Portraiture

Portraiture with Photography is something I'm interested in getting better at. I've included this photo of a high school friend, I recently took at another's friend's house. We "borrowed" her front window and snapped a few pictures to record her first pregnancy. We'll see how future portraits evolve!
I think it's really important for each person to have at least one photo in life that really captures the character,essence or personality of that individual. It's sad but I've been to a few funerals this past year and you just have to look through the newspapers to find a lot of bad (with the occasional few good) funeral/obituary photos. I wonder if some of these deceased wanted these photos to be used or if whoever was doing the obituary just tried to search for a photo of some resemblance to that individual. I hope when I go,(hopefully not for a while), that my obituary picture will be a true representation of my character-and I'm not talking about how I look. I want people to look at my face and see my lifelong joys, pains, and life experiences with each wrinkle that creases my face!I want people to look at my picture and have a sense of truly knowing me and what I'm about.
The MSN Encarta states that portraiture is "the visual representation of individual people (can include animals and dwellings) distinguished by references to the subjects character, social position,wealth, or profession." These visual likeness or images usually capture a persons essence ,being or personality.We often associate portraiture from 'days gone by"as having the subject sitting with just a head and shoulders in the frame. Portraiture however can include a more interactive approach with subjects posing in more natural stances or even performing everyday tasks and jobs.I want to learn more about how to succeed at portraiture. I found some helpful sites to assist with taking better portraits or just giving helpful tips. Here are a few if you'd like to look them up:Picture correct, Epic Edits, Digital Photography School

I've also included in this blog 3 photo links to demonstrate the genre of Portraiture and why I choose these as good representations. Photo 1 I love this first photo because it really captures the joy and innocence of this child and it is taken in an outdoor setting not in studio.

Photo 2 Marlene Fast is a really great Manitoba photographer.(We just recently had some family photos done by her) I like her individual shoots because she puts her subjects at unique angles and usually includes something about them in the photo. For example-A Necklace,cowboy hat ,motorcycle, guitar etc.

Photo 3 This is an example of portraiture from the master Karsh. He photographed a number of famous persons throughout history and it was his ability to capture their personality that made him a great portrait taker!