Final Photos | Portraiture

The first of my chosen photos from the shoot references this Mallais painting. For my interpretation I put a yellowy brown filter over the top in order to mimic the earthy tones used in the painting. I also had my subject in a similar position with a similar expression on her face. To me this photo represents the contrast between modern day fashion and beauty in comparison with that of victorian times, and that the subject still has this poetic expression and gaze despite the massive differences in society and social circumstances.

When searching for pre-Raphaelite art to reference I found this common theme of the female subject holding up a flower to her face. I decided to have my subject hold a plant in a similar way but because the expression of my subject and her proximity to the plant was different to the paintings, I made sure to flip the original photo so you can see this link I have made referencing the paintings.

For my final and favourite photograph from my final shoot for portraiture I referenced two paintings, the first of which being by Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale where we can see the subject’s torso and head appearing from a flower bush. The second is by John William Waterhouse and shows the subject laying in a field. Initially I set out to find a similar flower bush to situate my subject within, only making reference to the Brickdale painting. However we came across some rocks and my subject suggested we try using them instead which I really liked the idea of, however when positioning my subject I thought that having more of a similar pose to the subject in the Waterhouse painting would better show this tragic and empty expression, that the majority of the pre-Raphaelite subjects have. Personally I like how you can make a connection with the two paintings and that I have changed the framing and used my own style. The only thing I would have done differently is to have my subject’s face pointing towards the camera as you can’t really see the expression on her face, although the fact you can see her gazing away does still create this sense of distress that she feels.