‘A portrait is a representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer’
This is Wikipedia’s rather old-fashioned definition as to what defines a portrait, but I do agree that for a photograph to be classed as a portrait, the subject needs to at least be aware that they are being photographed. However, for me, the most important aspect of a portrait photograph is that no part of the image is altered in any way. I don’t mean that a photograph can’t be cropped slightly, although I rarely do, or that basic alterations such as contrast, levels and tone can’t be made.
No part of the subject should ever be added or taken away; I firmly believe that the moment you remove a spot or shave a couple of inches off a waist in Photo Shop you have distorted that photograph and turned it into a caricature, a cartoon, almost. I am a photographer, not a cartoonist…
Some people are happy with themselves, some aren’t. We are what we are.
It doesn’t matter what face you wear, there is beauty in it somewhere. The best photographers capture that. No-one could ever call Samuel Beckett a beauty, but this is a beautiful image http://thefirst10000.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/samuel-beckett-jane-brown.jpg
You get that too, and it’s not about photoshop, it’s about seeing it with the eye and using the camera to portray it.
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Beautiful shots to illustrate a great concept. 🙂
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Agreed! :0)
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I prefer the portraits best where the people are more candid and not especially posed, or at least don’t look like they are posed. People who are in the moment, whether they are sharing a laugh or looking thoughtfully off into the distance. I think your portraits here are a good mix of successful techniques.
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Portrait photography is an art, a blend of both a structured setting but one that is also off-the-cuff. Enjoy your site as it has that balance. Cheers!
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I love this! I just received a call from someone who wanted me to take pictures of her in a bikini, but she wanted the love handles shaved off, the thighs made bigger, the skin cleared up, etc etc etc. I had to explain how that is just not my style. Reality is so much more interesting than photoshop.
I just discovered your blog and you take beautiful photos. Looking forward to seeing more!
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i love this
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Nice!
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