Favorite
Photograph by Junko Kimura
"How do you show Vladimir Putin—a deliberate and calculating persecutor of minorities in his own country—as Person of the Year, without having to explain your choice? We approached this several ways, before deciding on the provocative placement of the cover line. It was a statement, and one we felt justified as a reference to the way in which Putin’s transgressions had gone relatively unpunished. The image was not altered in any way (despite some fevered blogs claiming otherwise); we just had the colors match the old propaganda images of the wartime era."
This cover is my favorite mainly because of the lighting. It shows how taxing Vladimir Putin's role as leader of Russia is by highlighting his wrinkles and facial features equally. The background also helps bring these features out, because it highlights his pale skin and doesn't distract from the main focus of the portrait, him. Him not looking directly into the camera sends a message of exhaustion from him, and gives the viewer a sense of how much effort he puts into his work. The minimal text on the cover is very good because too much text would distract from him or cover some of the features so well highlighted in the portrait.
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