Jim Naughten is a British photographer, based in London, England UK.
For his exhibition called 'Re-enactors', Naughten spent two and a half years photographing over 5,000 people. These people come together every year in a field in Kent, where they re-enact battles from the first and second world war in extreme detail. He took two assistants and a portable studio, which he set up in a wedding marquee.
Although I applaud him for the size of his body of work, Naughten's style is not something I personally like very much. Although it was normal back in those days to shoot portraits against a white background, it just doesn't feel right to me. I feel it takes the subject away from their environment and you lose that connection.
Although the images are those of re-enactors, to me that doesn't have to mean you can't replicate the feeling of them being in a certain situation, such as war. Or even just give the impression that the image was taken a long time ago. And that is exactly what I want to try and achieve with my images. Naughten preferred to set up a studio in a wedding marquee and photograph them in front of a white background, whereas I want to try and photograph my subjects in a more natural environment.
So although it's interesting to see the difference in style between Naughten and what I'd like to achieve, I don't feel there's an awful lot I can use in my own images. Perhaps the main thing will be to put emphasis on the uniforms, which is one thing that definitely shows in Naughten's photographs.
Image Resources:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/jim-naughten-s--re-enactors--at-the-new-hotshoe-gallery-12325
http://jimnaughten.com/
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