1. Researched Photographers – Lou Blanc
About this photographer
Lou Blanc is French photographer that has looked at architecture and urban landscape
photography, and portraits and work on body image. He has been an on/off photographer
since the 1980s but in 2010 rediscovered his passion for photography when he purchased
his first SRL camera and introduced himself to the modern world of photography.
Why have I picked this photographer?
It was Blanc’s body image work that caught my attention and got me thinking about how I
could apply what I was seeing in his work, in my own project. He work generates a lot of
emotion of all kinds and he executes in such contemporary way. It is evident from his work
that he directs his models in such away that allows him to get the emotion and feeling he
wants to achieve in his images every time, and this has lead to a lot of his work looking
haunting and really capturing the attention of the viewer – something I always strive for in
my own work.
This first photo that I looked at was a collection of his
work entitled ‘cORpus’. I love the way he has looked at
using different camera angles and different ways of
positioning the body to make it look distorted and out of
proportion. I think that this photos concept links in with
my own project and possible holds a message about how
all bodies are different. I like the fact the photo has been
taken in black and white as I think this makes it stronger
and holds more emotion. I love the fine detailing that is
visible on the skin such as the wrinkles and lines, as well
as the over all shapes. The fact the head is ‘missing’ from
the shot suggests that this photo is highlighting that we’re
all the same on the outside. The positioning of the foot
has created the focal point as the eye is drawn to where
the idea would usually be –I think this a very clever
technique that Blanc has used.
This photo is another one taken from the same collection as the first. This one stood out to
me as it has such a haunting and creepy feel about it. The focal
point is where the one eye is visible – the viewer is instantly
drawn in to this. Even though you can only see the one eye and
the rest of the face is hidden, there is so much emotion in it you
can really feel the expression that you would otherwise see on
the models face. The pose of the model adds the idea of
craziness or ill mental health. The arms are twisted around the
face in what looks like an uncomfortable fashion and this adds
another element of the haunting emotion that is present in the
shot. The subject here looks very ‘normal’ and raw, they do not
look like a high fashion model, and this I think has added a
different quality to the photo that you do not get with more
‘professional looking’ models. I like the shapes that are defined
against the background and how the lighting has highlighted
parts of the skin to show the texture it has.

2. This third photo is from another collection of work that Blanc
did. I think this photo connotes feelings of fear, anger, and
terror. The photo is scary to look at, and even with the
blurry effect over the photo, you can clearly see the horrible
expression on the face. I love this photo because it holds so
much emotion in the expression on the models face. This
photo is again in black and white and this generates more of
haunting feel again. The editing that has gone into the
photo to create this effect has made the photo striking and
definitely catches the eyes attention. I like the way the
subject blends away into the background –it has kind of
created the idea that the subject is trying to break away
from this or tear himself from it. The model is not making
direct eye contact with the camera but the way the eyes
have been made to look white makes them stand out from the darker parts of the photo (I
personally however think that the mouth is more the focal point as there is so much going
on here).
This final photo that I looked at is similar to the
third photo, but it is from a different series of
work. I think that the effect used to create this
photo and make the body look distorted like
this is slow sync. The photo has a scary feel
about it that pulls the viewer in. This is one of
the only collections where Blanc kept colour in
his work as opposed to making the photo black
and white. This has worked well in this photo
as all the colours are similar and blur in
together, but there are also hues of colour
(such as red and black) on the face, which
highlight these parts and bring more attention
to them. The subject here looks more like a
creature with a crazy expression and pose. I
like the use of the sterile background as there is
so much going on with the subject and the
effect that has been used, it has helped to
created shape in the photo and eliminate
distractions.
Influence
I have really been influenced by Lou Blanc’s work. I love the way he sees the human form in
such a different way to its natural state, distorting the body and creating something very
visually dynamic and interesting to look at. I liked the first two photos in particular where
the body wasn’t actually distorted in any way, it was just made to look out of proportion and
‘weird’. I think Blanc’s work is striking to look at and he really knows how to capture
emotion in a shot. His work has made me think about how I can start to look at the body in
a different way when working on my project to represent human figure in a different form
to what’s thought ‘normal’. Camera angle and pose are key things to look at here when
trying to achieve such a thing. The other photos that saw more effects applied with both the

3. camera and after edited effects got me thinking about how I could include techniques I have
learned more in my shoots to broaden my body of work and how expand my style.
Summary
Overall, I feel looking at Blanc’s work has made me think about my own project and how I
can expand upon things I have already learnt in photography or started to touch on. It has
also made me think about how I see things when shoot them, and how the slightest change
in pose or expression can have more than just a slight effect on the over all feel and look of
the image. Blanc does a lot of work in black and white, and though I do sometimes execute
my work in black and white, it has made me want to get more emotion out of the shot and
create more raw and natural looking images.