What is a Portrait?

Taken from 'Photography' by John Ingledew

A portrait attempts to express the character of a person and pin down the sitter in the hierarchy of their world, socially and physically, showing status, authority and significance. A portrait offers insight into a person beyond the details of appearance, revealing unknown sides of his or her character or showing a fresh perspective on someone we know well.

To create a portrait you need more than someone just standing in front of your camera. Having someone framed in the viewfinder and clicking the shutter doesn't mean you've taken a portrait of that person. the result is often just a composition or a likeness revealing little other than features, location and outfit - though history can add weight to these images as places change, clothes become dated or the person famous.

many things stand in the way of creating a portrait When being photographed, most people have a self-awareness about the presence of the camera and present a habitual expression and pose to the lens that they know will look satisfactory. Despite our best efforts, though, it is impossible not to betray some small clues to our true identity in our expression and body language.

To take a portrait the photographer must somehow search and penetrate beyond a sitter's guard. The photographer Eve Arnold said that the portrait photographer should 'get into the soul of the person'.