Personal Background
Connor Joel Franta was born on September 12, 1992 in Wisconsin. He later moved to La Crescent, Minnesota where he attended St. Peter's Catholic School until 8th grade. He then attended La Crescent High School where he graduated from in 2011. He studied business at the Roman Catholic College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University with an arts minor with an emphasis on films. Connor Franta is an American YouTuber, entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His youtube channel has over 5.5 million subscribers, on which he came out as gay on December 8, 2014. He owns a brand named Common Culture including coffee, clothing, and music. He has also published two books, "A Work in Progress" and "Note to Self" in which he includes many images of his photography.
Style
Connor's style of photography focuses on candid photos, focusing on capturing moments that are special to him. “When a moment in front of me appears to be particularly special, whether it be by beauty or experience, I capture it,” Franta explains. “I usually find a reason to justify taking that photo–symmetry, or color, or contrast–and it’s my hope that my photography sheds light onto what I see and do on a daily basis.” Connor also believes that "editing is key" and once you have a quality photo, with the correct editing you can make the photo 10 times better. He believes that “Sometimes, cameras can’t capture a scene like your brain does,” by editing the photo, you can help make it appear closer to the way you see the image.
Philosophy
Connor believes that photos tend to come out better when they’re expressing something real, rather than when they’re chasing a trend. Connor's form of self-expression on platforms such as Instagram is not about focusing on himself, but instead on the pictures he takes. He wants to show his fans the world the way that he sees it. He believes in being creative and to try taking photos from a different perspective. Such as "You can try to get low, get really close to the subject or even do something more abstract like shooting above, from the ground."
Influences
I have been a fan of Connor Franta and have watched his youtube videos for years. He's so inspiring to me, whether it's through his photography, his writing, his videos, and the messages he sends in order to inspire and better the world. His passion he has for everything he does is incredible and he's worked so hard to get to where he is today. He is also involved in many organizations for human rights, especially for the LGBTQ organizations. Connor has influenced my work in many ways and I've even met him two years ago when he was on his Note to Self book signing tour!
Sources
“Connor Franta Official Website.” Connor Franta, connorfranta.com/.
Solomon, Dan, and Dan Solomon. “YouTube Sensation Connor Franta On How To Take The Perfect Instagram Photo.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 27 Apr. 2017, www.fastcompany.com/3053039/youtube-sensation-connor-franta-on-how-to-take-the-perfect-instagram-photo.
“Who Is Connor Franta? Everything You Need to Know.” Connor Franta - Bio, Facts, Family Life of YouTuber, Entrepreneur & Writer, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/connor-franta-7806.php.
Solomon, Dan, and Dan Solomon. “YouTube Sensation Connor Franta On How To Take The Perfect Instagram Photo.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 27 Apr. 2017, www.fastcompany.com/3053039/youtube-sensation-connor-franta-on-how-to-take-the-perfect-instagram-photo.
“Who Is Connor Franta? Everything You Need to Know.” Connor Franta - Bio, Facts, Family Life of YouTuber, Entrepreneur & Writer, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/connor-franta-7806.php.
Compare and Contrast
I chose to recreate Connor's photos from his photoshoot with Billie Eilish. I am a huge fan of Billie Eilish, who is a singer/ songwriter, and I loved the way the photos Connor took turned out. I think my photos came out really good and they look very similar to the original pictures. I made sure to get my model to pose as closely to the original pose as possible and used props to make the background and clothing similar. When editing the photo, I increased the brightness and used a filter to make the photos look more similar.
Personal Artist Statement
This is my best friend Mariel, she gets cold easily so she wore my dad's puffy green coat. One day, we were taking out the trash and found a container of Tide next to the trash can. We decided to take the tide and go back inside to do some laundry. The laundry was taking forever so I decided to take a closeup shot of her. We went back to the laundry machine and we were still waiting for the laundry to finish...