Emulation Research Paper

    Henri Cartier Bresson, a globally famous photographer during the mid 1900s, was profoundly known for his unique and authentic street photographs. Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of photographers choose to emulate Bresson’s work as it is one of the most common and influential styles known in street photography. With that being said, Bresson successfully demonstrates a scenic and cinematic look to his photography, following a black and white theme paired with a slight grain and texture in the image. In some photos, his clarity is softer than others. This style causes a soothing approach to the photo which calms the viewers eyes and allows them to be completely fulfilled in the moment. Now in other photos, Bresson follows a simplistic theme which sometimes has just 1 subject in the frame, while still having a plain and open background. Some of those backgrounds include cinder block walls, wooden doors, and construction cloth held up by poles. In terms of camera settings, it appears that Bresson keeps a wider aperture in most photographs, typically keeping the subject and most of its surroundings in focus. His shutter speed is a bit higher, keeping his photos sharp and precise. The ISO in his photo seems to be on the lower side, considering most of his photos are shot during the day. However, it seems like he is using a 4x5 camera or a film camera, so there may be a fixed ISO level. For my final project, I would like to emulate Henri Cartier Bresson due to his inspirational and cinematic photographs. I have only done a few street photographs during my photography career, but I find that taking inspiration from Henri will allow me to put myself out there and explore a side of photography that I have rarely spent time in. This style is very different to what I am used to, but I am more than interested to try it and explore what it is like. 

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Scharf, Aaron. “Henri Cartier-Bresson | French Photographer.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Cartier-Bresson.