Photographer Research - Richard Pullar

Richard Pullar

Why I've chosen him

Richard Pullar is a male photographer part of Morgan Lockyer Photographers based in London. He has worked on commercial and advertising briefs and created an endless amount of imaginative magazine pieces that appeal to me immensely and were the main selling point for me when I discovered him on the Internet. The reason that I want to study this photographer in more depth is because his work is a variety of edited images to bursting with colour styled photographs. Pullar has also worked with a lot of worldwide food companies such as McDonalds, Dominos, Pret A Manger and Innocent etc. which is another reason as to why I am looking at this mans work. The formal element featured mainly in Pullar's work is colour, which is my favourite out of all the ten. I want to explore interesting editing techniques along with applying some words/whacky slogans/illustrations to my photographs, which is what Pullard has done in some of his work; so by me researching his talent and skill I am able to understand and get a feel for the types of photographs I could capture and create, whilst being inspired by Pullar along the way.

This photograph has been captured with a birds eye view looking down upon the box of confectionery.  I  really like this photograph for an assortment of reasons. Firstly, the composition is effective having just the box of macaroons in line with the rest of the frame. There is no slant on the box or a mismatch of subjects; just simply a box of tasty treats which means that the audience are not distracted by anything else in the frame. The colours are a mixture of unusual tones, varying from a faint lime green to light mustard to pastel pink to hot pink to medium brown. These colours appear to look autumnal, which could be a relevant element in the photograph; perhaps suggesting and having the connotation of this food item being the perfect snack as the weather grows colder. In my opinion, the colours of the confectionery seem extremely vintage, and the tissue paper beneath them adds to the vintage style. Also, having the half eaten macaroon to the bottom left of the box could perhaps convey to the viewer that the treats were too good to just take a photo of; the photographer couldn't hold his tongue when it came to thinking about their taste.

These photographs of Pullar's are ones that were featured in magazines for the advertisement of Pret's fresh juices. I looked at photographs found in magazines because these often include features that I engage with the most - these are bright white backgrounds and photoshopped elements. I am always guaranteed stumbling across a photoshopped image when looking at advertisement pages in magazines, and this is the technique I enjoy using the most. Having a heart made out of the ingredients found in the bottle of healthiness is an extremely fascinating and interesting decision made by the photographer. The hearts convey that what the drink is made out of is extremely good for your health. This is reinforced by the actual physical appearance of the photographs. The hearts have been made out of the fruits and veg which has the connotation of your 5 a day being an extremely necessary day to day routine for somebody to get themselves into as it is beneficial for your physical and mental health. The slogans for these drinks are also important elements of the overall images because they both compliment each other. One advertises their packaging whilst also advertising the other, advertising how drinking your greens and your reds, or your reds and your greens, is significant; not just drinking one of them.  I want to experiment with typography in some of my photographs to create actual advertisements. 

Not only did I want to look at sweet treats and drinks through this photographer, but I also wanted to look at Pullar's savoury photography, because this food item can also be photographed in an attractive way, if done right. Pullar's savoury photography is most certainly captured beautifully, as he creates food that is photogenic. Above is an image of pizza, but they have been made singularly and cut into squares, instead of just simply photographing a large pizza in circle formation. By having this famous Saturday night takeaway cut into squares presents it as being a light snack, even if Pizza isn't wildly healthy for you, it most certainly looks like it is this image. The roasted veg on top of the dough sprinkled with herbs was an effective touch, because as soon as you add a slight handful of herbs onto a dish, it appears immediately transformed into something professional from something average. The composition in this photographs is inspiring because a plate of the food hasn't all been illustrated in the frame, instead it comes in from the right side, and then a tissue is placed next to it with a couple of the pizza slices on top. Surrounding this photograph's subject is a small segment of tomatoes, a small segments of lettuce, and a barely visible glass of an ingredient. The extra additives in the frame present the image as looking faultless, because they complete it.

Lastly, this photograph is another photoshopped one; which is of course one of the main reasons as to why I admire this image. The aesthetics of the photograph is extremely effective with the unusual cubes of oranges complimented by the slash of orange juice pouring around the frame. The image could at first be mistaken for there being cubed lemons in the frame, however the orange juice corrects the viewer's assumptions which is a clever feature made by Pullar. If someone is muddled by the subject of a photograph, something else in the frame should surely amend their confusion, and in this case it certainly does. The cubes of orange make this fruit look a lot more tasty than if the outer shell of the fruit was captured, because the juicy contents looks a lot more mouth watering, and this was definitely Pullar's intention. The reflection below the oranges is also an attractive touch because it adds to the enticing appearance of the fruits. Through the use of the orange juice pouring down in the frame in a surreal way, further illustrates Pullar's creative gene; his most attractive trait in my opinion. It is a very inspirational photograph because there are many different fruits that you could do this with, and maybe even mix some fruits together e.g. summer fruits.

How he has influenced me

 

When it comes to photographing fresh food products and making them look appealing, I took inspiration from Richard Pullar to use a white background and have the subject contrast with this colour, allowing the focal point to pop. I enhanced this technique by using selective colour in my print techniques post, emphasising the yellow colour in a more effective style against the black and white surroundings. Pullar's picture of the orange cubes and orange juice splash inspired me to do a shoot with people and their reaction to the sharp flavour of lemons, where the outcomes were extremely successful.

Summary

Overall, Richard Pullar is an extremely creative, imaginative and gifted photographer with an endless amount of ideas for advertising and commercial photography. His work is overflowing with relevant intentions and successful talent, all merged into one photograph to illustrate a colourful, vibrant, eye catching and striking outcome. He is one of my top favourites when it comes to my photographer research because his ideas for advertising photography are so in sync with my own. Many of his images include ideas that I had when it came to cooking up some photoshop technique ideas in order to capture a visual solution to advertising. In order for food and drink to sell, it has to prompt the viewer into wanting a taste - resulting in them being persuaded to buy a product through the simple nudge of a creative photograph.