Portraiture Photography

Portrait Photography
The first cameras that were used by portrait photographers were stiff cameras (meaning that it would take a few minutes to take a picture). This meant that only rich people were able to afford to have their portraits done as they had the money and also that portraiture was originally designed to make the rich look divine and powerful. An example of this are past kings and queens who were on the throne before cameras were even invented, they had their portraits painted and this was because they wanted to look Divine and powerful as well. As cameras developed over the years it meant that more people were able to have their portraits done as well. This means that portrait photography helped to make photography what it is today because without this technological determinism people would not be able to use photography how they use it today as it is a very common thing to see in your day to day lives.

Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was an american photographer who roamed around the streets of New York taking pictures. She also took portrait pictures for families such as the Matthaei family. Diane Arbus had different motives for her pictures compared to other photographers because her motives were that she wanted to capture peoples emotions and not many other photographers captured that in people. For example, when she was doing portrait photographs for the Matthaei family she had a motive that she wanted to capture the children as sad and unhappy because that is how she saw children from rich families to be. She wanted to capture this specific emotion on rich families children because she grew up with a rick families and she knew what emotions rich families children felt as she had been in that same situation when she was a child. Because Diane Arbus had these sort of motives it made her photography very dark. 

This is a portrait photograph that Diane Arbus took of one of the children in the Matthaei family. As you can see from this child's facial expression Diane Arbus really captured the child looking sad in this photo. She captured many other photographs showing similar emotions from people as well. 

On July 26th, 1971, Diane Arbus had committed suicide and she died at the age of 48 years old. 

Tony Vaccaro
Tony Vaccaro is an american photographer and he is best known for his photographs taken during the second World War from where he was a solider photographer and he is also best known for his photography around Europe after the second World War. Tony Vaccaro also had a different motive towards portrait photography which was that he used to determine the personality of the person he was going to photograph before he actually took the picture. Tony Vaccaro did this because that way it portrays who the person really is in the portrait and not who they want to be. 

Tony Vaccaro was once invited round Picasso's house to take portrait photos of him. When Tony was about to start taking Picasso's portraits, Picasso started posing for the camera but then Vaccaro fooled him into thinking there was something wrong with his camera. This then meant that Vaccaro could capture the image he wanted of Picasso which was of him being natural and not posing. 


This is one of the portraits that Tony Vaccaro took of Picasso. 

Portraits are so common now that we see them in our every day to day life. You can see portraits in such typical places as Galleries, however you don't realise how many portraits you see every day until you think about it. These are some examples of portraits that you see every day, The queens portrait because it is on money and stamps and people use these everyday. We also see peoples portraits on such things as billboards, and advertisement posters in such places as clothe shops and magazines. 

Techniques Photographers Use For Portrait Photography

Photographers can take portrait pictures of people in studios or outside in a certain place. If photographers take pictures of people outside of a studio then it can be anywhere. Some examples of places that photographers take peoples portraits that are outside of a studio are at a beach, or in the countryside. Photographers take peoples portraits in places like this because its in a place filled with natural light. Taking portrait pictures in places like these also help to bring out positive emotions. 

Portraiture notes

• Diane Arbus roamed the streets of New York. People say that because she didnt want to be herself thats what made her photography good because she wanted have other motives to capture types of emotions in people that other photographers didnt capture e.g.when she did one familys portrait she had a motive that she wanted to take pictures of their children being sad and not happy because that is how she saw they would be and she wanted to capture them like this. When she had motives like this it made her photography quite dark. 

• In 1971 she comited suicide. 
• Portraiter was mostly for Rich people in those days because they had the money for these pictures and it was because portraiter was designed to make the rich look divine.
• Tony vaccaro used to determine the personality of the person your taking the picture of before you take the picture because then it will bring out a message of what that person is really like, this way it portrays who they really are in the photo and not who they want to be.
• Larry clarks photography was as personal to him as it was a diary to some people.
• He published his first photos in1971 in an album called 'Tulsa'.