I wonder sometimes why portraiture is so important. Make no mistake, it is and it will continue to be even when we are back to drawing on cave walls. Before photography painters made portraits on commission. They still do. Check out the National Portrait Gallery. Those painted portraits were filtered through the eye of the artist in concert with the ego of the subject. Sometimes it would work out, often the subject’s ego won out over the artists vision. One must never lose sight of who is signing the check.
A photo portrait is different. The genius of photography is its ability to capture a moment in time frankly and objectively. The challenge of photography is the camera’s ability to see clearly. The art of photography is to get the onlooker to see not what the camera sees but what the artist envisioned. A photo portrait must be honest but not cruel. It must tell the truth gently and with grace.
In my portrait work I try to keep one thing in mind. Elegance.
