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Critical Essay

I have decided to write about Ashley Osborn for my essay. Ashley is a twenty six year old american photographer, she is known well for her work within the music industry mostly within the rock genre. I have decided to write about the series of photos she did for Jessie J; which you can view here: http://www.ashleyosbornphotography.com/book-3/

I chose to focus on her photography as I have always been inspired by her work and feel that she is different to most mainstream photographers. I also chose to look at her Jessie J series because they are different to the rest of her work and they really stand out to me. The majority of her photos in this series are portrait photos and they aren’t taken at a live performance; I also personally feel that they are some of the best photos she has taken.   

When looking at her photos for her Jessie J series there is something quite obvious that stands out about them, that is that they are all in black and white. Apart from the polaroids she has added to the collection. I really adore the black that is used within these photos; I feel as though the black and white adds character and age to a photo. Consequently, I feel that effect has really worked on these photos and makes them seem more inviting and eye catching to the viewer, which is very important when you want your work to be noticed.

Another thing that really stands out to me as a viewer is the angles used within the photos but also the locations that she selected. When looking at the photos I immediately notice they are all fairly simple in concept,  but the backgrounds in some of the photos can be quite complex. Meaning, in the sense that they are taken in the street or on stage. Then again, some have a much more simpler background like in a middle of a field; this variety can almost tell a story throughout the series. I feel like if she was to take all the photos from complex angles within that scenery it would of been to much. The way she has taken most things from a straight forward point of view but then used more urban backgrounds really help to balance out the photo and keeps it interesting but doesn’t let it become too busy. She has gotten Jessie to use quite strong poses which brings all the attention on to her, which I really like as the hectic looking backgrounds become not so hectic when having her as the main focus of the photo.

When looking at the photos I think she could of taken the them a little closer to Jessie J as there is a lot of empty space around her that could distract from the focal point. Sometimes this can be good, but I personally feel that it can be wasted space and can draw the attention away from the main focus of the photo. I feel with the majority of the photos the space above works well and adds character and depth. But with a few of them, if the photos were taken close up it would add more emotion to the photo and make it more personal; therefore making the viewer feel more connected and intrigued about her other work.

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These photos are from a personal project. I have always found lighting quite difficult so I decided I’d push myself outside of my comfort zone and produce seven photos for an online magazine. I found doing this a lot of fun and have learnt a lot from doing this. To create the photos I used red and blue gels over some 3 point lighting, which produced this sought of look. Taking these photos I used a EOS Cannon 1300D with a 50mm lens and also a 18-55mm lens. 

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These are the seven photos I’ve chosen from my first project, from my first year of college; these are the ones I am most proud passionate about and I feel represent both my talent and the brief of the assignment. For this project we had to take a song or a poem and produce ten photos that represent that song or poem in a metaphorical way but for them to not be cliche; my song was “Otherside” by Macklemore, which is about drug addiction and the depression that comes with it.. For the main photos I will put a brief description on how it relates to that song. I used a Nikon D5000 with a 18-55mm lens and used natural lighting for all my photos. I put all the photos in black and white because I wanted to add emotion, age and character. I feel like black and white really adds that to photos. 

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These are the six photos I’ve chosen from my final major project in my first year of college; these are the ones I am most passionate about and I feel represent both my talent and the brief in the assignment. The photos themselves are based on Alzheimer’s as we had to pick a personal topic. My grandma sadly has Alzheimer’s so I wanted to try and tell her everyday struggles through photos in a metaphorical manner. The white in the photo represents the cloud in there brain that makes there memories misty and not quite there.. The flowers represent all the love and good wishes of there loved ones. I decided to take some photos out of focus to represent the fact that they aren’t really there; especially when Alzheimer’s becomes very vicious. I was very happy with how the photos turned out and hope for them to bring more awareness to the illness. I took all these photos using a EOS 1300D Cannon camera with a 50mm lens and a 18-55mm lens. I also used natural lighting for all of my photos.