portraiture.

the other day we read an article in class by Richard Avedon entitled "Borrowed Dogs". we have just been getting into studio work in class and a portraiture triptych assignment so it seemed fitting to read a famous photographer's thoughts on portraits. when i first finished reading it i wasn't quite sure what Avedon was trying to say, and whatever it was, i felt like he was making the issue far more complicated than necessary; however, after reading it once more and having some time to reflect on it, i believe that i understand and actually agree with the main idea that Avedon was aiming to express.

"portraiture is performance..."

basically, what i realized is that even in those moments, the times when it seems like someone has finally let go and relaxed enough for you to make the perfect image, even then there is still performing involved. first through the model, how they are dressed, their image, how they manipulate their appearance for the world. second is through the photographer, how we choose to portray the person, what light shall we show them in , in which angle...should we zoom in or out, include a plain or complicated background, use props, or have them strip down completely naked.

it's all about how we think another person should be portrayed.

and at the same time, how can we help it if they are putting on an act, for maybe this is simply how they wish the world could see them.

some people consider posing for the camera as their chance to show the world just how beautiful an unique they really are, but as photographers, sometimes we perceive such qualities in a different way.

this happened to Avedon when he shot photos of his aging father.

"my sense of what is beautiful was very different from his."

he wanted to show his father in a way that seemed fitting to him, rather than how his father thought he should look.

"all of the photographs in our family album were built on some kind of lie about who we were, and revealed truth about who we wanted to be."

that line pretty much says it all.

"for our means secure us and our defects prove our worth."