Anne Sophiie Le Penru France usa critique d'art travaux
2019
Reviewer Portfolio Feedback
Hello, Anne Sophie, Thank you for taking the time in submitting your work with us. I see five very very interesting and quite cohesive images in this submission. It is obvious that you love photography in general, and not only Street photography. It is also apparent that you have spent much of your time to capture great scenes out there. The pursuit of the good photograph is a tiring process but is highly rewarding as well. Your photography is very good in both technically and artistically. Whereas you seem interested in particular about technique, your work does not stay entrapped at the technical level but it goes deeper into the subject to uncover its meaning. Your work is highly expressive and up to some point intuitive. I like the pictorial style of work; it is like a reference to the legacy of the old masters such as Eugene Atget. The picture that I found more powerful is image 2. The contrast between light and darkness looks like combat between forces, taking place around the lonesome human figure. I am interested though in picture 3. There is something attractive in this image, something raw and powerful. Your potential to capture great pictures is high, but there is always space for improvement. So, I have some comments to make that could help you to evolve your photography and to become more effective to your audience.
-Do not overdo with dynamic range. Picture 1 looks overcooked and this may distract the eye from the story. If you want to make the sky seem darker, do it, but not much. The sky is always brighter than the foreground of a scene, and the difference in light has to be clear in order to convince the eye that things are normal and not artificial.
-I like what you are doing in picture 3. The capture of movement in black and white has something alluring and mysterious. Keep on investigating this technique. I would be good for you to take a look at the work of two well-known photographers, Antoine d'Agata and Michael Ackerman. Google their names and see how they use the low shutter speed to capture the essentials of a subject.
-The technique is important but the real energy of a picture comes from the heart. Trust your intuition. Artistic expression sometimes is simply intuitive. At least in part. Technical parameters are important but do not let yourself to get lost into technical considerations.
To conclude, Anne Sophie, your skills and talent are strong, but what is more important to me is your imagination. The vivid imagination is the highest value a photographer may possess. And you have got it. Use it wisely to make meaningful pictures that cause aesthetic satisfaction to the viewer and present your vision in a crystal clear way. In a world flooded with photographs, it is important to make work that is valuable. My engagement with your work was an exciting and pleasant experience, and I will do my best to follow your work as it evolves. My job is to help you progress, so, I strongly encourage you, to go above and beyond any limits.
Check out some useful recommendations below, for more help and inspiration.
Take care.
*****
2017
Reviewer Portfolio Feedback
Hello Anne, thank you for submitting your photographs to the 2017 Magnum Awards in the singles category! It is my pleasure to review your submission. Although your photographs are reviewed and judged as individual images, my comments may draw comparisons between the images you have submitted. Below I have noted some strengths, questions, and areas for improvement I noticed across your submission:
Image #1: The framing in this photograph, and across your singles, is very strong. I do not find any elements at the edges that distract me or lead me out of the image. This is a strength in the work because it allows me to spend time engaged with your main subject matter. As you move forward with your photographic practice, strive to maintain this strong sense of framing; It helps to set your work apart. The emotion in this image strikes me as humorous and cute.
Image #2: The emotion in this image strikes me as creepy. As a child I played with barbies, and thought they were perfectly normal. As an adult they are strange objects to look at, and even stranger to look at up close. One question I always have for contemporary work done in black and white, is, “How does this aesthetic decision function conceptually?” Why make these images in black and white instead of color?
Image #3: Your use of a shallow depth of field is strong in that it allows me to focus on exactly the portion of your composition that you wish for me to see. I am unfamiliar with who this little character is; Is his identity important to the understanding of your images?
Image #4: This photograph is much more abstract than your other images. Within the context of the other pictures, it is a nice moment of rest and contemplation between the plastic figurines. Do you think of this image as belonging to the same series?
Image #5: Compositionally this image is strong, and I am interested in the way you are using a subject (the window) which is typically meant for looking into or out of, and then doubling that looking space by making a photograph of it. It is interesting that the image is called “the others,” yet there are no other people visible. It becomes instead about the other windows.
Are you familiar with the work of Laurie Simmons, who has also photographed dolls? http://www.lauriesimmons.net/
Additionally, I have linked some resources below, which I hope will help guide your photographic practice. Generally, I find your photographs compelling and hope you continue to photograph moments that speak to you visually. Thanks again for sharing your work with us Anne, and enjoy your future image-making explorations.
***** 2016
Reviewer Portfolio Feedback
Hello Anne and thank you for your submission to LenCulture.com.
In reviewing your work, I am intrigued by your images. They have such an innocence to them but also a little sadness. The toys take on a human lifelike but lack real emotion in their facial expression...or lack there of. It really is kind of ironic!
Typically I reorder images in a series based on what is strongest to weakest but for yours that did not make sense sequentially. I did however put two, images 9 and 10 at the end. I feel as though these two could be taken out of the series due to there overall tone and less dramatic appeal. For me, personally, they do not have the same flow or elegance/playfulness of the other images. I also have a question for you, what is the significance of the overall flat tonal quality to your black and white images? They lack of true black and whites and have an overall dull or limited contrast? Is this a way of saying this relationship is flat? Stale? It makes me wonder if this was a technical decision. I find your images intriguing and love the idea of playing with toys and using elements of childhood memories to achieve or provoke a connection. The lack of expressions on the toys is also a haunting element to the images. While the lighting is soft and romantic the toys themselves are a stark contrast to the lighting and environment. Have you thought about having actual children playing with the toys? Not providing any identity but seeing the hands and having an idea of size to give the viewer representation? Just a thought about adding to the imagery? What about going outside to miniaturize the size of the toys? This might help to mix things up a bit. Something you also might want to think of is varying your horizon line. In most of your images it is near the bottom of the frame. This becomes very repetitive to the viewer in the overall composition.
I hope I was able to provoke some new ideas and thoughts as you progress with your series. Best of luck in your photographic journeys!
Français
English
Thank you for taking the time in submitting your work with us. I see five very very interesting and quite cohesive images in this submission. It is obvious that you love photography in general, and not only Street photography. It is also apparent that you have spent much of your time to capture great scenes out there. The pursuit of the good photograph is a tiring process but is highly rewarding as well. Your photography is very good in both technically and artistically. Whereas you seem interested in particular about technique, your work does not stay entrapped at the technical level but it goes deeper into the subject to uncover its meaning. Your work is highly expressive and up to some point intuitive. I like the pictorial style of work; it is like a reference to the legacy of the old masters such as Eugene Atget. The picture that I found more powerful is image 2. The contrast between light and darkness looks like combat between forces, taking place around the lonesome human figure. I am interested though in picture 3. There is something attractive in this image, something raw and powerful. Your potential to capture great pictures is high, but there is always space for improvement. So, I have some comments to make that could help you to evolve your photography and to become more effective to your audience.
-Do not overdo with dynamic range. Picture 1 looks overcooked and this may distract the eye from the story. If you want to make the sky seem darker, do it, but not much. The sky is always brighter than the foreground of a scene, and the difference in light has to be clear in order to convince the eye that things are normal and not artificial.
-I like what you are doing in picture 3. The capture of movement in black and white has something alluring and mysterious. Keep on investigating this technique. I would be good for you to take a look at the work of two well-known photographers, Antoine d'Agata and Michael Ackerman. Google their names and see how they use the low shutter speed to capture the essentials of a subject.
-The technique is important but the real energy of a picture comes from the heart. Trust your intuition. Artistic expression sometimes is simply intuitive. At least in part. Technical parameters are important but do not let yourself to get lost into technical considerations.
To conclude, Anne Sophie, your skills and talent are strong, but what is more important to me is your imagination. The vivid imagination is the highest value a photographer may possess. And you have got it. Use it wisely to make meaningful pictures that cause aesthetic satisfaction to the viewer and present your vision in a crystal clear way. In a world flooded with photographs, it is important to make work that is valuable. My engagement with your work was an exciting and pleasant experience, and I will do my best to follow your work as it evolves. My job is to help you progress, so, I strongly encourage you, to go above and beyond any limits.
Check out some useful recommendations below, for more help and inspiration.
Take care.
*****
2017
Image #1: The framing in this photograph, and across your singles, is very strong. I do not find any elements at the edges that distract me or lead me out of the image. This is a strength in the work because it allows me to spend time engaged with your main subject matter. As you move forward with your photographic practice, strive to maintain this strong sense of framing; It helps to set your work apart. The emotion in this image strikes me as humorous and cute.
Image #2: The emotion in this image strikes me as creepy. As a child I played with barbies, and thought they were perfectly normal. As an adult they are strange objects to look at, and even stranger to look at up close. One question I always have for contemporary work done in black and white, is, “How does this aesthetic decision function conceptually?” Why make these images in black and white instead of color?
Image #3: Your use of a shallow depth of field is strong in that it allows me to focus on exactly the portion of your composition that you wish for me to see. I am unfamiliar with who this little character is; Is his identity important to the understanding of your images?
Image #4: This photograph is much more abstract than your other images. Within the context of the other pictures, it is a nice moment of rest and contemplation between the plastic figurines. Do you think of this image as belonging to the same series?
Image #5: Compositionally this image is strong, and I am interested in the way you are using a subject (the window) which is typically meant for looking into or out of, and then doubling that looking space by making a photograph of it. It is interesting that the image is called “the others,” yet there are no other people visible. It becomes instead about the other windows.
Are you familiar with the work of Laurie Simmons, who has also photographed dolls? http://www.lauriesimmons.net/
Additionally, I have linked some resources below, which I hope will help guide your photographic practice. Generally, I find your photographs compelling and hope you continue to photograph moments that speak to you visually. Thanks again for sharing your work with us Anne, and enjoy your future image-making explorations.
*****
2016
In reviewing your work, I am intrigued by your images. They have such an innocence to them but also a little sadness. The toys take on a human lifelike but lack real emotion in their facial expression...or lack there of. It really is kind of ironic!
Typically I reorder images in a series based on what is strongest to weakest but for yours that did not make sense sequentially. I did however put two, images 9 and 10 at the end. I feel as though these two could be taken out of the series due to there overall tone and less dramatic appeal. For me, personally, they do not have the same flow or elegance/playfulness of the other images. I also have a question for you, what is the significance of the overall flat tonal quality to your black and white images? They lack of true black and whites and have an overall dull or limited contrast? Is this a way of saying this relationship is flat? Stale? It makes me wonder if this was a technical decision. I find your images intriguing and love the idea of playing with toys and using elements of childhood memories to achieve or provoke a connection. The lack of expressions on the toys is also a haunting element to the images. While the lighting is soft and romantic the toys themselves are a stark contrast to the lighting and environment. Have you thought about having actual children playing with the toys? Not providing any identity but seeing the hands and having an idea of size to give the viewer representation? Just a thought about adding to the imagery? What about going outside to miniaturize the size of the toys? This might help to mix things up a bit. Something you also might want to think of is varying your horizon line. In most of your images it is near the bottom of the frame. This becomes very repetitive to the viewer in the overall composition.
I hope I was able to provoke some new ideas and thoughts as you progress with your series. Best of luck in your photographic journeys!