Essay

I N T R O D U C T I O N

What is Portraiture? The Oxford English Dictionary states it as “the art of painting or taking portraits” however I believe Portraiture should be defined as a free expression of the different ways in which society and artists view people. Portraiture goes back hundreds of years to the roman times, maybe not in photographic form but certainly in the form of sculpting in the Roman Era and painting during the Victorian Era. The importance of portraiture in society is the documentation of people over the years, how we live, how we change over time and how the methods of portraiture have changed. The study of portraiture is incredibly important as it is a very powerful type of art which is very often overlooked and underestimated. Portraits mark the perfect recording of a history, marking events and documenting memories throughout the millions of years that have passed.

H I S T O R Y

The history of portraiture itself goes back millions of years however the photographic portraiture that I am focusing on for this project became popular around the middle of the 19^th century due to the relatively low cost of the daguerreotype which reduced the sitting time for a portrait (Despite the fact it was nowhere near instantaneous as it is now) and therefor led to a rise in the popularity of photographic portraiture rather than painted portraiture. To the right is an example of daguerreotype portraiture. This type of photography is named after creator Louis Jaques Mande Daguerre. In order to make a daguerreotype a daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper until it has a mirror finish. This was then treated with fumes that made it light sensitive enabling it to be exposed in a camera for as long as it was judged to be necessary by the photographer, this could mean a few seconds for a well lit object such as something lit with sunlight or much longer with less intense lighting such as indoor light. The daguerreotypist will then make the result visible by fuming it with vapours of mercury, which helps to remove its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment, and then it must be rinsed and dried before being sealed behind glass to protect it. At this time in history portraits of events such as sporting events like the Olympics could not be photographed as action shots were not possible due to the long exposure times on photography therefor shots were only taken at the beginning and end of events. Aside from how portrait photography was introduced it is important to remember the famous portrait photographers who brought portrait photography to the forefront of all genres, portraits can be found everywhere from beauty topics to animal topics all of which I researched in preparation for this project. Photographers such as Annie Leibovitz are the reason portraiture is so important now.

P H O T O G R A P H E R S

Over the course of this investigative project I have encountered many photographers from extremely famous names such as Annie Leibovitz and Horst Diekgerdes to less well-known photographers such as Ed Hetherington and Robert Ashton. Annie Leibovitz has worked in photography for decades now and in her portrait career she has worked for huge publications such as Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair and is looked up to by incredible amounts of amateur and professional photographers. Leibovitz is known for her trade mark uses of bold poses and colours which adds drama to the shoots, the images she produces look carefully crafted and incredibly well thought out. When she photographs people she believes you must use your camera to see everything and not be afraid to fall in love with your muse. It is proven through years of working in the industry that Leibovitz truly has a deep connection to photography and involves her deepest desires and emotions when taking her portraits, which is probably why they shine so brightly among the masses. This photograph of Meryl Streep is incredibly well appreciated in the industry the clever use of makeup and a wind machine adds a seriousness  to the photograph, the close up portrait reminds us who she is a portrait photographer and the way she has made Streep’s eyes the central point of the photograph is incredible.  Another name that is incredibly talented and made a huge impression on me when I reviewed his work is Horst Diekgerdes. Diekgerdes began his career in Paris before making the move to London, a fashion photographer who has spent time in two of the worlds Fashion capitals is bound to have bundles of experience and talent. His dedication to the fashion publication giant Vogue is envied by most as he photographs for them internationally all the time however when speaking in an interview he stated his favourite shoot/campaign was the Miu Miu (Autumn/Winter 2000) campaign. An interesting fact about Horst Diekgerdes is that unlike most professional photographers he is fairly active on the social network Instagram which most professional photographers disregard however Horst see’s it as a platform to showcase his art and a playground where he can explain his view of the environment and help people to stay up to date with his work. The above shot is from Diekgerde’s favourite campaign the 2000 Miu Miu project and his dramatic skill is emphasized here.  thing most critics say about Diekgerdes is that his work carries certain fluidity and that his fashion photography can sometimes be considered to be pyrotechnic. The shadows of the photograph take away from the child like pose the model is pulling which could be a representation for the effects high fashion and the media have on youthful minds. Some less well known photographers I chose to focus on for this investigation are Ed Hetherington and Robert Ashton who are both animal photographers. Ed Hetherington’s photography contains an intense focus on wild animals and he attempts to portray their fierceness within his images but also their friendliness despite the fact they are not humans. Hetherington is a relatively unknown photographer whom mostly photographs families and people but has travelled into the world of animal portraiture. On his Facebook page for his work there is a feature called "A Lion Borrowed My Camera" in which he sets up a camera and a lion steals it.

M Y   O W N   P R O J E C T

In my project I am aiming to focus on all aspects of photography so in order to do this I will be taking traditional portraiture, beauty portraiture, fashion portraiture and animal portraiture. By exploring these four areas I am covering all aspects of the topic which is very important when you choose a vast topic such as the one I have picked. My love for portraiture began in AS Photography where I was introduced to studio photography during Unit 1. I refined my skills concerning portraiture during Unit 2 where I studied Make - up and Beauty. I chose to focus on portraiture this time round as I was eager to continue in the Beauty vein but I wanted to expand too, this topic gave me the chance as I looked at animals and traditional portrait photography too.

C O N C L U S I O N

To conclude I am enjoying studying portraiture, my research has proved very successful and I feel confident in my project. I love the power that a simple portrait can create, just one look down the camera lens can tell a whole story - as they say a picture says a thousand words.