Photographic analysis:
In this section i am going to analyse two family photos of mine, as well as making a direct comparison between the two. i am doing this to see how photography over time has changed, how the photo was taken and how the photographs reflect society during the time period. As well as discussing how each photo was taken in the process.
This photo was taken in august 1916 and was sent to my great-great grandfather (not pictured) who was, at the time serving in the british army during WW1. He was later killed in action. The photo is a family portrait of his three children sent to him by his wife. The children: Topsy (left),aged 9. Basil (middle) aged 5. and peggy (Right) aged 3. Topsy is my great grandmother, basil is my great uncle and peggy was my great aunt. unfortunately peggy passed away from a childhood disease.
The image clearly demonstrates fashion at the time. The children are dressed in traditional garments of the period, the girls wearing long dresses and the boy is wearing pantaloons. The photograph also reflects society at the time as the girls are showing minimal skin. during the early 1900's it wasn't socially accepted for girls to wear clothing that revealed their bodies especially children. the photograph was taken by a photographer and developed into a sepia image. the children were made to stand in height/age order and were placed in front of a garden with flowers and bushes behind them. the photographer intentionally did this, showing the flowers behind them, this is a common style of portrait photography of this era. the children don't seem to look very happy, possibly because they didn't like having photos taken or possibly because the process of taking the photo was long and they became tired/frustrated with all the waiting. The actual location of this image is unknown however i am certain that it was taken in England as that is where they lived at the time.
The image clearly demonstrates fashion at the time. The children are dressed in traditional garments of the period, the girls wearing long dresses and the boy is wearing pantaloons. The photograph also reflects society at the time as the girls are showing minimal skin. during the early 1900's it wasn't socially accepted for girls to wear clothing that revealed their bodies especially children. the photograph was taken by a photographer and developed into a sepia image. the children were made to stand in height/age order and were placed in front of a garden with flowers and bushes behind them. the photographer intentionally did this, showing the flowers behind them, this is a common style of portrait photography of this era. the children don't seem to look very happy, possibly because they didn't like having photos taken or possibly because the process of taking the photo was long and they became tired/frustrated with all the waiting. The actual location of this image is unknown however i am certain that it was taken in England as that is where they lived at the time.
This photo was taken in 2004. the photo shows my two brothers and I. My older brother Jack(age10) is pictured on the left hand side, me (age7) in the middle and my younger brother Tom(age5) on the right hand side. The image was taken outside my old house which was in Marylebone,london. The image was taken as it was my younger brother, tom's first day of primary school and it was the first time my brothers and i had all been to the same school at once, in the same uniform, so my mother took the photo. the photo was taken using a digital camera and it was later turned into a framed image. The red blazers, red ties and red hats which we are all wearing as well as the suit shorts,socks and black leather shoes, are the school uniforms for my old school which was called Saint Georges. The outfits we are wearing do reflect society at the time in a sense that the school was very formal as it was strong church of England as well as being based in a very affluent area of London. The subjects of the image all have the same positioning in front of the camera and are placed directly in front of the camera for the photo.
Comparison: The two photos are from two completely different time periods, they share similarities as well as having differences and these all reflect society at each period. it is clear that technology has rapidly advanced over the time these two photos were taken.
Similarities: Both images have the children in the photo positioned in the same way. From left to right, the oldest of the siblings placed on the left hand side and going down in height and age order. This shows that some styles of portrait photography have not changed over time. the positioning of the subject in both photographs is also the same, as well as the angle the shots were taken at. the photos were taken with the subjects directly in front of the camera.
In both photos traditional garments are being worn. in the first image
Differences: The facial expressions of the subjects within each photo are very different, the older photo shows the children with straight faces, in comparison to the newer image in which all the children seem relatively happy. this could be related to the contextual side of each photo. The quality of life as a child in the early 1900's such as the first photo, was probably a lot worse than the life of a child in the early 2000's. this is due to a number of reasons such as laws against child abuse being implemented since the first image was taken and other things such as child labour not being allowed. or it was simply because there father was fighting in world war one and they had no idea whether he would return (which he didn't). However me and my brothers, pictured in the second image, are clearly happy judging by our facial expressions. there were no problems with our childhoods at all and so we had
no reason to look unhappy in that image.
Similarities: Both images have the children in the photo positioned in the same way. From left to right, the oldest of the siblings placed on the left hand side and going down in height and age order. This shows that some styles of portrait photography have not changed over time. the positioning of the subject in both photographs is also the same, as well as the angle the shots were taken at. the photos were taken with the subjects directly in front of the camera.
In both photos traditional garments are being worn. in the first image
Differences: The facial expressions of the subjects within each photo are very different, the older photo shows the children with straight faces, in comparison to the newer image in which all the children seem relatively happy. this could be related to the contextual side of each photo. The quality of life as a child in the early 1900's such as the first photo, was probably a lot worse than the life of a child in the early 2000's. this is due to a number of reasons such as laws against child abuse being implemented since the first image was taken and other things such as child labour not being allowed. or it was simply because there father was fighting in world war one and they had no idea whether he would return (which he didn't). However me and my brothers, pictured in the second image, are clearly happy judging by our facial expressions. there were no problems with our childhoods at all and so we had
no reason to look unhappy in that image.