Photographer Case Study – Paul Harries

Photographer Case Study – Paul Harries

For a better understanding of the music photography for the rock genre, I have decided to look at a few star models who work at leading successful rock magazines such as Kerrang! Q, MNE, Uncut, Metal Hammer and Mojo. The main photographers I will be analyzing will be Paul Harries.

Paul Harries

Paul Harries is a music photographer who works within the rock genre industry and has photographed some of the worlds most known rock, stars; his portfolios includes star vehicle’s such as Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Metallica, Slipknot, Foo Fighters and etc. Paul has worked with photography for over 20 years and is currently working for Kerrang!

This primary target audience for this long shot image is middle class straight men, who are in the social class of E-C1 and could be between the age of 15-30+. The star vehicles within this is a rock band called Biffy Clyro, this will mean that this image will attract their fans. This image would be a common convention to a magazine due to its features in terms of mise-en-sense, lighting, editing, star vehicles and etc.

In terms of mise-en-sense/editing/lighting with the black and white choice for the sea image is very related to the rock genre because it’s very sharp and stands out, but the theory that would be suitable for this image will be the target audience who fall under the Stanley Hall theory judging by the editing used, as the colour black can represent depression and in short Stanley Hall states “Criminal activity would increase at the ages of 12 and 24, common mood in teenagers was depressed.” 

The star vehicles used within this image would also attract a certain target audience who are fans and followers of this band. In terms of mise-en-sense; judging by the way this type of band dress, they are middle class. So you could connote these men fall into the Marxist theory, who states “The dominant people who portray the media is straight, white, middle class men.”

The setting for this image is at the beach and in terms of connotation the water is calm without any waves. This could be connoting that this band is a soft rock instead of hardcore, yet it could be connoting that the target audience are depressing. Therefore this image agree with the target audience needs who fall under the theorist Stanley Hall who states that “Criminal activity would increase at the ages of 12 and 24, common mood in teenagers was depressed.”

I personally like this picture because of how the image has been presented by its originality due to the scenery they have used and the clothes they have presented themselves in. It is suitable for the target audience by how the black and white editing showing slight calm and depression within the theme.

The target audience audience for this medium shot image is middle class, straight, white men; Who could possibly fall under the social class of E-C and the age for this target audience could be between 14-24 years of age. This category of target audience could fall under 3 theorists, but the main theorist that will apply to this image is Marxist, who in short claims that the dominant men portraying the media are straight, white, middle class men.

The second theorist that will apply to this image will be Blumer and Katz (1974) because in short they state that people consume a media text is for a series of possible reasons, Personal identity, Diversion (escaping from reality) and etc. The main two points that will apply to this image will be personal identity and Diversion because people viewing this image may be fans of the star vehicle and look up to them as a role model. 

The 3^rd theorist that may be applied to this image is Stanley Hall, who in short states that “Criminal activity would increase at the ages of 12 and 24, common mood in teenagers was depressed.”

I will now analyze this image and relate it back to the suitable theorists to see if this image is suitable for the target audience within the rock genre by beginning with the black and white editing, in terms of mise-en-sense this could be relating to the depression. This will be suitable for the target audience who fall under the Stanley Hall (1904) theory as he states in short that “Criminal activity would increase at the ages of 12 and 24, common mood in teenagers was depressed.”

In terms of connotation the image contains a star vehicle, this is very important for a rock genre image because it is the purpose why people would want to view it for purposes that will fall under the Katz and Blumer (1974) theory. “Audience members might consume a media text, diversion (escape from everyday problems), personal relationships, personal identity...Surveillance.” The two main purposes people will want to view this image is for personal identity; looking up to their role model and diversion to relate to what the star vehicle is going through.

Also in terms of mise-en-sense the star vehicle is holding a guitar, which is important because it will encourage an audience to pick up this image to recognise this star vehicle as a rock figure. Therefore this image will be suitable for the target audience who fall under the Blumer and Katz (1974) theory “Audience members might consume a media text, diversion (escape from everyday problems), personal relationships, personal identity...Surveillance.” The two main purposes people will want to view this image is for personal identity; looking up to their role model and diversion to relate to what the star vehicle is going through.

The connotation of this image in terms of mise-en-sense is the type of clothing that the star vehicle is wearing, a jacket and a pair if jeans; this shows that the it is suitable for the audience who are in the middle classes between D-C and would be suitable for the target audience who fall under the theory of Marxist who states “The dominant people who portray the media is straight, white, middle class men.”

I personally like this image because it is very unique by how the star vehicle looks so laid back and really stands out by the editing that has been used within the photography. But after analysing his photography style, I have gained a better understanding of the rock genre.