Another Portrait

As anyone who looks at my portfolio can tell I’m passionate about photography in general, but people in particular. I can find it very rewarding for example making a beautiful product shot, and I would never just want to shoot one thing for the rest of my life, but there’s just something about capturing the human spirit that never gets old for me. Whether it be models or just regular people around me.

What makes a great portrait in my mind is one where you look at the photograph and feel like you’re connecting with the subject, like you’re getting a glimpse of the person behind the surface. I guess you could boil it down to “soul”.

This incidentally is my major gripe with the digital revolution, both cameras and the internet. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the technology itself, I love working in digital as it let’s me create MY vision to a greater extent than film ever could. But, what it has also lead to is an avalanche of pixel-peeping, equipment masturbation, and endless discussions over settings and software on internet forums.

It’s easy to get caught up in this and forget to actually create something of worth. The question people should ask themselves is not “how many megapixels, what f-stop, or is it perfectly sharp?”, it should be “does this photograph speak to me and others, does it tell a story, does it have soul?”.

Just my 2¢.