Shape - Bill Brandt Research

Shape - Bill Brandt Research

Bill Brandt is a photographer who looks at shape and focuses on the female form. In some of his images, he presents the use of negative space in order to make his images look more effective.

In this image, Bill Brandt uses negative space to focus the viewer to the main subject of the image which is the woman's face and arm. By using the negative space, he also makes the image look effective as it gives a strange perspective to the face as you are only able to see half of it. It also frames and defines the subject of the image and makes it stand out more.

Bill Brandt also photographs the irregular shapes which are present in the human form. Brandt mainly focuses on the human form and his work can be either viewed as art or the sexual objectification of women. 

Some react to the above image as being sexual objectification of women whereas others believe it is art. By photographing this type of image, the photographer will manipulate emotions and views in different audiences and therefore I believe that the above image could be considered as being both of these due to the fact that different people will react and respond to the image differently. Some people may find the image very inappropriate and may find it offensive, however, other people may be more open-minded and may be fascinated by the shapes and shadows in the image. However, in the case of this image, I believe that it could be regarded as slightly sexualised due to the fact that the photograph only includes the woman's legs and doesn't show her face. This could suggest that the photographer is trying to remove the woman's identity in order to sexualise her. However, as a photography student, I think that the intention of this photograph was to be regarded as a form of art.