Who Are Your Influences (photographers)

[Jonnyp16v]

January 27, 2011 at 11:12 pm

I was at an open day today applying for a photography course, I was asking about the interview that they do before you are accepted. I was told that they will ask about my influences, but to be quiet honest I have no knowledge of any photographers. I have spent most of my time since getting into photography getting to grips with the camera settings and composition. I spend a lot of time on vw forums that have photography sections, there are one or two photographers that I admire on there, that have their own stlye and consistantly post good work, but I could hardly use them as my influences in the interview.

I was trying to look up “famous” or “award winning” photographers on google, but haven’t really come up with any good results. I’m just wondering who you would consider your influence. I’m just looking for names to look up and see if any of them appeal to me, I’m pretty open minded when it comes to different styles. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Mark]

January 28, 2011 at 8:24 am

Jonny,

Before I put down the photographers I like, what sort of photography are you really into ?

cheers

[yorizz]

January 28, 2011 at 9:23 am

Have a look here: http://photography-now.net/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; see if you can find some photographers you like. Good luck with the course.

[ossie13]

January 28, 2011 at 9:33 am

Hi Jonny

To be honest when I started out (many moons ago….. :? ) my influence was my uncle who was always taking photo’s and took time to explain how the camera worked, why he was taking a particular photo etc.. and thats what awaken my interest in photography at the age of 10/11!

So your influence don’t necessary have to be “famous/well know” names in photography!

Cheers Steve

[jaybee]

January 28, 2011 at 11:07 am

you could always say (provided that you can do it with a straight face) that you take your lead from top class classical musicians in a similar fashion to their reluctance/refusal to listen to other artists recording of particular pieces, in that you have deliberately shied away from following too closely the work of any particular photographers lest your own artistic vision be contaminated by becoming derivative of anothers work… You would prefer to find your own “voice” before really delving into art photography history… but obviously the work of some photographers is unavoidable and of those you admire *insert famous name here*

(adams, walker, steichen, atget, evans, miller, rodger, mccurry (only color photgrapher I like), jones griffiths, nachtwey, carlos-clarke, man ray, mccullin to name a few of my favorites) actually scratch that, I only really like one of steichen’s shots but he is HUGE historically!
could get you brownie/knob points depending on who your interviewer is, but it does avoid the embarrassment of just having googled someone and being asked what it is about their work that inspires you, and drawing a blank because you only saw their work for the first time yesterday!!

[jessthespringer]

January 28, 2011 at 11:13 am

Influence can come from lots of places…

Art
Film
Music
Fashion
Literature
Architecture
And ever more increasingly, Advertising

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box a little, every second person who goes in there will be no doubt rhyming off names like, Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson, if you can come up with someone differnet it’ll impress them and if places are tight it might help you to stick in their heads a little more.
Be prepared to be asked about what you like about the pictures, about the photographer, their style, how it makes you feel.

maybe take a trip into Easons or Waterstones and flick through some photo books, jot down a few names and come home and research them a bit more.

This might also be helpful http://art-support.com/photographers.htm#masters” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck!

Sinead

[Jonnyp16v]

January 28, 2011 at 5:16 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Mark wrote:

Jonny,

Before I put down the photographers I like, what sort of photography are you really into ?

cheers

I’m into car photography, It’s what made me realise that I want to be a photographer. It also made me realise that no matter what the weather, I could happilly spend all day trying to get the perfect picture I was after. I also like portrait photography, especially when it manages to give you a feel for who that person is. Street photography appeals to me, I like that there is lots going on in the picture, but your attention could be draw to to something simple like a child pointing something out to their mother or some random object that makes you wonder how the hell did that get there. Landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes, I like when the photographer is able to project a mood or a feeling through their composition and the colours they achieve either through filters or naturally. Documentary photography, I like the idea of trying to capture the essence of someone or something in a few photos.

yorizz wrote:

Have a look here: http://photography-now.net/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; see if you can find some photographers you like. Good luck with the course.

Thanks Yorizz. I will have a proper look through that link.

ossie13 wrote:

Hi Jonny

To be honest when I started out (many moons ago….. :? ) my influence was my uncle who was always taking photo’s and took time to explain how the camera worked, why he was taking a particular photo etc.. and thats what awaken my interest in photography at the age of 10/11!

So your influence don’t necessary have to be “famous/well know” names in photography!

Cheers Steve

Cheers Ossie, the only reason I was searching for famous or well known photographers was I wanted to be able to explain who and what I like, and that the interviewer would possibly know who I was talking about or the image in question. So that they could better understand the reasons why I like the artist or the image.

jaybee wrote:

you could always say (provided that you can do it with a straight face) that you take your lead from top class classical musicians in a similar fashion to their reluctance/refusal to listen to other artists recording of particular pieces, in that you have deliberately shied away from following too closely the work of any particular photographers lest your own artistic vision be contaminated by becoming derivative of anothers work… You would prefer to find your own “voice” before really delving into art photography history… but obviously the work of some photographers is unavoidable and of those you admire *insert famous name here*

(adams, walker, steichen, atget, evans, miller, rodger, mccurry (only color photgrapher I like), jones griffiths, nachtwey, carlos-clarke, man ray, mccullin to name a few of my favorites) actually scratch that, I only really like one of steichen’s shots but he is HUGE historically!
could get you brownie/knob points depending on who your interviewer is, but it does avoid the embarrassment of just having googled someone and being asked what it is about their work that inspires you, and drawing a blank because you only saw their work for the first time yesterday!!

Thanks for the names, I will have a look at them and see if I like any of their work. I don’t really want to score brownie points, I was hoping that if I find a awell know artist or image that I like, that maybe the interviewer will know of them and can better understand the veiws I have.

jessthespringer wrote:

Influence can come from lots of places…

Art
Film
Music
Fashion
Literature
Architecture
And ever more increasingly, Advertising

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box a little, every second person who goes in there will be no doubt rhyming off names like, Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson, if you can come up with someone differnet it’ll impress them and if places are tight it might help you to stick in their heads a little more.
Be prepared to be asked about what you like about the pictures, about the photographer, their style, how it makes you feel.

maybe take a trip into Easons or Waterstones and flick through some photo books, jot down a few names and come home and research them a bit more.

This might also be helpful http://art-support.com/photographers.htm#masters” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck!

Sinead

Thanks Sinead.
I never really thought how much Film and music even books I’ve read have influenced me, But now that you mention them I realise that they have. Thanks for the link too I will have a good look at it.

[miki g]

January 28, 2011 at 7:03 pm

As mentioned earlier, we can be influenced by someone that is not particularily famous. I like Ansel Adam’s landscapes, but I don’t tend to photograph landscapes. A guy that goes by the name “Lord V” on flickr (Brian Valentine) has probably made more of an impact on me with his macro work than Adams did with his landscapes, mainly because macro is what I enjoy doing. Find some car photographers that you enjoy & are impressed by. I’ve seen some great ones on this site. :D

[Jonnyp16v]

January 28, 2011 at 7:28 pm

I see what you mean about the photographer doesn’t have to be famous. Should I bring some clippings or cut outs of the stuff I find inspiring? or will being able to talk about them and their work be enough?

[miki g]

January 28, 2011 at 9:35 pm

Having a few samples of their work would be handy to show exactly what it is about their work that inspires you. It will also make it easier for you to talk about it.