1. This is a photo of the famous boy band The Beatles taken by the American historical photographer
Ethan Russell. From what I researched this was on the last photo-shoots that the Beatles
participated in and in my opinion this is very clear from the position the Beatles are in.
When I first looked at the picture I got a very sad feeling from it due to the fact the Beatles facial
expressions are very serious and none of them are looking at the camera, instead their all looking in
the left hand corner of the photograph. This backs up my opinion that the Beatles are sad in this
picture almost like this is the end of the road for them.
The background of this picture shows a lot of trees which could suggest that the photographer
wanted to send the message that the Beatles are free people, and that they have the world in their
hands. It could suggest that they were that big of a boy band they conquered the world. The trees
could signify that as a boy band they have grown. The tallness of the trees could represent how far
they have come and like I said how much they’ve grown.
In the foreground we can see the Beatles looking the left had corner of the photograph and wearing
all black. George Harrison (first right) can’t be seen very well as he’s blended into the trees. The
photographer could of done this to show George’s personality that he’s quite shy but also he’s not
as famous as John Lennon, Ringo Star or Paul McCartney. It could also suggest that he doesn’t like
being in the spot light as much as the rest of them which is why he’s hidden compared to the rest.
The way the band members are stood is called the composition of the photograph due to the fact
the artist has positioned them in this way for a certain reason which I have already discussed.

2. In the picture we can see that the lightest parts are the trees which are more visible then the Beatles
themselves. This is called highlights due to trees being really light. However the trees surrounding
the Beatles appear to be quite dark which the trees in the background appear very visible and light.
This could represent that the Beatles are at the end of their career as a band, that he’s become
harder through the years. The lightness of the trees at the back could represent how fame was all
fun and games at the beginning but in the end it’s took its toll on the Beatles. This could be the artist
ways of showing this. Also Paul McCartney and Ringo Star are more visible then John Lennon and
George Harrison which could be his way that being famous has affected John and George more than
the other too. This could be why the lighting has been used in that way. The lighting in the picture is
lit by a natural resource which is the sun; however the sun must be shaded by the trees, which is
how the photographer has shown this amazing contrast from the background to the foreground.
The clothes the Beatles are wearing are mainly black suits which don’t really make them stand out.
This could be the photographers way of saying they don’t need to stand out because they are the
Beatles everybody knows who they are, they don’t need anything to make them stand out.
What I found very interesting about the photographer which the photographer didn’t know at the
time is that John and George both died due to one being shot and the other died of lung cancer. Paul
and Ringo are both still alive today which I find very interesting. The picture would have been taken
with a old film based camera which means that Ethan Russell would have been very reliant on the
camera settings as editing software was very limited back then.