Yousuf Karsh Essay

639 Words3 Pages
Yousuf Karsh: His work Karsh's goal was to develop a great deal of skill and understanding towards his subjects in order to record their greatness in their portraits. Karsh’s photography through the 40’s and 50's illustrated his growing interest in portrait photography. Karsh was known for photographing famous people, both men and woman of accomplishment. He photographed people from the 1940s to 1990s, including movie stars, scientists, artists, and statesman. Mastering the light was what Karsh based his photographs on, and of course the subject of the photo. Karsh spent many hours visiting with and talking to his portrait subjects before engaging the camera. As Karsh says to the Paris Voice in an interview in 1998 “Yes, it's light, but it's also understanding your subject. To make a significant photo of someone, you have to know a great deal about them - their accomplishments, station in life or contribution to their fellow man. All this information and observation plays an important part so that the photographer can make a sensitive image. I always read a great deal about the person I'm going to photograph. I imbue myself with their contribution to the world” (Bishop, Karsh, “Paris Voice”). Everyone was impressed with his amazing choice in lighting. “Karsh would set up one or two lamps behind the subject to build up rim lighting, though in his case he brought the lamps further round to the sides than most people did”, (said by a history photo observer; Yousuf Karsh, Photo.net). He fell in love with the use of artificial light. One of his favorite techniques was to light the subject’s hands separately, he felt this gave a more compelling look to the portrait and it did. The light doesn’t just drift away, every detail is there. The subjects look as if they were sculpted. His photographs were frequently compared to old master painters. From looking at his photos, I

More about Yousuf Karsh Essay

Open Document