Portrait Photography Reevaluation

Portrait Photography Reevaluation

Portrait Photography Reevaluation

An art form undergoing reevaluation is portrait photography. An artist whose work is currently being displayed at the Pittsburgh gallery tells us that his work is driven by his reaction toward the nature of traditionally being confrontational in portraiture. This photographer took a number of portraits in his lifetime, but was not satisfied by the lack of substantial characterization in the shots he took.

He seems to have raised an idea. Media portraiture can be quite bland even if it has a large following as well as a perception of being cool. The photographer directs the models to adopt curious gestures and poses in surprising settings.

His solution to the banality common in this type of work has been to engage the sitter in a more extensive way. On display at the exhibit were 13 portraits of people from Pittsburgh which were done in a collaborative effort. The sitter is allowed to make suggestions and even to choose where he or she is to be photographed. This is a practice quite unusual in this profession.

When he does a project, he has no preconceived plan. Essential to the collaborative effort is a preliminary in which the photograph is conceptualized. He then tries to find a suitable setting, usually with the assistance of a sitter. A set, made to look a confined cell, is usually built with a steel sheet and mirrored glass box.

A sculptor decided to have his photograph along with his work, and a writer picked a bar scenario. Bridges was a suggested site for a photograph, but in the actual photographs, it came out too weak.

He is able to create complex and difficult lighting effects in his photographs, which displays his great skill. These effects were not additions made on the photograph during the processes of developing and printing. The effects of color become pervasive and appealing in the picture because he uses colored gels with his lighting equipment. The exposure times for these photographs would last for a long period of time. It took 15 minutes to expose the nocturnal portrait of person outside a bar, giving the sitter enough time to walk into and out of the camera's range.

He could then return and with a wand of light trace letters in the air, eerily recorded by the camera. There is hardly any indication of the presence people leaving or entering the bar which can be found on film during the exposure. Another series of photographs, taken in the garden of a factory on the North Side, again nocturnal, indicate that for all the chromatic luxury, there is a relatively simple, perhaps austere, sensibility in the lighting.

All his photography education was self taught, yet he is very professional in his work. The sense of absolute control which he seems to exert over his work meets an interesting challenge when collaboration is undertaken. Of course, the final decisions have to be those of the artist, and this exhibition makes that clear. The photographs on display are all professionally printed and are reversal prints.

POST COMMENT

Various Types of Backdrop used in Photography Canvas Photo prints to reproduce family photos in large images How to customize canvas pictures to meet individual taste How to find the best canvas picture for living rooms New Speed Cameras The Science Behind the Infrared Security Camera How to Inspect Hair Transplant Before and After Pictures Chelsea Handler sees a bigger picture than E! Entertainment Grand Canyon Skywalk: The Reason You Can't Bring a Camera Photo Christmas Card Ideas For Couples - 7 Suggestions For Holiday Picture Cards For The Two Of You Picture Archiving And Communication Systems - Global Opportunity Assessment The best types of security cameras What Is Sense-Up? - An Introduction To And Explanation Of The Most Misunderstood Security Camera Feature