Artist Research - Catherine Balet - Portraiture

Catherine Balet

Catherine Balet has a collection of work called 'Strangers in the Light' which resembles the idea that i have for my final outcomes. These photos use artificial light sources like phones and computers as the primary light source of the photo. The people in these portraits usually look very tired or bored, especially while doing very mundane things - though photographs featuring more interesting / special events often have people displaying emotion, they are still while looking at the world through their phones / computers.

In this photographs, the lighting is primarily low key other than the laptop / mac screens, which are the primary light sources. Both people look tired and bored, and are doing very mundane activities. In the scene on the right, there is light creeping around a slightly open door, hinting at an outside world that she is neglecting for her computer. on the left, the man seems to be trying to play chess by himself, giving the impression that he's lonely or has just suffered a loss, and technology is what he's turned to. The darkness surrounding them makes the photograph seem isolated, which is how people are usually perceived when they often use computers and phones.

The colours are also fairly muted which gives the photographs a more depressing and subtle feel. The LED gives off a very cold looking light, as it is very slightly blue, which fits with the theme of isolation, which is prominent in this photograph.

In this photograph we see a group of people photographing a very young baby. It seems to be a play on the fact that all of a babies first moments are usually recorded or photographed by somebody, and that they tend to attract a lot of attention from other people. The photo is very exaggerated though it is very similar to real events. The fact that the baby is the most lit person in the shot shows that this is is the other peoples focal point, and is the photographer saying that it should be our focal point as well.

The theme of isolation is also abundant in this photograph, despite there being a group of people, due to how dark it is around them. The photograph also shows how soon people are introduced to technology, as a baby is already being surrounded be technology, and it being used as a part of everyday life.