Inspiration Insert: Platon Photography Documentary

Netflix has recently released a new documentary series called Abstracts: The Art of Design. After watching the episode which focused on the famous photographer Platon, I have become very inspired with the type of photographs I hope to take on this course and also where I would like my photographs to take my career in the future.

I have seen many photographers documentaries in the past, but this one I feel will stick with me for some time to come.

The documentary begins with a quote from Platon, "I'm not really a photographer at all. The camera is nothing more than a tool. Communication, simplicity, shapes on a page? What's important is the story, the message, the feeling, the connection. How do you make this reach people?" This quote sums up Platon's work very well, he works with a connection to the subject and then with the image. Every famous photograph he has ever taken was built due to this connection he has with the person. It isn't about how the subject wants to be seen but how they should be seen. There is a real truth to his work which is very inspiring to me.

Here are a selection of Platon's famous and extraordinary photographs:

"You can look at a Platon portrait and you know it's by Platon... A Platon portrait is all about lighting, the person's eyes, the graphic way in which he positions the camera". - TIME editor

When watching the documentary what is put across is Platon's raw process which he goes through when taking a photograph or portrait of someone. He talks about how he is always inspired from the subject, "before I shoot I'm not thinking, how can I get a good picture but what can I learn from this person".

As you can see from the photographs above, Platon has been in contact with legendary, high class people of the last two decades. "My work is made from lots of brief encounters with extraordinary movers and shakers of our time".

Platon speaks of how his father was an architect how - he was a true inspiration to the form, as well as the positive and negative space which is always a feature within his pieces. His father used to take him to different beautifully designed buildings. Frank Lloyd was a great inspiration to Platon, he quotes, "if I can tap into someone's spirit it's the same feeling as when you walk into a Frank Lloyd room, it opens you up; it does something and thats either a feeling of complete menace and fear or a feeling of inspiration and hope, but it does do something to you as a person".

Platon uses the framing and the gravity of buildings as a compositional inspiration. Here is a screenshot of the documentary which further explains this concept:

Platon describes himself as a cultural provocateur. "I can't change society but I can provoke." He can use his high profile in the photographic world to tell thought out stories of subjects and their messages through single images. Having his images feature in high profile magazines, means that if he photographs a war zone or situation, he will be shining a spotlight on global social, political and lifestyle problems.

A play on Playto's republic; a philosophical text

Overall, this documentary taught me to be interested in who or what you are photographing. You should always be passionate. Also, to always think about the meaning you want to portray on any shoot, or in any project. For this is what makes the impact in the end.