Portraiture

Originally posted 18/12/21 –

Inspired by my work and reading for my ongoing MA Photography at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), particularly by photographers such as Richard Avedon & Annie Leibovitz, I have been doing more and more portrait photography. While landscape photography requires work – getting up early, climbing hills or mountains, dodging incoming tides etc., portraiture presents different challenges – what lighting, what backgrounds etc. The most interesting challenge in portraiture is what story is being told? The story might not be deliberate but there will always be something that signifies or hints at a story. Historically, the very fact that a formal portrait was being taken (or painted) hinted at wealth and class. Even in modern times, a formal portrait tells a tale. Items such as hair, make up, clothing jewellery, props can add layers to the story. I have found it interesting to work with models/subjects/sitters – both photographer and sitter may have ideas and the best images often come from a collaboration between the two, although there are also times where either one may have a higher degree of control – e.g. photographer commissioned for work, or model commissioned for a particular work.