Portraits
“A portrait! What could be more simple and more complex, more obvious and more profound?” — Charles Baudelaire, 1859
Personally I prefer the candid approach, spending time with the person, getting to know them and capturing aspects of their daily life. I feel this approach speaks to the viewer more than if I ask a person to sit down statically in front of me staring into the camera. I want the subject to feel at ease with the camera and I want that ease to be communicated to the viewer.
That's not to say I don't take portraits where the subject is looking right at me, but when that is the case, I also try to include aspects of the person's life into the image — things that tell the viewer what the person does or likes or is involved in. More an environmental portrait approach.
I also like to add elements to an image that make it verge on the surreal — a loving portrait of mother and son wearing vegetable nets over their heads, for instance. Or my daughter, Emma, who enjoys creating edgy fashion, wearing a face plate of an electric heater, aka haute couture, as an unusual replacement for a sophisticated veil — go figure?
In terms of my own technique, I come from a journalistic background, where manipulation was kept to a minimum, often frowned upon, but with portraits, I’ll often enhance colors or degrade an image in Photoshop to match my idea of the subject’s personality: a more sedate personality might merit a sepia-toned image,whereas someone whose personality is wild and the person’s lifestyle, say, experimental or edgy, might earn an ultra=saturated, extremely manipulated image.
What that means is there isn’t a coherent look to my body of portraits. They range from traditional to extreme depending on the mood I’m in at the time of editing and the personality of the subject. When I “enhance” an image, I am hoping to illuminate the personality of the subject more than if I simply do a straightforward print.
I prefer natural light to artificial, although on occasion I’ll use the latter.
What constitutes a successful portrait for me?
One where the subject’s personality is clear to the viewer, but a photograph that also leaves you asking questions about the subject — adds some mystery as opposed to, seemingly, telling you everything about the person in the photograph. Those two goals might seem on opposite ends of the spectrum, but, at least to me, are achievable and, if achieved, make for a very engaging image.
Personally I prefer the candid approach, spending time with the person, getting to know them and capturing aspects of their daily life. I feel this approach speaks to the viewer more than if I ask a person to sit down statically in front of me staring into the camera. I want the subject to feel at ease with the camera and I want that ease to be communicated to the viewer.
That's not to say I don't take portraits where the subject is looking right at me, but when that is the case, I also try to include aspects of the person's life into the image — things that tell the viewer what the person does or likes or is involved in. More an environmental portrait approach.
I also like to add elements to an image that make it verge on the surreal — a loving portrait of mother and son wearing vegetable nets over their heads, for instance. Or my daughter, Emma, who enjoys creating edgy fashion, wearing a face plate of an electric heater, aka haute couture, as an unusual replacement for a sophisticated veil — go figure?
In terms of my own technique, I come from a journalistic background, where manipulation was kept to a minimum, often frowned upon, but with portraits, I’ll often enhance colors or degrade an image in Photoshop to match my idea of the subject’s personality: a more sedate personality might merit a sepia-toned image,whereas someone whose personality is wild and the person’s lifestyle, say, experimental or edgy, might earn an ultra=saturated, extremely manipulated image.
What that means is there isn’t a coherent look to my body of portraits. They range from traditional to extreme depending on the mood I’m in at the time of editing and the personality of the subject. When I “enhance” an image, I am hoping to illuminate the personality of the subject more than if I simply do a straightforward print.
I prefer natural light to artificial, although on occasion I’ll use the latter.
What constitutes a successful portrait for me?
One where the subject’s personality is clear to the viewer, but a photograph that also leaves you asking questions about the subject — adds some mystery as opposed to, seemingly, telling you everything about the person in the photograph. Those two goals might seem on opposite ends of the spectrum, but, at least to me, are achievable and, if achieved, make for a very engaging image.
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To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page