Check out my 365 portrait album on flickr. I’ll be the first to admit, some photos need work, but it is a cool project to try and complete!

It was behind the scenes in Snowwhite rehearsals. Even as long time friends
this was an awkward shot as there was a lot of emotion going on. Dave was struggling with his lines and i was brought in at very short notice as one of the cast had dropped out at last min.
This was one of 3 shots but the other two i haven’t used as you can see the utter dispare in his face. I asked if i could use this photo for its rawness. We do amateur dramatics with no payment except the joy of the audiences faces but it is draining.

And then they turn the spot lights on.

Does anyone really know themselves?

Can you really expose hidden elements of a subject’s personality, or are you merely presenting an image that your audience may colour with their own pre-conceptions and cultural assumptions?

Keeping that in mind, here’s a portrait of a total stranger of whom I know nothing other than she seemed to be doing some shopping on a Sunday.

Bravo!

Adorable child.  The colors of the turquoise figures against the warmth of her skin are a great accent and activity.  I’m wondering if the shot would be stronger if the focus was on the eyes instead of the figures if we would connect with her a little faster and for longer.  I think so.  Kids can be great performers in a portrait shoot – usually for short duration – and often are uninhibited and camera savvy.  The right kid and the right toy can open a wonderland of fantasy photos.

The make-up shot is more of a portrait because he is working with you and is cognizant of you shooting.  Documents of a performance are not really portraits because it’s not a collaborative effort with the camera.  Its a document of a performance and you are not the director.  A portrait is when the artist is in control to direct the subject, design and effect the lighting, and guide the process of the shoot to a point where something significant is captured that says something insightful about that person.

If you analyze your own behaviors you can apply what you learn to your understanding of everyone else.

If you study photography you will learn the distinction between a street grab shot and a portrait session where you have a dialogue with a subject.  More importantly the subject is a willing collaborator in a process of making a revealing statement in visual terms.

Thanks for your reply Rob

I wasn’t sure what type of photo the stage shot was. i added it as an indication that the portrait wasn’t the norm with regards to the first shot.

Thinking about your other comments on other shots.
I suppose although shot in a portrait, it technically isn’t a portrait. Although Dave new
i had a camera. I don’t think he was expecting the photo. If so his expression may have been different and something i would have had control of.

The story goes that he sensed a certain sadness about them, but when they sat, they were too formal. So, knowing that they were animal lovers, he told them that his dog had died (or something similar). He then caught their reaction.

Now, does the image (particularly without the story behind it) tell us anything about the couple? Has Avedon done anything else than to foist HIS interpretation of his subjects upon us?

I will agree that a good portrait will tell us a lot about the photographer, and it can probably give the questioning viewer some insights into themselves, but I don’t think it can say much about the subject.

And a casual picture of my Mom, which I felt has brought out her personality.

Though now I see a scope of improvement for both.

The story told by Diane Arbus, is that Avedon had a preconceived agenda when he photographed the Duke and Duchess in 1957.  He told them that on the way to the session his taxi had run over a dog, a lie, to elicit a response.   There had been suspicion about their ungracious familiarity with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, leading up to WWII.  They lived in an elegant Paris home provided by the French Government on a lavish income provided by the British Government and made pro-fascist remarks to the press and disparaging remarks about their host countries.  Avedon once remarked that the Windsors loved dogs more than they loved Jews.   There is much written about their opulent life style and peculiar indulgences.  So it is probable that Avedon had an agenda in this famous case and they were pretty accurately cast.
(The Duke and Duchess of Windsor: We Are Not Amused, October 9,2009 by Lisa Waller Rogers)

The shot was a big news event and widely controversial at the time.  But not really a great example of what we are talking about here.

That is an unusual condition.  The overwhelming majority of portraits are made with the open cooperation of the subject with the intention of finding some flattering likeness or something insightful to reveal about the subject.  A mutual collaboration.

This is a Supervisor/Longshoreman in the Port of Sacramento.
He’s Creole, which I have never knowingly photographed someone that was.

This encouraged me to look a bit at  your phtostream where I say a couple of others that I liked too because of the light quality that did magic things.

To my eye, this one is a lot stronger because of the super dynamic light blasting through here. All these radial lines and the framing of the guy in the blast zone of this doorway make this a powerful winner.
It is empowering the guy as well as illuminating the shot. This is strategically well seen and well executed.  (Personally I love this one.)

I think everything content wise works here pretty well to support the emotional moment. I might want to see the rail a bit softer ( less depth of field) because it competes with the focus on her, and could be a bit more stylistically romantic as softer shapes than the iron rail that it is. However, it’s providing a sense of place and a degree of environment that works with her lovely smile.

I took the liberty of trying a softer out of focus rail version. Maybe the rail could go even softer. What do you think?

This is a really nice shot. It’s a photographically appropriate subject and all your instincts about the wide angle and the close cropping support the concept very well. The only little item I find a bit distracting is the position of the hose behind him on the left. The hose is close in color and scale to his muostache and competes graphically just a little. Maybe a slight camera move to the left might have separated his head from the hose. Small point but, when you have it this good and a guy willing to pose, it’s worth shooting around the space to reduce distractions and investigate other angles.

You seem to be getting a lot of good use out of your D750, especially in India. This is only one of many very nice portraits you did there showing the amazing rich colors and textures of Indian culture. You have a great street journalistic style. Your use of color and light direction is consistently very appealing. You use a range of focal lengths very effectively too. It’s great to see how you engage your subjects in such a comfortable way. You explore a lot of the world through your camera. Good instincts. Practiced skills. Work on a book. Thanks for joining the discussion. Show us more.

Thanks very much for your comments. The hose bothered me too. There probably is a better angle, but when I was there I couldn’t find it.

Yes, this trip was the best chance I’ve had to put the D750 through its paces, and I was very happy with it. When I first bought it, I was skeptical about the tilting screen, but I used it a lot — for candid shots, for low angles when I didn’t want to kneel or lie down in filth, for high over-their-heads shots in crowds, etc. The low-light performance and dynamic range were also excellent.

A book may be coming.