Richard Billingham is an English photographer and Artist, Film Maker and Art Teacher who was born on the 25th of September 1970. most of his work is around his family life and the place he grew up which was the west midlands but also landscapes else where. He is best known for his book hat he published which is called Ray’s A Laugh in 1996. the book was a documentary book about his farther Ray who was an alcoholic and his obese and heavily tattooed mother Liz.
Here are some examples of the images from the book
Image One
Image Analysis
- council estate family.
- Tattoos.
- Tea in front of the TV.
- Dog licking itself next to where they are eating.
- Looks like they sat on the floor or on top of a duvet.
- Food Stains on there clothing could suggest they are unclean.
- Not Dressed – Grease looking hair.
- Slouching.
- Messy
- Drinking a can of beer.
- Scab on his hand could suggest he has been in a fight with someone.
- The man looks very old and thin.
- Women is obese and is covered in tattoos.
- The wall paper is very old and is dated so suggest it was a few years ago.
- there is a cat sat next to the man leaning towards his food plate.
- Looks like she is watching the TV.
- I think this picture looks like it has been lit with the natural lighting and an on camera flash.
- This image seems more of a snap shot then a normal family portrait.
Image Two
Image Analysis
- Looks like she is going to hit him.
- His dad was an alcoholic.
- Never really left the house.
- People just watching her attack her husband in the background.
- She looks a bit over exposed.
- Photograph looks like it has been taken with a film camera.
- He looks fed up.
- She looks angry.
Image Three
Image Analysis
- It looks like his dad is throwing the cat.
- Dated wallpapers.
- The have garden furniture chairs in the house because maybe they couldn’t afford normal living room furniture.
- The images in the book are raw, intermit and are often uncomfortably humorous.
Image Four
Image Analysis
- The house is decorated with Clown / Dolls faces.
- His mum and dad are kissing. so goes to show that they can love each other and they can be civil to each other sometimes.
- There is a bottle of beer on the table in the background.
- A symbol of just how vital photography narrative.
- Photos have been taken with a film camera.
- Richard billingham won prizes for his work.
- Some of the images can be upsetting to look at.
- Some of his images that he has taken show the fragileness of his dad.
- Some of the images show his mother feeding the kittens, so it goes to show that she can be kind and loving sometimes.
- Photographing his family life and what his family life is like and how it is different to other families life.
Lucy Matthews Photography 