Portraits have been around since very early times, although not necessarily as we’re used to seeing them now – think about stone age cave paintings or the art of ancient Egypt.
There are two main definitions of portraiture:
• A likeness of an individual, especially of the face, provided or captured through painting, drawing or photography.
• A verbal or written description of a person describing not just their physical features but their character, nature and preferences.
These definitions can be applied to both real and imaginary forms.
Furthermore a portrait doesn’t always have a person in it; the ‘likeness’ may be established through objects or values that epitomise that individual to those around them.
Project: The basics of portraiture
Exercise: Draw a portrait
Exercise: The Nightwatch
Project: Portraits without people
Project: Commercial portrait photography
Project: Hollywood portraits
Exercise: The Hollywood portrait
Project: The Swinging sixties
Project: Outside the Studio
Inspiration
Swinging Sixties
David Bailey
Terence Donovan
Brian Duffy
Norman Parkinson
Angus McBean
Johyn French
Cecil Beaton
Contemporary
Sally Mann
Nan Goldin
Michael Birt http://www.michael-birt.com
Paul Floyd Blake http://www.floydphotography.co.uk
Harry Hook http://www.albertstudiogallery.com/artists/hhook
Oli Kellett http://www.olikellett.com
David Lachapelle http://www.davidlachapelle.com
Panayiotis Lamprou http://www.panayiotislamprou.com
Ali Lomas http://www.alilomas.co.uk
Joe McGorty http://joemcgorty.com
Kelvin Murray http://kelvinmurray.com
Jeffrey Stockbridge http://www.jeffreystockbridge.com
James Stroud http://www.stroud-photo.com
Thomas Struth http://thomasstruth25.com
Mario Testino http://www.mariotestino.com
Wang Wei http://www.wangwei.co.uk
Annabel Williams http://www.annabelwilliams.com