Lindsay Siu

The first thing that draws me into Siu’s work here is her chosen colour palette; soft, neutral blue tones for the floor, wall, clothing, and accessories, contrast with the bright greens of the plants and so cause them to pop off the page. The lighting she uses creates shadows behind the subjects and this aids in giving the image depth and interest, as opposed to appearing flatter and 2 dimensional. The text is black and so is easily legible and straight to the point, this helps the advert to be concise and straight-forward.

Her creativity really shows in this piece of work as well; it is not often or at all that we see people enclosed in bushes, especially not reading a book whilst in one. But the message is strong here, in both images we know that the person is doing something unusual in an unexpected place (“lost”), that unusual place being a bush (“rooftop garden”), and in the second image the subject is reading a book (“library”). Siu has taken the ordinary and created something strange and refreshing out of it which in turn has produced an advert that is creative, rememberable, and simple; three qualities that together will pique and hold the viewer’s attention.

Murat Aslan

Aslan’s work for “Pedigree” is also eye catching! They have captured the excitement and happiness not only in the dog’s expression but also in the human’s and by photographing them together like this they are almost blended into one. This, to me, subtly hints at the idea that if your pet is happy then you will be too, which I feel is a great concept for any pet orientated brand to promote. What is clever here is that they have done this without actually having to explicitly say this in the ad.

The ad itself is for dental-like sticks to promote healthy mouths and fresher breath in dogs, and so the composition also fits in very well with this concept as the dog’s mouth is very close to the human’s, and the human’s expression is quite surprised/shocked which makes me think they are startled by how good the dog’s breath smells!

Aslan has chosen to keep the colour scheme very similar with minimal contrast in this piece, and I feel that it works well. They have chosen warmer yellows for the background which complement the golden tones from the dog and the woman’s hair, as well as complementing the fair skin of the model. They have darkened the top left and right edges also to direct the viewer’s attention to the subjects.

Sean Izzard

What captivates me most about this billboard by Izzard is pain that can be seen from the subject’s expression; the dim lighting and shadows across her face, as well as the bars which interrupt the composition also adds to the feeling of uncomfortableness. Izzard has incorporated rolls of $20 notes instead of bars to further comment on the barbarity of how much America spends to “lock up” refugees and this only adds to the strangeness of the image. He wants us to realise the inappropriateness of caging vulnerable people as well as the ridiculousness of spending so much money to do so.

By choosing a red background for the text which complements the red in the bars, we are drawn into the billboard as the surrounding scene and the image itself is neutral toned and dull in comparison, which adds contrast and therefore holds our attention. Additionally, the use of cool tones in the image further highlights the hard and unwelcoming reality of living in a cell, as well as continuing the theme of sadness, pain, and suffering. Overall, I feel that this image encapsulates the message well and is striking enough to hold the viewer’s attention.

Jimmy Williams

This advertising campaign to raise awareness of sex trafficking by Williams works well because it is quite subtle in a few ways; although we can see that the model is upset and uncomfortable, it doesn’t jump out at us that she is in danger. This is a positive to drawing viewer’s in as it requires further inspection to really see what the campaign is for, so it holds our attention, and if it were less subtle then it could be off-putting to viewer’s so they may not pay it enough attention. Additionally, the room itself seems to be a normal room with a mirror from a quick glance but as we look closer, we can see that it is messy, dirty, and dimly lit. This aids the feelings of being uncomfortable and sinister.

The composition also draws us in and holds our attention on the subject’s face. The image is framed by the subject’s back and the wall that the mirror hangs from, leading us in to the mirror with our attention being held by the intense look in the subject’s eyes. It also helps that the image overall is quite dark, with a small light on the subject, allowing them to stand out against the background.

Easton Chang

This photo by Chang drew me in immediately on his website compared with the others as it has a lot of contrast in it; the orange car and oranges that are falling around in really pop off the page due to the dark, black floor, walls, and ceiling. The lighting is dramatic; the bright highlight on the car from the spotlight draws us in and gives the car an edgier feel, as well as adding some nice highlights on the ground where it is wet. The slickness of the water on the ground complements the smooth texture of the car, making it look luxurious.

The addition of the oranges adds a lot of interest in this photograph as well as it being very unusual and unexpected! However, the oranges also give me feelings of freshness and the fact that they are a citrus and so thinking about the sharpness of their flavour makes me think about the edginess of the car. It is sleek and cool, as well as standing out from the crowd as orange is not normally a colour we expect to see on a standard vehicle but more viewed as being the colour of paint on a sports car which supports the idea of the car being a luxury, as well as being a little out there.