Sebastian Herzau

Photographer Analysis
About them
Born in Schönebeck in 1980, Sebastian Herzau is a German painter and
photographer. After finishing his studies at Burg Giebichenstein Halle, he
was awarded a certificate in painting and graphics in 2012. Because to the
use of subtle layering, soft colours, and little distortion, all of his works,
which he does as both portraits and landscapes, have a hazy, enigmatic
aspect. Sebastian Herzau produces art that has a hazy, enigmatic
appearance by using subtle layering, soft pastel colours, and distortion. By
giving his themes an air of mystery and using many layers of paint to give
his artwork a three-dimensional appearance, Herzau emphasises the
distinction between real space and illusion. The series I am interested in is
called ‘The Great Below’. This series focuses on concealment.
Visual Qualities
This photograph shows a portrait of a woman with orange tape over
the top of her face. The background portrait has also been greyscaled
to make the orange tape stand out ever more than it already would. My
eye is immediately drawn to the orange tape because it is the brightest
part of the image. What I like about the image is that it is different and
unique compared to other photographers work. It is difficult to tell
what lighting was used in the original portrait because it has been
greyscaled. The models body language and facial expression looks quite
composed yet somewhat serious. Some formal elements used are
colour and lines.
Camera Settings
The camera has been focused on the whole image to create a sharp, in
focus photo. A higher aperture has been used to capture everything in
focus. I also think a higher shutter speed has been used to create a
sharp, still image without a blur effect. In my own work, I would like to
take a portrait of a model, greyscale the image, print it out, put tape
over the printed out image, and take a photo of the final printed out
image.