Richard Avedon

Biography: Richard Avedon was born on May 15, 1923 in New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx where he worked on the school newspaper. He received his first camera from his father as a going away present. After briefly attending Columbia University he started as a photographer for Merchant Marines, but he was then quickly discovered by the art director for the fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. He went on to make quite a name for himself in photography even becoming The New Yorker’s first staff photographer. Richard Avedon passed away on October 1, 2004. Some of his most famous photographs are of celebrities such as Marlin Monroe, The Beatles, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Dylan, and Marlon Brando.

Photography Significance: Avedon captured many interesting photographs, often of celebrities and other famous people. His compositions were well thought out and his photographs became famous for both their subject matter and compositions.

Composition: In the two pictures of the Beatles shown above, the composition is very interesting. The black and white portraits are very interesting. They are balanced quite well, with enough contrast to pique interest, but not so much that details are lost. The gradient background also does a good job of being interesting without drawing too much attention and still allowing the subject to be visible.

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: With these Beatles photographs specifically they were used as posters (they were some of the first rock posters). I think these photographs work very well as posters. They are visually stimulating and document each member of the band.

Method: As aforementioned, the composition of the black and white poster was well done. All four photographs are well balanced and are taken in similar lighting so they go well together. The color photograph looks as though it has had many photo manipulations implemented. I am unsure of what specific processes were used to create this photograph.

Motivations: Describe their goal/intention for creating this image/s. While I did not find any specific goals or intentions for these images, it seems to be that his intention was to document The Beatles in a new and exciting format (in this case, a poster). He was essentially pioneering the rock poster; something that is quite interesting in itself

Your Opinion: Personally, I really like these posters. They are each visually stimulating in their own way. The black and white one is more serious and elegant, showing details and emotion in the faces. The photo editing of the color photograph is vivid, lively, and fun. It makes for a very interesting piece to look at, for it is very visually stimulating. I really like both of these photographs.