Maggie Gust

Photo Essay Assignment

OSCARS 2013: GREAT PERFORMANCES PHOTO ESSAYS GREAT PERFORMANCE Oscars 2013: Great Performances is a photo essay compiled by TIME magazine. The magazine published the photo essay on their website on February 7, 2013, shortly before the 2013 Oscars aired. The photo essay is in slideshow form. The majority of the screen in the slideshow consists of the photographs and at the bottom is a section with the name of the actor or actress, the role the played, and a quote from the actor or actress about the role they played. TIMEs purpose was to show 2013 Oscar nominees who appeared in films about a key moment in history. Fashion photographer, Paola Kudacki, took the photographs of the actors and actresses with her own purpose. She wanted to show a side of each actor as he or she truly is. To achieve this purpose, she aimed to make the actors and actresses relax and feel comfortable in front of the camera. She said since they are used to playing a role, she made up fictional characters and situations for the actors and actresses to play during the shoot to make them relax.

Analysis Lack of Color Kudacki took her photos in black and white. Colors can sometimes cause distraction because many things stand out. The use of black and white communicates messages directly because so many things do not stand out (McCloud, 1994). To achieve her purpose, Kudacki only wanted the actors and actresses to stand out, so she used black and white in order to communicate this purpose directly. The black and white photos draw attention to the actors and nothing else. Black and white is also appropriate for the context of the photo essay. For example, since TIME wanted to show actors and actresses who played roles of something

Maggie Gust

Photo Essay Assignment

from history, black and white works well. This is because black and white has a historical essence to it since color photographs have not always been available historically. Negative Space Negative space is an important element in the photographs of the photo essay. Negative space is often used as a creative and provocative element of a photograph (National Geographic, 2011). Some examples of this include an open background in gray tones and plain clothing to provoke attention to the actor or actress.

This negative space adds interest to the photos because it emphasizes the importance of the actors and actresses, which is relevant to Kudackis purpose. This is because negative space allows for the attention to be drawn to only the actors and actresses with no distraction. Word-Picture Relationship A word-picture relationship is used in the photo essay. Scott McCloud explains the eight types of relationships photos and words can have, but the one that is relevant to this photo essay is additive. In this additive relationship, words strengthen and elaborate on images and images strengthen and elaborate on words (McCloud, 1994). The words say the name of the actor or actress and what role they played. They also state a quote by the actor or actress about the role they played. This is additive because without the pictures, the words would not be as easily understood and without the words, the pictures would not be as easily understood. For example, if there were not a picture of the actor or actress, viewers would not necessarily know who they are from the words. Without the words, viewers would not know the role that was played or the name of the actor. Together, in an additive relationship, the words and pictures work together to create an overall message. The words achieve TIME magazines purpose and the pictures achieve Kudackis purpose. Although the words and pictures have different purposes, they add to each other to create the photo essay.

Maggie Gust The Rule of Thirds

Photo Essay Assignment

The rule of thirds is used when the photographer imagines there are four gridlines across a photograph. The rule emphasizes that the intersections of the lines are sweet spots that give photographs dynamic balance and is most useful when the center is not the most satisfying place (National Geographic, 2010). Some examples are Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman lying together and Christof Waltz sitting in the chair.

Since there is more to the photographs than just a headshot of the person, the center is not the most satisfying so the rule of thirds is used. Even though Anne Hathaway is almost in the center of the picture, since Hugh Jackman is also part of the picture the rule of thirds is still relevant. The photos that she used the rule on, she balanced so that both sides were pleasing but not equal in size. For example, on the left side of the Hathaway and Jackman picture, there is a large amount of negative space. On the left side is there faces and not a lot of negative space. Even though both sides are not equal in size and the subject is not in the center, since the rule of thirds was used, the photos are still pleasing. Content Analysis Politics Kudacki aimed to show the actors as real in her photographs. Kudacki said she was photographing the real actors, but since photo editing probably occurred, they are not very realistic. Editors most likely got rid of wrinkles and blemishes in the photos, which essentially defeated Kudackis purpose. Take Sally Field for example. The actress is 66 years old and because of her age she naturally has some wrinkles (A & E, 2013). In the photograph taken by Kudacki, she appears younger than she is, because she does not have wrinkles.

Maggie Gust

Photo Essay Assignment

The photo on the left is from the photo essay and the associated press took the other photos at different times. This photo contradicts Kudackis purpose to show the actors and actresses as real because she is not showing Sally Field as her true self. She is making her look younger, which is not how Field is in real life. Devoss and Platt (2010) explain that viewers seek truth within photographs. Even though, as viewers, we know better, we still assume that a photograph portrays the truth. Kudacki said she was seeking truth in photographing the realness and truth of the actors and actresses, but using photo-editing ruins this truth and essentially lets down viewers who are seeking this truth. Because of this, the photo editing that most likely occurred in the photo essay undermines the credibility, or ethos, of Kudacki. Photo editing also is not fair to the actor or actress. It is essentially saying that they are not good enough or, in Sally Fields case, young enough. Even though they are talented actors, editing their photos to make them look different or younger says that their talent is not enough. In todays world too much is expected of women to look flawless and photo editing may be to blame for this. This photo essay enforces that notion that a woman is not enough for how she looks, because the photos were edited. Evaluation The use of black and white, negative space, additive word-picture relationship, and the rule of thirds made the photo essay compositionally pleasing. As stated previously, Kudackis purpose was to show actors and actresses as they truly are, and to achieve this she made up fictional roles to make the characters relax. This may have defeated the purpose. Since they are actors and actresses, they are used to taking on a role and showing it on camera. The actors and actresses most likely took this role and portrayed it through the entire shoot. Therefore, the actors and actresses were not portrayed as they truly are they are portrayed as the fictional roles Kudacki created.

Maggie Gust

Photo Essay Assignment

References A&E. (2013). Sally field. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/sally-field9294562 DeVoss, D. N., & Platt, J. (2011). Image manipulation and ethics in a digital-visual world. Computers and Composition Online. McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: the invisible art. New York: HarperPerennial. National Geographic. (2011). Complete photography. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing.