What is a portrait?

IanTurner

IanTurner

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Ian Turner
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Good morning all,

I am after some advice if I may?

I am currently trying to write an essay on 'What is a portrait?' does anyone know of any good books to research from, know of any good quotes etc

Any help suggestions would be a great help

thanks in advance

Ian
 
IanTurner said:
'What is a portrait?' - does anyone know of any good quotes etc

Ian
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"The click of the shutter should be like an insect sting. You have to reach the subject between the shirt and the skin and be as painless as possible"

"The first impression one has of a face is usually the right one"

"You have to know your subject – their lives, their thoughts, their art, their music, before you can take their portrait"

"Do not confuse truth with spontaneity or superficiality"

"If after 36 shots you haven’t got the shot – desist"

All from Henri Cartier-Bresson talking about his portrait work

Still relevant and thought provoking today
 
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Rhody - Thanks for the quotes I will look into them more but as you say they make perfect sense as much now as they did back then.

Jamesoliverstone - I'm not allowed to even mention Wikipedia unfortunately :( instant fail but as you rightly said, That was one of the first books that I began looking through/researching today Renaissance Paintings I think it was.

Thanks for your help though. :)

Ian
 
Hi Ian - I've been thinking about your thought provoking post and remembered this which you might find interesting or useful.

The American photographer Ralph Gibson talked of the Mona Lisa during a symposium on "Art Photography" in Amsterdam in 1979.

He said, "You know, once, standing in front of the Mona Lisa, I looked closely and analysed the painting. Then I realised that nearly everything that can be done through painting can be done by means of photography. And yet, there is no single photograph that has received so much attention. One day maybe. After all, photography is still very young".

It set me thinking then and I suddenly remembered it today and thought you might like to at least be aware of the train of thought Ralph Gilbert was talking about over 30 years ago.

Good luck with the essay.
 
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Henri Cartier-Bresson also thought that with portraits there was always a conflict between the flattering portrait the subject expected to see and the essence of truth or reality the photographer was trying to capture.

This portrait of Churchill was destroyed by his wife as she hated is so much. A painter himself, Churchill did not like the portrait by Graham Sutherland for it depicted him as a querulous old man instead of the bulldoggish statesman who had faced down Hitler.


http://http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/churchill-and-his-portrait/


Thanks for your original post Ian - it has set me thinking again on what I expect from portraits.

Last year I had to take 30 portraits in a day for staff record shots.

What was interesting was that although the lighting set up was fixed and the background the same for everyone - some people turned up with stunning make up and hair styling - you could tell by the eyes, attitude and expressions that some were there only because they had been told to be and others wanted their staff portrait to be "stunning" and their eyes were alive and sparkling and they were full of enthusiasm.

Looking at the portraits side by side you can clearly see those whose hearts and enthusiasm were in it and those that were there under sufferance.

So much so that when they saw each others images - some said "Oh, she's always miserable" - so the staff portrait, although not entirely flattering in a few cases did capture the way others perceived the sitter.
 
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Thanks for your help, I have managed to complete my Essay and hand in on time, with the help of my Girlfriend and advice on here, so thanks again.

Thats the thing about portraits they are bias in a way, they may show a truth about the sitter but not necessarily the whole truth as they will all ways have a bias from the artist, whether that be a photographer or a painter.

Some people may say that that what you see is who the sitter is, I disagree with that, it depends on the context in which the portrait is being made, commercially or in a photojournalistic way, for example a image by Paul Strand of Joseph Goebbels is capturing a certain personality of him which in turn influences peoples opinions of Goebbels, yet an image by Rankin of Tony Blair has an opposite effect he has shot him in a better light to give the viewer a better perception of the Prime Minister for obvious reason(s)

I did also touch upon the Mona Lisa, it is one of if not the most famous portrait ever created. Research has shown that there is great controversy surrounding the painting, some say that it was a self portrait of Da Vinci himself hence the enigmatic smile, others would disagree.

The thirty staff portraits you where employed to shoot must have been a great day, giving you the chance to really compare each photo, like you say some where only there because they had to be where as others where enthusiastic which clearly shows on there facial expressions.

Ian
 
From what you have said Ian - your essay sounds really thoughtful and meaningful.

Best wishes in advance.
 
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I loved reading through this thread ~ thought provoking as the above have said.
Best of luck for your essay xo.
 
IanTurner said:
The thirty staff portraits you where employed to shoot must have been a great day, giving you the chance to really compare each photo, like you say some where only there because they had to be where as others where enthusiastic which clearly shows on there facial expressions.
Ian
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It was a very busy day Ian. With that many people, they had less than 15 minutes each with me. The brief was to take at least 5 shots (but no more than 10) of each person so that they could choose the shot they preferred most for their employers.

Some were absolutely brilliant and responded to direction well.

One subject was incredibly difficult, a very large, broad lady and she refused any direction whatsoever. I tried to get her to turn slightly, with her body and shoulders at an angle to the camera but she was having none of it.

She walked off after the second shot saying "That's it - I'm done"

She just wanted to be photographed head on, her shoulders parallel to the camera back and she just glared at the camera, refusing to smile or relax in any way. I even offered to spend more time with her after the shoot was finished to get a better, more flattering shot for her but she wasn't interested.

Her shot is the only one where the subject looks like a police line up.

Anyway - the client was pleased so all in all it was a good day.
 
There will always be one that is like that, Not that I have had much experience in doing mass portraits to the degree in which you were charged with doing.

I get to spend a good few hours or so when I do a portrait and so makes it a little easier as then the model will relax more as the time goes on.

One thing that I do need to improve on is directing the model to get the shot that I want, it does help having someone who is used to being photographed a lot, I can't imaging the lady you were referring to who walked off is one of those people!

At the end of the day though you achieved what you wanted, some may not have been to your liking but the client was happy which in most cases is the best end result, is it not?

I would like to be able to or at least assist on something like that just for the experience if nothing else at least I can get a feel of what its like and gain more confidence and knowledge over time.

Well done

Ian
 
There's a HUGE difference between capturing a likeness and capturing the essence of the subject

Never more apparent to me in shooting kids in the studio as I used to do - in most sessions I get a great shot of the kid, in some they were simply stunning shots of the kid (well I thought so :D) but NONE of those great/stunning shots was ever bought by mum & dad; they looked for those shots that were imperfect, but that they recognised as capturing the essence of their child

And I'm not too sure the perfect shot has or can ever capture the perfect essence as the viewer, unless they know the subject intimately, will never know when the essence has been captured - they can only guess :thinking:

DD
 
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