewed over the internet. His pictures cover large scenes and convey lots of information. This paper analyzes two photographs taken by Lee and makes claim of his skills in taking pictures of various scenes. Though a well-recognized photographer, Adam Lee’s photos fall short of characteristics of good photographs due to their appearance and manner in which they were captured (Shelby and Smith, 68). The first photograph above conveys an old man carrying a naked child. In the picture, it appears the man does not care about the bad scene created by the photograph especially when the child is wholly naked. From the features of a good photograph, the picture fails since it is not subjective and does not make the viewer react. This photo does not convey several information about the scene as it confuses the viewer (Shelby and Smith, 69). For instance, one wonders whether the child’s leg is swollen, thus suffering or it is just the wish of the man to leave the kid naked. Therefore, Adam failed in telling the audience the story through the picture thus not capturing the audience’ emotion even though the picture indicates a harsh reality. Secondly, the photograph fails to narrate the event covered. For instance, the photo fails to make the viewer understand the picture appropriately making failing to draw his emotions as per the scene of a man carrying the naked child with a swollen leg (Shelby and Smith, 70). The viewer fails to sympathize with the kid or condemn the man for carrying the naked child aimlessly. Third, Adam’s photo is not composed since it lacks some techniques in mind. For instance, the classic rule suppose the photo to be broken into three distinct equal parts. The picture contrasts this rule since the sky does not take even two thirds of its frame while the land takes less than a third. The photo lacks linear or cyclical effect thus cannot make the viewer move his eyes t hrough the picture. Therefore, this denies the photographer some extra appreciation from the viewer. Fourth, the photo is not emotional as required by the features of a good picture. For example, the picture of the man carrying the kid does not draw attention of a people suffering or just relaxing as per their wish. Consequently, it does not reveal to the viewer whether the man in the picture is widowed thus cares for the child on his own thus carelessness (Shelby and Smith, 71). Lastly, the photo is visionless as it fails to make the viewer feel its beauty. The picture of the man reveals to some extent that the child carried is crying thus causing a bad scene, which irritates most viewers. Most people feel sad on seeing naked children crying as they associate the scene with suffering. Photos of crying kids are often irritating more so to women who feel the child has been neglected thus making them not concentrate on the picture. Most of the photographs of Lee Adams lack a proper ba ckground. This clearly denotes that Adams is not a good photographer. A good photographer should be someone who understands several, if not all, the basics of taking photographs. Picture background should be one of the basic things that a good photographer must consider when taking photographs. Before taking a photograph, it is of crucial importance that the photographer identifies a good site that can best suit the type

Analyzing a Photograph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analyzing a Photograph - Essay Example When the photo was taken, it was the day the Japanese surrendered to the Americans through signing a contract of agreement. Eisensteadt was then assigned in Manhattan and was taking pictures in the streets when he witnessed the phenomenal stolen kiss, which made him very famous. In his recollection, he claimed to have followed the Sailor as he saw the other kissing different women. The photo was published in Life Magazine where it appeared on the center of a page, among two other photos with other couples kissing. In the other photos, the couples intended to kiss, whereas in The V-J Day in Times Square, the subjects did not know each other, and they did not plan to kiss. Produced in 1945, the photo is still in black and white, thus showing the high contrast between the sailor’s blue uniform and the nurse’s white outfit. The high contrast makes the subjects easily identifiable, hence allowing the artist to achieve focus and emphasis. The subject of the photograph is what makes it extraordinary. At first glance, viewers will think that the kissing couple knows each other, and that they are kissing in front of the crowd to make a show. However, if viewers will find out the story behind the photograph, they will have more interest in it. Photos of kissing couples are quite common especially nowadays; but the thought of two persons kissing despite being totally strangers to each other is really surprising, not to mention that the photo was taken way back in 1945 when the people were a lot more conservative than today. When investigated, the sailor and the nurse were found to be unfamiliar with each other, and the sailor was said to have done the kissing out of his exhilaration in hearing the news about the withdrawal of Japanese from the war. Later investigations revealed that the sailor named Glen McDuffie kissed the nurse identified as Edith Shain because he knew that his brother who was captured by the Japanese will be set free (Goddard). The unfami liarity between the man and woman is established by their hand gestures. The man who is holding the woman with his left arm closes his fist instead of holding the woman’s face to show gentleness and intimacy. Likewise, the woman’s left arm, which is supposed to embrace the man around his neck, does the same unlikely gesture for intimate partners: it closes in a fist, hence reflecting unfamiliarity. As regards the response of the nurse, she claimed to have responded to the sailor’s kiss because she saw the happiness in him. In sum, the festive mood of the subject is the general feeling that Eisenstaedt has captured. In other pictures where couples are kissing, passion or love could be perceived. However, in Eisenstaedt’s photo, the expression of freedom to do what one desires to do is given emphasis instead. Emphasis is further achieved with the reactions of people around the subject. On the right side is a woman in her forties, looking and giggling at the sight of the kissing couple. On the left side is another sailor in his outfit, giving a good laugh at the subject. The reactions of the bystanders add to the emphasis in the photo. Such smiles draw the attention of the audience further to the couple in the middle of the picture, especially at what they are doing. Moreover, by laughing and giggling a