No beauty dish
no beauty dish © Jill Greenberg
Jill Greenberg is well known by her perfect lighting and signature retouching that brings the subjects to look artificially perfect. In this portrait of McCain her lighting set up had a different intent. To understand it you need to read the article at PDN pulse. I bet this will be her latest and last portrait of McCain, she made her point.
Besides the political controversy of the shot, this image brings the topic about the lack of rights of the subject portrayed [McCain] to control the use of images and the full ownership of the pictures by the third party that paid for the job [The Atlantic]. I wonder if the controversy of this image will drive changes so the contracts offer some level protection to the subject regarding the images that can be published. There is a fine line to be crossed between what is lawful and what is professionally right or wrong to do.
I bet you have an opinion on this!
I sure as hell aint no fan of Insane McCain- but for all her lighting expertise, ya think she could of come up with something a bit more original than this low light cheap shot. Think the recent Time cover of Putin, or the more classic Alfred Krupp by Arnold Newman…
http://www.wac.ucla.edu/bishop/People/Arnold%20Newman/Adams.pdf
Sure, Stan. Please take a look to the PDN pulse article and you will understand that she indeed knows what she is doing … this shot had a purpose and the lighting was perfect for the intent. Just it was not the intent of the magazine paying for the job.
Regards
Miguel
Miguel, don’t know why you think I didn’t think she knew what she was doing!? All I was saying (quite clearly, I thought) is look how Newman used essentially the same lighting technique in a much more nuanced and masterful manner. Any junior high school student with a hand held strobe could’ve taken the McCain shot.
Again, someone with her lighting, studio and portrait expertise should’ve come up with something far more original, revealing and memorable.
I see, thanks Stan. I agree with you … my bet is that she tried to take this picture without raising any suspicion and so probably did it on the spot and fast, without much planning … thanks much again for your comments.
Miguel