1. Unit 57: Photography and
Photographic Practice
Research of other
photographers work

2. Yousuf Karsh
Yousuf Karsh born on 23rd
December 1908 was one of the
most famous and accomplished
photographers of all time.
Yousuf Khan died on the 13th
July 2002 at 93 years old. The
Canadian photographer was
best known for his unique
portrait photographs. Karsh was
well known for being a master of
lighting his subjects, being as
precise as lighting their hands
separately.

3. Examples of photographs

4. The Roaring Lion.
This images captures Churchill and
the Britain of the time perfectly,
defiant and unconquerable. Karsh
entitled this photograph the
roaring lion because Churchill said
to Karsh “you could even make a
roaring lion stand still and be
photographed”,
The photograph was taken in the
Canadian Parliament building
during the early years of World War
II. It shows Churchill looking at the
camera as he might look at a
German enemy. He has a deep
scowl, his head is thrust forward
belligerently and his hand is placed
on his hip in an attitude of anger.

5. Composition
The photographer decided to photograph Winston
Churchill. He lit what looks like a old style wooden
door in the background, this gives the viewer an
idea of the era this photo was taken. Karsh lit the
hands and face highly contrasted to the rest of the
image this resembles how Churchill was as a
person. Karsh positioned Churchill close to the
camera showing limited background. This gives
impact and expresses to the viewer the importance
of Winston Churchill.
“Quote by Yousuf Karsh”
“I try to photograph people’s spirits and thoughts.
As to the soul-taking by the photographer, I don’t
feel I take away, but rather that the sitter and I give
to each other. It becomes an act of mutual
participation.”

6. Techniques used
When Karsh photographs his
subjects he was most likely to use
a very fast shutter speed to
ensure he didn’t have any blur in
his shots. Karsh seems to position
his subjects so that they cover
most of the frame, this ensures
they are the pinnacle of the
picture. In some of Karsh’s
pictures he uses two or more The style of Yousuf Karsh is solely
subjects to create depth of field portrait photographs and very often
blurring the subjects furthest of famous people from his era.
away, this also added attraction Yousef Karsh stuck mainly to black
and white images although he did
to a specific part of the picture. produce the odd coloured
photograph. He was very much into
using artificial light and in fact he was
a master of lighting subjects.

7. Strengths & Weaknesses
Yousuf Karsh’s photographs are very one
dimensional and he only sticks to portraits.
Portraits are not the type of photography I favor.
However I would use the way Karsh takes so
much time and effort to light the shot in
interesting ways. I like this because the viewer
can tell a lot from a picture just from the lighting.
Another aspect of why I like Karsh’s way of
lighting is because it enables him to adjust the
contrast of his shots without having to edit. These
different contrasts tell a lot about a picture and
can be manipulated to tell different stories.

8. Do this for 3 photographers