Throughout the theoretical part, the history of photography in general as well as the African photography itself is described. Its pioneer was Augustus Washington, who opened the first studio in Monrovia and Senegal.
The traveling and photographing took place in the Gambia, and this is why the Gambian history and studio photography, is evaluated. Further on, the photography features as well as the portrait and figure, but even more into detail the works of African photographers, researched upon.
The purpose of the diploma thesis was the description of African and Gambian photography, with special emphasis on the portrait and figure. While working on the diploma thesis, the child portrait also is descibed, due to a series of child photographies presented in the experimental section.
In the experimental section twelve creative portraits and figures of African children, taken with single-lens reflex camera are presented. The photographs include one adult and a few children of different ages, which were taken in color and black-and-white version. Doing that, the comparison of black-and-white and color photographs, was the main focal point. The photographs were taken inside as well as outside of the educational establishment during daylight. All the photos were processed via computer in programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, which helped to adapt the contrasts, backgrounds and gratious elements in the photos. All twelve photographs were artistically analyzed and evaluated.
The implementation of the historical theoretical section takes us back a while into the age where some things were not yet developed or discovered and does not change anymore in present day, as well as the photography features, but despite this fact, the major part is dependent on the individual's observation and his own experience.
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