Arnold Newman: Portrait Photography

 Arnold Newman's photography is based on Portraits of people, and their professions. Placing people in environments that suit what he thinks of said person, or how society should view them. He seems to have a formula for all of his photos, using distinctive posing, and then a fitting environment to portray them in their element. Some pictures of his are set up in a more controlled or calm environment while others seem chaotic or even staged. He distinctly uses black and white to separate and distinguish the subject from the background, using high contrast to show off facial features while still keeping a sort of mysterious vibe in some of his images. Often times he has people dressed in their best clothes, looking as presentable as possible.

 Some of his other works also include up close and highly detailed facial shots, usually using a dark background and most likely using studio lighting to get the face to sort of glow and contrast the black backgrounds. 

The photo below of W. Eugene Smith was taken in Smith's office. Taking a photo in the subject's element seemed to be the key to composing the image Newman wanted. It was all about creating a sort of vibe or feeling surrounding the subject, an aura one might call it. I plan to do the same with the images I take of others, and I also just really love this style of portraiture.