Photographer Research - Seymour Templar

Seymour Templar is an American photographer, great at capturing people in society in weird clothing and on their phones. By doing this, he tries to address social issues that can be found in the community, such as homeless and the lack of socialising between individuals in one society. He sends out messages through the use of symbolism in his photographs and allows the viewer to connect with his subjects rather than just observing the picture and moving on. Although most of his work portrays his subjects in a distant way, for example, they are covered or on their phones or far away from the camera, this forces the viewer to build up a connection with a subject as they try work out the personalities and the issues being depicted. Most of his images also have a lack of colour; this gives out the impression that the subject is being deprived of something it is up to the viewer to guess what it is. Once again, his engages the viewer with the picture and forces them to try and figure out the subject. This makes his pictures exciting and always contains a message of some sort.

In this picture, Templar has used props on his subject in a creative way in order to show homelessness. His work here is odd as the only bit in this image that depicts the idea of the subject being a homeless man is his clothing, however he does look clean and hygienic, which are not expected features with those who are homeless. The black and white element in this picture strips it of colour both physically and mentally; the viewer can see that the man in the picture is leading a dull life and it's slowly depriving him of his life, he is not able to live it how it should be lived. Emotion is also removed from this photograph through the use of props - the homeless man made a hat to protect his face from the cold using socks and other materials, this portrays his lack of money and communicates to the viewer that he is sleeping out on the streets. Although he is trying to keep himself warm, it is evident that his clothes are not enough to keep him warm but he cannot do anything about this. In photographs like these, viewers often believe the photographer is trying to create an emotional bond between them and the subject, getting them to emphasis, however, this is not the case for Templar as it is seen that he tries to distant the viewer from the picture so that they do not concentrate in their emotions but rather on the content and context of the image.

Templar is very well know for his work on capturing people on their phones, when he uses low lighting. This is done in a realistic way, as he tries to shoot his subjects in a natural environment, doing what they do on a daily basis instead of getting them to act the scene. By doing this, the viewer can see how genuinely interested the subject is with their phone and makes them wonder what they could possibly be looking at in situations that are present in the scene. For example, in this picture, it is clear that this man has stopped on a street just to look at something on his tablet, which is not usual. His headphones suggest that he could be watching something or listening to music; Seymour Templar has chosen to capture his subject with headphones in order to show hoe advanced technology is and how normal it is to people now. The fact that the subject is leaning against the wall implies that he's been there for a while and he is not planning on leaving anytime soon. This is a very dangerous scene as he can easily be attacked by thieves but he is not concerned by this - Templar portrays this using an angle where the viewer can see that he is not standing near the street light but in a dark corner instead. This photograph is trying to depict the addiction of technology and how this can lead to dangerous situations without it being realised.

Another picture of a subject on their phone is being shown here. This lady is standing in a dark street with minimal light checking her phone - the only light in the picture is coming from her phone and from street lights ahead of her. This is bizarre as she is choosing to stand in a dark space rather that a lit up space just a few feet ahead; this emphasises on how fascinating she must be finding her phone. Templar uses lighting in a smart way in this picture, only using really soft lighting directly above the lady so that the camera can pick her up but the lighting he uses is very dim as shadows are created and she seems to fade into the area where she is standing. The umbrella prop has been included due to its colour, matching the lady's dress, making her blend into the scene even more, showing how she is too focused on her phone on a daily basis that she does not socialise but blends into her surroundings. The umbrella also forms a shadow on the lady making it almost impossible for viewers to see her upper body, preventing them from connecting to the lady and focusing on the context of the picture rather than the subject.

This is not a typical photograph of Seymour Templar and can be seen in different ways. It can be argued that the guard is walking around the building at night with the guard dog, doing checks, however, it does look like the guard is dragging the dog, forcing it to help him in case he comes into any danger. This can be very symbolic as the guard seems to not have any balance; he could fall forward if he let go of the dog, this could mean that he is relying on the dog for his job and without the dog, he couldn't do his job, suggesting that the animal is the worker here and he is just bossing it around - this is highlighting by the look of his dragging the dog across the room. Templar has once again decided not to allow the viewer not to build a relationship with the subject by positioning the camera very far from the guard. This forces the audience to concentrate on what the picture has included and what is not present. For example, the lack of people in this building can suggest to the viewer that this photograph was taken at night, when it was closed. These are little clues that viewers may not have picked up on if Templar positioned his camera closer to the subject in a different angle, which would have allowed them to pay attention to the subject.

This is one of my pictures, which I took on a culture shoot in Chinatown. Similarly to Templar's work, my subject is on his phone in a natural environment, this is to show how individuals are in society. I decided to capture this person because he stopped deliberately so that he can check his phone. With the cultural background, my work shows diversity and the red compliments the orange colour of my subject's coat - this makes the viewer focus on the subject and what he's doing.

To conclude, I have chosen this photographer because I enjoy the way messages are hidden in his images and how viewer must spend a considerable amount of time analysing his image before understanding the message. This gives a deeper to his work and immediately makes it more exciting, bringing viewers back for more. I think this is an important aspect of his work, by connecting with a viewer through the messages in his work, he creates and keeps a relationship with that viewer. I also like how he keeps the subject distant from the picture, thus the viewer; I think this technique is a great way to get the audience to really concentrate on his photographs and try to reach his subjects so they can understand them and get to know their personalities as well as their struggles. Furthermore, Templar has shown excellent use of lighting and his work reflects how he experiments and manipulate the lighting in each scene; he tries his best to even though sometimes, he clearly cannot, such as on location. Despite this, he always captures his photos in great lighting and the exposure is always perfect.