Connecting Essay 1

This photograph of Marilyn Monroe was shot by Milton Greene. There is an interesting contrast in this image as it is quite low - Marilyn's hair and skin appear to be more grey toned - and yet her face still stands out against the rest of the image. The deadpan expression and close up angle allows up to really see the details in her face and really take in her beauty. This photograph gives nothing away about the style of the 50s as she is wearing a plain black, high neck shirt. This is likely a technique used to draw more attention towards her face.

This is one of my images from the 1950s. There is extremely high contrast between the girl's skin as the rest of the image - I purposefully kept this area light in order to create this contrast. This photograph was taken at a mid shot, which allows the viewer to not only see what the models make up is styled like, but also see what her outfit. This is a typical outfit from the 1950s as leather jackets were worn widely within the rockabilly subculture. 

The main similarity between these two images is that they are both black and white portraits of women. Both having been shot against a black background, this makes the woman in both images the main focal point. Another similarity is that both images are in black and white. As Milton Greene's was taken at the time, it is likely to be black and white as this was a trend in photography. My image is black and white as a result of the influence that Milton Greene's work had on my own. This s the main difference between these two images - Milton Greene's image is authentic from the 1950s, however mine is just influenced by the time and is an attempt at replicating their trends. Another difference is that the contrast in my image is extremely high compared to the first image, which appears to be softer.