Portraiture: What Is A Portrait?

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EVERYING ABOUT ART

V I S U A L A R T S S E C O N D A R Y 3
Photography

Portraiture
Questions to Consider

How can identity be revealed in


a portrait?
a) Describe what you see when
you look at the image. Where
does your eye go first?

b) What environment do we find


the subject in? What do we
learn from these details?

Steve McCurry. Portrait of Sharbat Gula, photograph, 1984. c) What moods or feelings are
For more information, www.stevemccurry.com expressed in the portrait?

d) What can you tell about how


What is a portrait? the picture was made? Consider
the use of light, time of day,
vantage point, framing,
composition and scale.

A portrait is a photograph that is composed to convey


information about a person’s appearance, identity, and mood.
Studio portraits rely on details such as clothing, hairstyle, facial
expressions, and body language to teach us about a subject.
Environmental portraits present a person in a context or setting
that contains details that add to what we learn from their
physical appearance.

Vocabulary
Framing Point of view Sitter

How one composes Is where the The person who is


an image in the photographer the subject of a
camera’s stands in relation formal portrait.
viewfinder. to the subject. Dianne Arbus. Identical Twins, photograph, 1967.
For more information: 1
https://publicdelivery.org/diane-arbus-twins/
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EVERYING ABOUT ART

Christopher Wahl
Wahl is a contemporary photographer who specializes in
studio portraits and photojournalism. His work has been
featured on the cover of numerous magazines. He has
photographed The Rolling Stones, The Royal Family, and
the William sisters.
Glue your
image here.
Find a portrait by Wahl and…
Describe how he used framing, lighting, and point of
view in the photograph.

Web link: www.christopherwahl.com

Dorothy Lange
In 1960, Lange gave this account of the experience:

“I saw and approached the hungry and desperate


mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how
I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do
remember she asked me no questions. I made five
exposures, working closer and closer from the same
direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told
me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they
had been living on frozen vegetables from the
surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She
had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There
she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled
around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might
Dorothy Lang. Migrant Mother,
help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of
(Florence Owens). 1936.
equality about it.”

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EVERYING ABOUT ART

Exploring Lange’s Migrant Mother…


1) Where do your eyes go first?

2) What do we learn about the people and place in the photograph?

3) What is the mood or feelings of the image?

4) What details reveal that information?

5) What assumptions have we made as a viewer?

6) What challenges do you think portrait photographers encounter?

Jodi Cobb
For the past 30 years, Jodi Cobb has worked as a freelance photographer and is one of 7
photographers who olds a position with National Geographic. She is known for capturing details in
her work that add to the story. For example, a clock on the wall above the aging actress. Cobb’s most
powerful work are of women.

Find a portrait by Jodi Cobb and… Additional resources: www.jodicobb.com

Describe how she used framing, lighting, and point of


view in the image to create a mood or a feeling with the
image.

Glue your
image here.

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EVERYING ABOUT ART

Cindy Sherman
1) What do we learn about the person in the photograph?

2) What is the mood or feelings of the image?

3) What details reveal that information?

Cindy Sherman. MAC Fall Colour Look #1, photograph, 2011.

4) What assumptions have we made as a viewer?

5) What challenges do you think Sherman encounters as both a sitter and photographer?

6) Why doesn’t Sherman just photograph actual people?

Vik Muniz
Vik Muniz creates large portraits of people using garbage. He works with garbage pickers at the
world’s largest garbage dump in Brazil. His process starts with photographing the pickers posed in
iconic stances and projects that image onto the floor of a studio. Then, the image is recreated using the
garbage to fill in highlights and shadows as a monumental drawing. Finally, he photographs the
image. He views his artworks to explore human consumption and raise awareness of the working
conditions in garbage dumps. Additional resources: https://recyclinginternational.com/latest-
articles/editors-top-picks/vik-muniz-proves-the-true-power-of-trash/26958/
Find a portrait by Muniz and…
1) Do you think his artwork is more about the
process, the monumental drawing or the final
photograph?

2) Do you think he really is bringing awareness or


is it just a gimmick to sell his photographs?

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PORTRAITURE VISUAL ARTS

Points to Consider
Homework # 1 Compose your image in
the camera’s viewfinder.
Your are to create one of the following: a) an environmental
portrait focusing on your subject in a place that includes details Only include elements
that would help to define or describe him or her that add from your
composition.
b) a studio portrait photographing against a sparse background
that would focus our attention on your subject’s body, clothing, Chose your vantage
physical and facial expressions. point.

Consider lighting.
“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more
it tells you the less you know.”
—Diane Arbus

Homework #2
Your are to create one of the following: a) an environmental
Photograph a day in your life. Carry your camera or cell phone throughout the day and take 30 images
from the morning till when you go to bed. Photograph all aspects of your day, including everyday
moments and locations. Submit a photo grid of the 30 pictures and one 4 x6 of your best picture from the
series. Check out the work by Mebane and Hyers titled, “Empire 2006” in which they took 9000
photographs of the interiors of various homes across the USA to get a unique perspective of American life
and values. titledxamplen a place that includes details that would help to define or describe him or her
b) a studio portrait photographing against a sparse background that would focus our attention on your
Points to
subject’s Consider
body, clothing, physical and facial expressions.
Try to represent your day evenly.
Avoid photographic clichés such as making
Homework # 3
a lot of pictures of your friends “mugging” Masks are used to create or hide identity whether
for the camera. physical or metaphorical. We wear them on
Halloween for fun but what happens when you
Include items that would teach others wear one walking down the street in September?
about you. You are to wear a mask in an environment and
Use the technique of framing. photograph yourself. How does the mask relate to
the space? Document how it felt to wear the mask
and the reactions of people around you. Print the
image and examine it from an objective viewpoint.
What makes the photograph successful?

References: Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago.

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