BEST OF  PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A GREAT PORTRAIT?

Or better yet, the question really is what is a portrait? One cannot truly understand what a great portrait is before one understands what it is that defines a portrait.

On its face, portraiture is a visual art form that describes a person’s likeness. That is the least a portrait will do—to define how a person looked in a given time and space. That would mean that every snapshot of every mother’s son is a portrait. And that would be correct. A portrait is, at its most basic roots, a description of the likeness of a person.

A fine portrait conveys lots of information about the person pictured. Here, a David Williams portrait reveals a great deal about the man in the photograph—his work habits, his intensity, his passion. The organized chaos that is his office invites a close inspection of each nook and cranny.

Photographer and author J.J. Allen thinks the definition of a portrait is a bit more complex. In his words, “it is an image that invites your imagination to reach beyond the obvious.” He cites the example of the Philippe Halsman portrait of Sir Winston Churchill seated on the bank of a pond on his estate. Churchill’s back faces the camera, “but at that time in history his bulk and his seemingly immovable quality described the man who was one of the world’s greatest leaders.” Revealing the depth of a person and an inner sense of that person is more in keeping with what the art of portraiture is capable of conveying.

The great portraitist is one who sees things others don’t. This can obviously be said of any artist, visual or otherwise, but the portrait artist has to appraise and apprise in a manner of seconds, plotting a visual course that will reveal what he or she has seen and wants to reveal. A great portrait photographer sees a great many aspects of a person in a split-second. It is perhaps the greatest gift a photographer can possess and it is rare, even among successful portrait photographers.

Tim Kelly, a modern day master, says, “Watch your subjects before you capture the image. Sometimes the things they do naturally become great artistic poses.” For this reason, Kelly does not warn his clients when he is ready to start a portrait session. “I don’t believe in faking the spontaneity of the subject’s expression,” Kelly says.

Tim Kelly’s portraits are soft, elegant and relaxed. They have the mark of an artist who is a great observer but also the mark of a great designer. Aside from their outer beauty, Kelly’s portraits exhibit a naturalness and spontaneity uncommon in posed portraits. The technique that is evident but not obtrusive is always subservient to the expression and pose of the subject, as if a code of honor exists between photographer and honored subject. In Kelly’s words, “What matters is that my rendering of the subject is the best interpretation that can be made. I think my work is artistic, but I do not consider it creative. The creation is the subject.”

This is a casual but very structured pose wherein the subject has turned away from the light—a most unusual format for a portrait. His attention is focused outside the confines of the portrait. The image is minimally propped—a small bust, a few books (no doubt classics), and a curious half of a clock. There is meaning and obscurity in the image, but it is also beautifully done in that it is an elegant study in brown tones. The portrait, at this level, communicates so much more than mere surface details. Portrait by Tim Kelly.

An accomplished portrait photographer is able to make a positive connection with people, time after time. The cliché, “people person” rings true here, but more than that, the portrait photographer is able to connect with people on a physical and emotional level so that when their portrait is made, there is a communication happening beyond and without words. Perhaps it’s no more than empathy, but beneath that the photographer must have a strong desire to bring the best out of his or her subjects—to make them look their finest and to bring out the best in them emotionally.

Photographers like Bill McIntosh, an expert portrait photographer for more than 50 years, sees one of the keys to his success as his ability to enliven his subjects, developing an endearing kind of rapport. His tools of the trade are “outrageous flattery and corn-ball humor.” He rarely stops talking and the subject is part of the reverie and good time. The expressions he elicits from otherwise staid customers are oftentimes priceless.

Bill McIntosh photographs many of his fine portraits in the subject’s homes, which are often quite luxurious. He will meet with his subjects prior to the sitting and plan the location and elements for each portrait. Bill believes that these elements are vitally important to the image and so they are carefully lit and always in razor sharp focus. The result is an “important” portrait that the client will often purchases as a wall-size portrait in a fine frame.

This school of thought underscores the belief that the sitter should be pictured in a serious manner and that the photographer should enhance the formality and elegance of the portrait. Like the great portrait painters of the Victorian Era, the formal portrait seeks to coordinate of all the formal elements of the picture. The background should compliment the skin tones and the clothes (often referred to as “the costume”) and this will help set the mood of the portrait. With these elements under the control of the photographer, he or she can then address the pose, the expression, and what Charis refers to as “the final judgment of the portrait,” meaning, the photographer’s imprint of final pose and gesture of the subject—the result being the one image that defines the person for the ages.

Bill McIntosh has an equally serious view of fine portraiture. “I treat my portraits as if they are paintings. For the right client I show them the same way painters present their finished work. I bring the completed custom-framed portrait to the home, with an easel and picture light. The framed portrait is in a red velvet bag and at the right time I unveil the portrait.”

McIntosh believes that portrait photographers of today owe a great deal to the Victorian Era portrait painters. The reign of Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901) was a time when Great Britain’s global dominance and subsequent industrialization produced a large and wealthy middle class, who were able to procure the trappings of wealth like fine homes, furnishings and art. In McIntosh’s view, “The new middle class wanted the best of everything and they could afford it. High on their list was paintings of themselves and their families. At no time in history was the portrait painter more in demand, celebrated and financially rewarded than during the ‘Victorian Era.’ The Victorian painters supplied this art for their patrons and during this time the flattering portrait was perfected. The poses, lighting, story-telling genre scenes and innovative uses of color and design were realized.”

Both Bill McIntosh and Phillip Charis continue that formal tradition today. Charis says that what he creates, are essentially formal portraits. Whether the subject is a movie star or stay-at-home-mom, Charis’s portraits show people at their finest—wearing fine jewelry, the best clothes. The subjects are idealized and regal, displaying a kind of Old World charm and formality.

On another of its most basic levels, the portrait is a means to remembering—a memory. “This is how sister Jeanne looked when she was 11—she still has that impish grin 50 years later!” This function of the portrait, while on the surface mundane, is no less important than the view of the portrait as psychological profile, historical tapestry or any other of its popular definitions.

Monte Zucker, who is recognized as one of the finest portrait photographers in the world, combines a number of notions into his concept of the fine portrait. He says, “A Monte Portrait is simple, elegant, void of distractions and usually flatters the subject. It makes a statement mostly about the subject, but at the same time includes my interpretation of that person.”

Monte shows his subjects naturally and often in a relaxed setting, but just as often, his portraits depict people as he would like them to be. He idealizes his sitter when he feels it is appropriate. “Either way,” he says, “it is a simple statement. I want the viewer to feel a Monte Portrait as well as see it. If you are emotionally connected with my subjects when you see their portraits, I feel that I have done my job.”

Monte, who has always been “ahead of the curve,” in predetermining what the public wants, has touched a popular nerve. Like the popularity of the wedding photojournalist, who brings out the hidden emotion of the wedding day, so good contemporary portraiture must also touch those hidden emotions. A good portrait can’t just be about classical composition or rich colors. A good portrait has to strike a nerve, undo an emotion. In the words of one successful studio manager, “If they cry, they buy.”

Other points of view determine that a fine portrait must also convey the character of the person. A great portrait must be an effective glimpse into the soul of the person. This is one of the things that separates a great portrait from a “mere likeness,” even a flattering one. While it is impossible to obtain a clear understanding of a person’s complex character from a single stolen moment in time like a portrait, it is possible to convey something of a person’s character, as well as their attitudes and something about their “station in life.”

Others see the portrait as a story-telling device and it is evident that many of us see the contemporary portrait as a sort of time capsule, holding treasured totems of a time that may someday soon be lost.

Australian master photographer Martin Schembri believes in telling a story with each portrait. Here the unusual landscape, rich in saturated color, holds the subject as part of its power. Unusual positioning of the subject conveys a sense of journey, perhaps much of it already completed. And her expression reveals a sense of overwhelming emotion.

Portraits taken in the home define not only an environment, but also the history of the family members recorded there. It is important that detail be vivid in home sittings, as these are the things that will be treasured in years to come. If the photographer combines the historical aspects of home with an emotional rendering then he or she will have created a portrait of great lasting value.

There are other definitions, certainly, of a fine portrait. A popular one is that a portrait is a likeness that comes close to the person’s own self-image; flattering and idealized. This is particularly relevant since portraiture is, by necessity, a commercial endeavor. People who pay large fees for their portraits must not only be happy with the outcome, but also be flattered by the likeness.

According to some, the portrait’s importance depends in part on its being close to life-size, an aspect that may be determined in part by where the image would be hung in the home. Along with the ornate frame—often gilded with intricate scrollwork—this type of portraiture is in the grand tradition. These portraits also keep alive an intangible not always found in contemporary life—elegance, dignity and grace.

The expression is all-important in the fine portrait. While a gifted photographer is capable of producing literally dozens of saleable portraits in a single sitting, there is always one portrait that stands above the rest and its high caliber is usually related to the expression. Many great portrait photographers believe the expression must be “tranquil,” so as to provide a glimpse into the subject’s mind and character. The expression should also be compelling, causing the viewer to gaze into the eyes of the portrait, appreciating the uniqueness of the person and the image.

Often, the compelling nature of a portrait is related to the gaze of the subject, who may often be “looking into the camera,” but by extension, looking out at the viewer, inviting inquiry and understanding. All clichés aside, the eyes are the most interesting and alluring part of the human face, allowing the viewer to become totally absorbed in the portrait.

As important to the portrait as the expression, so are the details of the portrait. The nuances of pose, the blending of tones to form a cohesive palette and a myriad of other technical and aesthetic details contribute towards the successful fine portrait. Master photographer Phillip Charis has often said that he is obsessed with the details, believing that if the details that are handled well, the closer the portrait is to perfection. This concentration on the details is even more critical with the ability to render near life-sized portraits. Says Charis; “In a small desk-size portrait what difference does it make if a finger or wrist is bent awkwardly? What difference does it make if the placement of one person appears too close to another? In a small portrait it’s a matter of small importance. In a life-size portrait it’s of extreme importance.”

One of my favorite photographers is the Australian, David Anthony Williams, who summed up what great portraiture is all about when speaking to a group of print judges at an international print competition. He said, “Our photography is about life. Is there a life force in the image or has the subject been there too long?” The life force is the lingering and overpowering side effect of portraiture that keeps the affected coming back for more. In great portraiture we rediscover what it is that makes us feel alive and great, both individually and collectively. And we rediscover what it is that makes us all human and vulnerable and what it is that makes us laugh and cry.

The great portrait also has a tradition of classical elegance built on a system of posing, lighting and composition that goes back to the cave paintings of early civilization—the earliest rendered portraits. There must be a pleasing sense of simplicity, design, and an orderliness that has come from generations of perfecting the medium.

The most wonderful aspect of the portrait, whether it is contemporary or from the 18th century, is that it can be all of these things or none of them. It can be homage or a completely new form or approach. But what makes portraiture compelling for the ages is that we never cease redefining how we see ourselves. The portrait will always be a popular and contemporary art form. Like Narcissus, we never grow tired of seeing our own endless reflection.

Note From the Author:

To illustrate this book, I have called upon some of the finest and most highly decorated portrait photographers in the world. Most of the photographers included in this book have been honored consistently by the country’s top professional organizations, the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). I want to thank all of these great photographers for their participation in this book. Without them, this book would not have been possible.

In addition to the wonderful portraits you will find throughout this book, I have included a fair amount of technical information on lighting, posing, composition and camera technique to better appreciate the work of these master photographers. It is also my hope that these formal disciplines, while constantly undergoing reinterpretation, will survive and flourish as they have done before. While this book will not be the equivalent of years of portrait photography experience, it is my hope that you will be able to learn from these masters how the best portrait photography is created—with style, artistry, technical excellence and professionalism.