The best portraits are those where the neither the photographer. nor the sitter sublimate their ego, but find some common ground, and get to know each other. YMMV, of course, but that's my experience... I need to allow them a moment, and then they may offer me the gift of their expression, and I hope to find it precisely when it's offered...
Suzanne, I completely agree. Being a brief part of someone's life and having to get to know them in such a short time is so incredibly rewarding. And when you find an image where you know you captured them perfectly...it's magical.
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~Jodi~ New to film and loving every minute.
i can't really put my finger on what a portrait is and isn't.
it seems that portraits capture the essence of a person.
it is the result of a dance the taker and subject do together -
(part theatre and part excavation) ...
there is a barrier we put up to keep people and life out,
a portrait sometimes reveals who is behind the barrier,
or who that person wishes was behind the barrier.
A portrait is not necessarily a picture of just the person, environmental portraits and portraits in the third person (evidence of a person without actually being in the picture) add another interesting dimension worth exploring to the genre. Careful with the third person as this can often also be seen as a still life.
Vaughn, very nice! The tall timber country looks magical!
snip...
Vaughn, very nice! The tall timber country looks magical!
Thanks, Nicole, the redwoods are wonderous. The series not only reflects the growth of my boys, but also the growth of my relationship with them, their use of body language, how they relate to their dad's photography and our adventures together in the landscape. The series is growing along with all of us. I do feel the need to step it up a notch...just tossing the boys into the landscape is fun, but I don't just want to repeat myself. There are a lot of changes going on that I would like to incorperate into the imagery.
Vaughn
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At least with LF landscape, a bad day of photography can be a good day of exercise.
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Defining portraiture is interesting - although I also find that as I go on I am less and less drawn to definitions.
Categories from an aesthetic viewpoint (as opposed to technical) do worry me a little - there is often something that doesn't fit. Also, some work straddles, or defies boundaries. It can be like squeezing something into a box that is really too small, rather than placing something in a nice big box, and carefully placing packaging around it.
(I would really like a place to discuss film types, lighting etc. relating to a particular 'genre' - for want of a better word. In some ways I would find categories easier for this).
I don't see why we can't discuss technical issues with regard to portraiture is this area of the forum, and I think it will prove useful as we build an archive of information in this genre. Doesn't mean some things won't apply to other genres of photography, but it focuses the discussion nicely for those, like myself, who may be attempting to improve their portraits. (There's always room for improvement, it seems... )
And framing some of the "how's" of the conversations to the "why's" of the conversation can serve to foster a creative and inspiring atmosphere. After all, sometimes you see the image in your head, and even understand why you want to make it ... but can't quite find the "how to make it... ". This strikes me as the perfect place for both questions.
And yes... definitions can meander with photography...
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