Friday, 23 November 2012

National Portrait Gallery - Queen Elizabeth

I was watching the news the other day and it showed a range of Andy Warhol images that he had created of the queen. It was part of a gallery she is putting on (or something) and it showed a few other image of the queen and i immediately thought that this would be good to put in research for my project. 

Queen Elizabeth II, by Marcus Adams, June 1927 - NPG  - © estate of Marcus Adams / Camera Press
Marcus Adams
I really like this. Thought id choose a range of ages and show how they have changed, or show how certain aspects have stayed the same. There is light hitting the back of her head creating a glow from her hair. Gives a kind of innocence and purity to the feel of the image. Also looks like a real shallow depth of Field because only really her eyes and face features look in focus.

Queen Elizabeth II, by Yousuf Karsh, 1951 - NPG  - © Karsh / Camera Press
 Yousuf Karsh
Really like the lighting on the front of the Queen in this image, you really get a lot of tone and shades due to the light hitting the silk on the dress. It also makes the necklace and the crown really shine. Again there seems to be a spot light hitting the backdrop making her appear with a glow. Also there looks to be light reflecting or maybe pointing onto the back of the Queens head what gives that kind of old Hollywood feel when highlighting the back of the hair.

Queen Elizabeth II, by Dorothy Wilding, 1943 - NPG  - © William Hustler and Georgina Hustler / National Portrait Gallery, London
Dorothy Wilding
This one i have chosen because there isn't so much fuss with lighting on the back drop as there is in the other images. There doesn't appear to be any soft lighting to highlight the back of her hair etc. However i think that there may be 2 lights or a reflector to capture the bright light all over her face. There isn't really any dark shadows. The face looks really soft.

Queen Elizabeth II, by John Swannell, November 2001 - NPG  - © John Swannell / Camera Press
John Swannell
This image looks as though the back ground has been lit separately and that the Queen is stood quite far away from the backing as she appears to be really bright and stand out in comparison to the background. Also looks like there is a spot light aimed at the back (maybe just behind the Queen) to create this glow around her. Also gives a kind of importance to it.

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