American photographer Alec Soth, is well-known for his work photographing people – often strangers, loners and people dreaming of something. Although a different subject matter to my own work, I really enjoy Soth’s work and his ability to sequence his images in a way that tells a story about the people he photographs and places he visits. I find his work fascinating.
I’ve collected some examples of my favourite photographs (right). Although taken from various different projects, it’s clear that Soth has a continuous style. Often the photos follow a similar colour scheme, either blues and pinks or greens and yellows feature heavily in his work. The subject matters are always ordinary yet unusual. You get a real sense from looking at his work that he is entering into the lives of these strangers and capturing them in their true, vulnerable, everyday existence.
I really like his photographs that feature everyday objects and spaces because this is something I’m personally interested in photographing. But it’s clear to see why Soth is so famous for his photographs of people. Whether it’s because of their surroundings (a photos of their younger self on the desk, a mirror, a room filled with plants, another person etc.) or because of their expressions; every photo Soth takes of a person really expresses a sense of longing, dreaming, lust, love or loneliness – all reoccurring themes in Soth’s work.
I decided to take a look at Soth’s work because I’m thinking about making my photographs into a book for the final outcome of this project. I feel it would be beneficial to look at one particular sequence of his work and see how he orders and combines his photographs to tell a story. I think I will look at ‘Sleeping by the Mississippi’, as an example of one of his books with lots of repetitive imagery and strong reoccurring themes throughout. This might give me some inspiration and ideas on how to sequence and layout my own book.
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