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BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY

GREAT MASTERS

In Drama & Shadows,

Rainer points out that

even at a young age

Kubrick showed immense

talent in constructing

complex compositions

in which camera

positioning and lighting

played a crucial role.

“The essence of

a dramatic form

is to let an idea

come over people

without it being

plainly stated.

Saying something

directly is simply

not as potent

as when you

allow people to

discover it for

themselves.”

-Stanley Kubrick

Better PHotograPHy

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marCH 2015

This may have been the first known

instance of Kubrick’s experiments with

mise-en-scène. However, it quickly

became a recurring theme throughout his

photographic works and, subsequently, his

films, and thus, Kubrick’s joy of staging and

love for composition became evident.

The Emergence of Trademark Kubrick

A common theme in his films, was a

sarcastic, often times ironic portrayal of

prevalent public opinion. A similar train of

thought can be seen in his photojournalistic

works, which show a neorealistic side of

humanity and the mundane.

This can be seen in his photographs of

celebrities, musicians and socialites, he

ignored the glamour and fame, choosing to

show instead the everyday nature of their

lives. While shooting Frank Sinatra, what

struck Kubrick wasn’t the star himself, but

the blind adoration of his fans.

Kubrick often came across as someone

who didn’t quite fit in. The camera

provided him the perfect cage through

which he could be a renegade. Quite the

voyeurist, had he chosen to, I am quite

certain he could have out-Hitchcocked

Alfred Hitchcock. (Stanley had a habit of

checking the medicine cabinet of people

he visited, to see what pills they were on.)

He often hid his camera in a paper bag

to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Conversely, there were times when he

wanted to include himself. In which case the

image quickly became a self portrait, with

Stanley Kubrick dead centre.

Tales of Ambiguity

His photographs show a penchant for

what we would consider the dark side of

his subjects. His series were often as much

psychological profiles of the subject as they

were narrative feature stories. Through the

use of contrast and shadows, he always

added an air of mystery and drama as if to

suggest “here is what I have shown you,

but is that all there is to it?” Many of his

movies offer similarly abrupt endings, even

disjointed storytelling.

It is safe to say that

Kubrick’s fascination

with unusual

perspectives started

quite early on.

Jazz became one

of Kubrick’s favourite

subjects to photograph.

During the height of

his film career, he even

attempted to make a

film that explored jazz

in Europe under the

Third Reich.