Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus, an American photographer and writer focused particularly on people who had distinctive features and stood out within society, such as transgenders, dwarfs or nudist. Her work particularly interested me when looking at her, especially by the way she would locate the images.
Diane believed that the camera should be, “a little bit cold, a little bit harsh”, meaning that the camera never lies and the reality of each person she photographs can be revealed.  After not enjoying the commercial work in fashion Arbus began to do assignments and use softer lighting that created emotion, however this ‘photography of freaks’ has been heavily critised by many.

(This image is of a transgender, but in a setting is comfortable for the model which makes the photo more relaxed.)

Below are a few images from Arbus’s collection called ‘People and Other Singularities’, the photographs within this collection try to point out to the audience how to deal with the strangeness of humans by looking at the outsider’s of the ‘normal’ we think we live and looking at the American Dream. This idea tries to capture emotion that is strong enough for the viewer to feel and understand, something I hope to create in my own images; however the emotion that I would like to get across to the audience is upbeat as they will be fond memories. The aspect that appeals from Arbus’s photographs is the fact they are all black and white, this makes the viewer focus more on object within the picture and the emotion that they are portraying, as well as giving it the illusion that is an older image.  

A few pointers that for the images I would like to take that come from the work of Arbus:

-          Go places you have never been before, don’t be afraid to do anything.

-        -  A camera allows is licence to enter other people’s lives, capturing experiences you wouldn’t get in a studio.

-      -    Never really understand the world from your subject’s eyes but you can sure try and capture it and look at the image over and over and in different ways to get a concept.

-          Adore your subject; love what you are doing to get the best out of the photo.

-          Use texture to add meaning and get the right setting for the

-          Take bad photos, they make the better ones stand 

-         Best photos are not always clear at first, go back,edit and retouch if you need to.

-        -  Don’t arrange models in the image, let them be natural, arrange yourself as the photographer.

-          Lastly, the subject is more important than the picture.

Above are two images, Grenade Kid (left) is a shocking and striking image but not all photographs have to be taken in a way of beauty. This photo is one that stands out. On the right, Jewish Giant at Home with His Parents in the Bronx (1970), Arbus enjoyed going into the lives of her model and connecting with them emotional.)


From the work of Abrus, I hope to take away the how she uses the camera and make her images work, even if they weren't how she planned. As well as this I would like to make the images have the object/person within the picture stand out and be the main focus, I am going to have to contiue research and start doing test shoots to see if this works for me.