The Subject with a Story.

Louis Marie Autissier

Portraits of people have been seen for centuries; in museums of past loyalties or in your living room of a loved one. When portraits began, they served as a memory from the past generations, portraits were created only for the wealthy; the ones who could afford the high costs that followed in the newly discovered technology. Before photography began, miniature portraits were taken. This portrait was the bust view of a person, created with watercolours on stretched vellum, copper or ivory. This typically left the 'photographer' as anyone who was able to paint. This had changed when physionotrace was created (a portrait that was the profile form of a silhouette) and portraits were taken by craftsmen who would handle the cut-out pictures. Not quite through technology, but rather a new idea, Chretien, son of a past engraver, created a device that would quicken the time a portrait was done; the physionotrace, which reproduced images mechanically with rods over a blank piece of paper. 

Vincent Van Gogh

President Barack Obama

There were not very many types of portrait options in the past with the lack of technology. The major difference between portraits now and before would be the final look. Due to the increase of technology, it has greatly impacted what we can visualize as a portrait. In the past it was typically painted out trying to get all the little details as well as trying to achieve realism with the piece. With technology, portraits can be at different angles (front, side etc), different colours (black+white, tinted etc.) or taken with different cameras (fisheye, birds-eye). Portraits are still generally of the top half of the person even with all the changes. The fun thing is that now we have achieved realism within our pictures, cameras are developed with options to create abstract pictures, for example the Mac application of Photobooth which can create distorted pictures. Having said that, the photographer has greatly changed over time. As it is still considered a profession today, portraits can still be achieved as long as a person knows how to work a camera. Or even know how to click a button on a computer to take the picture. The major difference would be the different options one can choose from now opposed to before. Even with technology, they all contain the same idea; the subject with a story

Sources: 
http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_official_portrait_released/


http://artroots.com/art/art18_index.html

http://www.nationalmuseum.se/sv/Om-Nationalmuseum/For-press-och-media1/Pressbilder1/Miniatyrer/Louis-Marie-Autissier-iSjalvportratti/

Weynants, Thomas "Precursors of Photography: The Physionotrace Portraits". Early Visual Media. Januaray 20, 2011 <http://users.telenet.be/thomasweynants/precursors.html>

Readings : Excerpt from A History of Photography by Lemagny and Rouille 

 

6 Ways Photography Changed Society

Excuse as I write down the significance for all 6 of the ways photography has changed society. Final thoughts at the very bottom. 

Who We Are

Photography changes many things of the person; their outlook in life, their opinion of people, attention to detail. It helps shape character and builds on personality. It's something magical that can spark someones interest or help someone understand more about society.

What We Do

Having a career is one thing, but being able to photograph and appreciate what we do is another. As a baker, photography changes what I do on the daily basis. We always see picture-perfect photographs taken by others; the perfect lighting, angle, spacing. Picture perfect. Not only as a baker, but as any other occupation, photography does alter how we look at it. Politicians use it, and so do scientists. It really changes and helps people exceed what they want to accomplish. 

What We See 

For obvious reasons, photography changes what we see. Sometimes it's somethings that are right in front of us at the moment, but only later do you realize what was happening in the background. Or it could be the close-up of something that changes what we see. For example, a close-up for any insect or flower is much more complicated to the naked eye. It opens us to a whole new world. 

Where We Go

Travelling is something that probably everyone has on their bucket list. Unfortunately, economy is holding us back from doing so. With photography however, we are able to see what the other side of the world offers. How society lives like there, what buildings look like there, what main attractions exist. Photography is a way for us to be on one side of the world, and still lets us experience everywhere else. 

What We Want

Photographs are taken of people, products, food, places etc. It shows us something that we may not cross everyday, and instead introduces us to so many more things that we were unaware of. As a result, it shows us what we desire; it could be from the perfect dish, to human features. It's kind of like the beauty of online shopping; we get to see what we want from a store without having to actually own it. 

What We Remember

The world dates back thousands of years, and being without time travel, it is hard for us to understand the past and what exactly happened before. Through photographs kept and handed down from generation to generation, we are given an image to help us imagine what the world was like thousands of years ago. It helps us remember the roots of our existence, where we were before technology began taking over. It's a reminder of the simplicity of the past. 


All-in-all, photography can't be said to have altered only one of these 6 aspects. It has changed society through all six. It helps shape us as a person, as well as helping us understand the roots of our existence. It helps build our career and helps spark an interest to something new. All have been a significant contribution to society and continues to progress as technology advances. Leaving only more space of exploration and understanding in the future. 

Intro to Me!

Hi! Welcome to my Picture Perfect blog!
My name is Jasmine and currently taking the Baking and Pastry Arts Apprenticeship Program at GBC. I've haven't actually been to school since, I don't know, September? But co-op has got my hands full for sure. Currently working at LouisXIV cake boutique, I get to create a ton of cakes and bake a lot of amazing treats. 

What else about me. . .
Born and raised in Canada, I'm practically in love with the cold weather and snow, although I can't ski, skate or snowboard for my life. Aside from baking, I love going out with friends for movies or just hanging out enjoying the company. I'm pretty much an all around person, listening to music from Lil Wayne to Taylor Swift to yes, the Jobros. I wouldn't mind a nice conversation once in awhile, but the spontaneous ventures are exciting as well. 


So that's just a little about me, hopefully with this photography course, I'll get to learn a little more about the art of photos etc. As well as a way to have a little more fun away from the stress of jobs and school. 'Til then, enjoy : )