Odds are, you’ve seen a Martin Schoeller portrait, even if you didn’t realize it at the time.
He’s done series of portraits of the housing-insecure in LA, bodybuilders, NASCAR drivers, identical twins, and something like four U.S. presidents in addition to a slew of celebrities. I can’t actually post any of his work here because, you know, copyright, but I trust that Google can help you out here. (I actually find it very entertaining that the thumbnail Google begins to auto-fill when you search for Martin Schoeller is not a photo of Martin Schoeller, but is instead a headshot of Brad Pitt that Martin Schoeller photographed. In short, no, he’s not Brad Pitt.) His portrait of Jeff Koons is to portraiture what Salt Bae is to seasoning.
Anyway, I find his signature style of portraiture - very close up and meticulously lit - mesmerizing. There’s frustratingly little reliable information out there on the interwebs about how one would replicate it. But I’ve strategically paused and screen-grabbed from enough interviews and news coverage he’s done over the years to feel like I had a general idea of his set-up…enough, at least, to try it.
The assignment for the photography class I was taking at UAF this semester was to create a series of 12, theme and subject of our choosing. I figured it was as good a time as any.
In my world, the most willing and amply available models are kids, so that’s what I went with. (If you wish to learn from my mistakes, I would tell you that it turns out kids aren’t actually the ideal subjects for a meticulously arranged and minorly claustrophobic set that includes a “ceiling” reflector held aloft by light stands, BUT THAT’S ANOTHER BLOG ENTRY.)
I give you, Before and After.
