Assignment 4: Perou - Comparing & Analysing Perou's Works

• This photo is (as clearly stated by the logo in the top left corner) an advertisement for Vivienne Westwood, one of Perou's many fashion clients. It has a very soft feel, due to the natural lighting and neutral colours used in both background and clothing, which contrasts with the cartoon drawing to the right - but not overwhelmingly so. Compared to many of Perou's other works which as a general rule are very bright and graphic like the photos below. This is due to the fact that it is one of Perou's commercial works, so it is what the client wants instead of Perou's own unlimited freedom to choose brightness and colour in every aspect. If you look at the rest of the series you will see all of the other photos are very dim and lack the boldness and strength of Perou's own works.

•  This photo's aim is very much to draw attention to the subject which is achieved by having the contrasting, saturated hues both on the background and the model's trousers and eyeliner. Focus is also drawn to the model due to his pale skin and muted tattoos which have a very strong contrast against the bold yellow background. Strong front lighting is also used to bring out the full brightness in the colours and to minimise shadow, which would take attention away from the model and the trousers (the main focus as this is also a fashion advertisement.)

•  This photo is more tame than other photos, but still craves attention as the others do. The background is less of a demanding colour but still has a loud contrast with the hair, clothing and chicken wire. The audacious contrasts are a common theme in Perou's fashion portfolio as they demand the eye to gaze and stare at the clothes, one of the main elements of fashion photography. Once again, strong lighting is used to minimise dark spots on the face as the chicken wire provides an interesting structure instead of the bone structure of the model's face, but this time the shadow is visible which is a very uncommon feature to photography where the silhouette isn't the core of the photo.

• This photo screams at you, begging for the limelight. It uses the most blazing red there is and puts it against the whitest white and the blackest black, giving one of Perou's strongest, most powerful contrasts yet. The point of this photo is to catch the eye and to shock, hence the model being topless and wearing a gas mask, as it wants a reaction. This photo, compared with the other three, shows that Perou can produce a variety of photos for a number of clients whilst still withholding his own personal, recognisable style.