Name: Yousuf Karsh
Dates of Life: 1908-2002
Personal Background: Yousuf Karsh was born to Armenian parents in the Ottoman Empire. He grew up amidst the Armenian Genocide, where many of his family members were murdered. His family sent him to Canada as a refugee to live with his uncle. His uncle was a portrait photographer and taught him all about photography. Karsh was increasingly becoming more well known, one of his most prominent photos was of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time. He was an incredible photographer and he always caught his subject’s true personalities. Over the course of his life he received many awards, held 15,312 sittings, and took pictures of many notable people, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Walt Disney, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr. Karsh retired in 1993 and passed away in 2002 due to surgery complications. He was buried at the Notre Dame cemetery. His legacy lives on in his photos and he is recognized by many as the best portrait photographer in Canada.
Style: Karsh took lots of time to photograph his subjects. He was a portrait photographer. He wanted to make them comfortable in order to catch their personalities. His portraits are all in black and white. They are very moving and memorable. You can tell a lot about his subjects by the way he photographed them. Since every person was different, I wouldn’t tie him down to one style. He adjusted to each individual.
Philosophy: He believed in time and always had patience. He always took time to portray his subject’s personality. With just one photo he conveyed message of one thousand words. I think Karsh was trying to say a lot of things with his pieces. Each one said something different. He photographed a multitude of famous people and celebrities. I think he tried to show all of their personalities so he could humanize them, which is really cool.
How has he influenced me: He has shown me the effect of truly taking your time and being mindful. From now on I am going to be more patient and really be present when taking photos. Also I like portraits a lot more. I used to think that they were boring but his are so interesting. He has inspired me to make my portraits more interesting.
Compare & Contrast: Our photos are very different and alike in many ways. First, our subjects are the same gender in the photos however they look quite different and are different ages. In the photo of Jackie Kennedy with the flowers, it differs from mine because there are different flowers and a slight change in position. They are alike due to the placement of the subject with a blank wall on a corner. In the picture with both John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, mine looks different due to a slight change in position of the subjects. They are alike because my subject and Karsh’s are wearing the same thing and the photos have a very like background. Lastly, my photo of my dad and Karsh’s photo of John F. Kennedy are different because JFK’s head is tilted upwards in a hopeful manner. There are alike due to background, outfit, and general position.
Personal Artist Statement: The subjects in my photos are my mom and dad, Meg and John Fitzpatrick. I took these photos using the wall in my bedroom because it is the darkest wall in my house. It is funny that my mom and dad were posing as the Kennedy’s because when they were a young couple many people said that they reminded them of Jackie and John F. Kennedy. The flowers I used are from the peony bushes outside my house. It was really fun taking pictures of my parents and I learned a lot about photography by trying to replicate some of Karsh’s photos.
Sources:
3. https://npg.si.edu/blog/tales-historic-career-yousuf-karsh
Dates of Life: 1908-2002
Personal Background: Yousuf Karsh was born to Armenian parents in the Ottoman Empire. He grew up amidst the Armenian Genocide, where many of his family members were murdered. His family sent him to Canada as a refugee to live with his uncle. His uncle was a portrait photographer and taught him all about photography. Karsh was increasingly becoming more well known, one of his most prominent photos was of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time. He was an incredible photographer and he always caught his subject’s true personalities. Over the course of his life he received many awards, held 15,312 sittings, and took pictures of many notable people, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Walt Disney, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr. Karsh retired in 1993 and passed away in 2002 due to surgery complications. He was buried at the Notre Dame cemetery. His legacy lives on in his photos and he is recognized by many as the best portrait photographer in Canada.
Style: Karsh took lots of time to photograph his subjects. He was a portrait photographer. He wanted to make them comfortable in order to catch their personalities. His portraits are all in black and white. They are very moving and memorable. You can tell a lot about his subjects by the way he photographed them. Since every person was different, I wouldn’t tie him down to one style. He adjusted to each individual.
Philosophy: He believed in time and always had patience. He always took time to portray his subject’s personality. With just one photo he conveyed message of one thousand words. I think Karsh was trying to say a lot of things with his pieces. Each one said something different. He photographed a multitude of famous people and celebrities. I think he tried to show all of their personalities so he could humanize them, which is really cool.
How has he influenced me: He has shown me the effect of truly taking your time and being mindful. From now on I am going to be more patient and really be present when taking photos. Also I like portraits a lot more. I used to think that they were boring but his are so interesting. He has inspired me to make my portraits more interesting.
Compare & Contrast: Our photos are very different and alike in many ways. First, our subjects are the same gender in the photos however they look quite different and are different ages. In the photo of Jackie Kennedy with the flowers, it differs from mine because there are different flowers and a slight change in position. They are alike due to the placement of the subject with a blank wall on a corner. In the picture with both John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, mine looks different due to a slight change in position of the subjects. They are alike because my subject and Karsh’s are wearing the same thing and the photos have a very like background. Lastly, my photo of my dad and Karsh’s photo of John F. Kennedy are different because JFK’s head is tilted upwards in a hopeful manner. There are alike due to background, outfit, and general position.
Personal Artist Statement: The subjects in my photos are my mom and dad, Meg and John Fitzpatrick. I took these photos using the wall in my bedroom because it is the darkest wall in my house. It is funny that my mom and dad were posing as the Kennedy’s because when they were a young couple many people said that they reminded them of Jackie and John F. Kennedy. The flowers I used are from the peony bushes outside my house. It was really fun taking pictures of my parents and I learned a lot about photography by trying to replicate some of Karsh’s photos.
Sources:
3. https://npg.si.edu/blog/tales-historic-career-yousuf-karsh