This photo was taken by Dawoud Bay in 1976 (printed in 2005). The first thing I noticed about this picture was that the Bay had chosen to shoot in black and white. Colour photography had been around for quite a while but Bay still made the concious decision to shoot in black and white. While looking specifically into Clay's Barbers, I noticed that the colours in the building were very bland and flat. This would not have made for an interesting colour photograph and I am wondering if this is the reason for Bay choosing to shoot in black and white. The image shows the environment the barber works in since it is not a tightly shot as my images. Although this photograph was taken 38 years before mine, there are a large number of similarities in what Bay and I have chosen to include in our pictures for example showing a large number of specialist barber equipment.
Jimmy Jeong is a photojounalist from Vancouver, Canada. He aims to tell honest stories through his photographs in his editorial, commercial and portrait work.
This image was take on 14th July 2008 at the Kings Barbers Salon in Vancouver. Much like my photographs of Clay's, Jeong has shot the barber whilst he is working on the client instead of staging a portrait; this is to sow the 'person at work'. There are several similarities in mine and Jeong's photos including them both being in black and white. The contrast in this image is very aesthetic which is likely to be why Jeong chose black and white over colour. I love the composition in the photo. The barber is right in the middle of the shot with his client to the left and then a unique angle of another barber at work in the background which is visible in the mirror on he right of the image. Since Jeong as used a low apature, the viewer can see detail in the entire image meaning both barbers can clearly be seen and the environment they are working in can also be gauged.
Rita Firmino de Sa is a freelance photographer, artist and writer based in London.
This image is the most like mine out of these three. It is shot far tighter to the subjects and really concentrates the viewers focus on the detailed work being done using a shallow depth of field. Also, Rita has used te barbers hands/arms to put a frame within a frame which adds another interesting element to the photo. Below is my photograph that is similar to this one. We also both shot in black and white again. As I found, most photographers feel that shooting in black and white in barber shops produces a far more desirable final image since the detail in the hair and contrast are improved. Also, the colours are often dull in these shops potentially making for a flat and uninteresting colour image.
This image was shot by Roberta Cucchiaro in Xinjiang, China of a street barber in summer 2006.
One of the reasons I liked this image was that it feels that the man and woman in the shot do not know the image is being taken or that the photographer is even there. The fact that the shot has also clearly been taken very close to the man and woman makes this aspect even better. I feel that the sense of invisibility in any photograph gives it a far more natural and therefore informative and accurate photograph.
This image is fairly similar to mine that I have shown above in that the subject is not looking at the camera. Since Cucchiaro's image is shot on the streets of China and mine was in a barbers shop I feel that Cucchiaro's feels far more natural and makes for a better image in this respect.
This image is fairly similar to mine that I have shown above in that the subject is not looking at the camera. Since Cucchiaro's image is shot on the streets of China and mine was in a barbers shop I feel that Cucchiaro's feels far more natural and makes for a better image in this respect.
