I have been creating portraits for over forty years. They have not always been great portraits. Well, maybe the subjects have always been great,
but the technical quality may not have the best in early years. Photography,
like any other art form, takes practice. What's involved in quality
portraiture?
Posing - proper posing is only mastered by learning from other teaching
professionals. Over the past 40 years, I have attended thousands of hours of
seminars and schools that have taught me the correct rules of posing. There is
a difference in posing a woman and a man. There are feminine poses as well as
masculine poses. There are rules for both.
Lighting - this is where a true professional shines through. Proper
light techniques take years to perfect.
The correct pose plus proper lighting techniques are the two most
important components of the classic portrait. A "Classic Portrait"
shows the best and most flattering pose of the subject and NOT the background.
Look at the portraits of the "Old Masters" such as Rembrandt and
DaVinci. Your eyes are drawn to Mona Lisa's
face and not the background. As a matter of fact, do you know what the
background was in the Mona Lisa?
This is "Classic Portraiture". This is what I do.
