Research- Anton Corbijn

Whenever I think of portraiture photography, there are hundreds of photographers I could look at but the first one that always comes to mind is not the most obvious one out there. It's not Testino or any of the other very famous ones you might be thinking. It's Anton Corbijn. I am a huge fan of his work, both photographic and with his videos and more recently, films.

The Dutch artist been taking portraits since the 1970s and is best known for his work in the music industry. He has photographed most big acts you can think of and it's where I first saw some of his work, because of the stuff he did with U2. His style is quite distinct and I like his take on portraiture. There's something different about it and more interesting than some of the other practioners I've looked at. He works primarily in black and white, which adds that gorgeous, grainy film quality to the images. While I think my project will be best suited for colour, I find his work very inspirational and he is someone I look up to. Possibly my favourite part of his work is that connection he has with his subject. They look at ease and as though they share a mutual understanding in getting the photograph to look right.

Often the photographs are simple, or at least appear so, but that is the beauty of them. They are a look at the person's identity, at their personality and a glimpse of something deeper. Corbijn has the ability to get that from his subjects and this is something I want to achieve. I want them to be comfortable enough to reveal a part of themselves, no matter how small, big dark or secretive.

Below is some of his work.