Compelling (Documentary) Portraits of People and Places

For videography, I've asked students to post images that they find visually compelling. In my other course, I've asked them to post a self-portrait. So, in an effort to post things that might be interesting to students in both classes, I've decided to do my "compelling images" entry on portraits.

My favorite photographer is D-Nice. Yes, he is the rapper:



But now he makes beautiful videos and takes photographs like these:

What I really like about these images is the way that you can connect with the subject's eyes. I really believe that if you want the audience to connect with a person or character, you really need to allow them the opportunity to look the person in the eyes.

D-Nice has a strong sense of composition and angles. He always knows where to frame the subject in relationship to the background. He often uses long lenses and sets the subject apart from the background using shallow depth of field, where only the subject is in focus, as in the image of the left (from Obama's inauguration).

I also love the work of Martha Cooper:



This photo is a portrait of NY in the 80s. 2 cops ride the train, circa 1981 from the book Subway Art.

Martha's work provides critical visible evidence of people, places, and events. She was there, with camera in hand, to capture some of New York's early graf writers. She has documented the work of legendary artist Lady Pink for decades.

My favorite book, and not just because the photo of me (from this blog's bottom banner - me with a camera at B-Girl Be, an event I co-founded in Minneapolis in 2005) is featured in the book, but because she shows the strength of women. To be a b-girl, a woman who dances to the breakbeat of a record, you must be physically strong; a b-girl has to be able to lift her entire body weight and hold it in a freeze, gracefully, such as these ladies:

I also love beautiful portraits of women:

Sha Cage is a poet, writer, actor and performer in Minneapolis. She shows off the beauty of her pregnant belly in this photo by BFresh photography.



I am also one who loves a classic: LL Cool J, by Janette Beckman


My other favorite photographers are Bplus for portraits, events and capturing a moment or a movment and Mathew Rolston, for more commercial and celebrity images.

Yes, I love images and stories of people that exist in the real world. I haven't directed a narrative in some years, although I write narrative stories. This summer I'll be writing a feature script based on a friend's memoir and he wants me to direct... we'll see.