Getting To Know Your Style



Antonin Kratchvil, Liv Tyler in Tuscany, Italy (1995)



The picture I chose to describe is one by Antonin Kratochvil, an award winning photojournalist. This photograph is taken from one of his three books in his portfolio. The style of this photo is portrait. What really caught my eye about this picture was how honest it was, the woman in the picture is showing her real emotion and is channelling what her personality is like. From this image I can really get a sense that her personality is light and care free. As you said the first class, a portrait captures people, sometimes at their most vulnerable, when they're being themselves. This image to me, brings out her true self and allows us to experience a bit of what she's feeling or thinking.  Another reason why I really love this image is because the lighting is so unique. It was clearly taken on an older black and white film camera, which gives the finished picture an eye capturing grain. One of the reasons why I really love this image is because of how the sun shines through the fabric she's holding. It also plays on the fact her personality seems very light just like the fabric. I really enjoy the way the light reflects off of  the lens and creates a sun ray. Kratchvil chose a really fabulous location for this shoot because it also adds to the bohemian feel of the picture. This photo emphasizes the evident warm weather, which to me symbolizes happiness and warmth. I think Kratchvil was trying to capture with this photograph. The pure white spaces compared to dark help make this image have a brighter overall feel. His choice to use black and white film was very wise, as it makes for an interesting image. Another reason why I was drawn to this image was because of where the shadow falls on the subject being photographed. Usually, the presence of shadows are something that would be avoided, but since the sun has cast over her body and arm. Usually for more of a dynamic image, the photographer would place his or her model towards the sides or take the picture from an interesting angle. This image is taken only from a slightly downwards angle, but other than that and the natural surrounding, the image is pretty basically shot. Despite the straight forward angle and little to no editing, this image still really stands out to me. 

All photographs taken from Antonin Kratchvil's online gallery, found in Book Two.