What is really important about portraiture?

Natural Laughter, originally uploaded by kamikaze productions.

One of the reason I take people’s portraits is because it is a challenge. And the challenge centers around trying to capture an essence, so that anyone can look at a picture and feel like they’ve opened a biography.

Besides, if you are going to pay for a photo, you want them to capture YOU…if you wanted them to just take a picture of what you look like…you can just contact one of the companies that does yearbook photos.

The point of this post was to discuss the hidden agenda of the photographer. I guess it isn’t quite fair to call it hidden. I will refer to it is the underpinnings of a portrait. We are all familiar with portraits taken at the studio, or at our school…for use in the yearbook or the good ‘ole family picture to send to loved ones…but I figure, those are boring and convey nothing. All you get when you walk out of the studio is a picture, just like looking in a mirror…posed, stiff, and lacking. Remember how they used to take big family portraits back in the day. They were black and white and everyone would line up and rows, and there weren’t even smiles!!!!

With that said, to my fellow photographers, and to customers across the worlds…make sure an essence is captured. When you send a picture to a loved one, it should tell your autobiography, it should convey the range of emotion you are capable of, it should move the person in some way or another. You have to remember, a photograph isn’t just a split second record for where you were and what you did at a specific point in time. It has way more unbridled power than that. They say a picture is worth a thousands words – some are, some aren’t. So keep that in mind when you are snapping or when someone is photographing you.

Below are some examples of what I mean by tapping into the natural essence. True expression should not be posed, faked, or anything of the sort…it should be inspired from the subjects heart, and that is it.

DISCLAIMER: People will pose, but it is important that they play a majority role in what they do when in front of your lens…they need to tap their creativity, and you can handle your on your end.