best natural light portraitists?

pierods · Mar 6, 2009

Hello,

can you name a few masters of natural light portraiture for me to admire? Maybe in b/w?

thanks

piero

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 6, 2009

I'd say look at Sally Mann and Jock Sturges for folks who do portraits in natural light - they're not exactly conventional portraits, but they certainly qualify.

Pinholemaster · Mar 6, 2009

Scott Davis!

Surely not me! Dead Link Removed

Grin.

keithwms · Mar 6, 2009

Available light shooters tend also to fall into the impromptu/street, rangefinder or press camera mode of shooting. A few come to mind.... Weegee. Winogrand. Kertesz.

A prime recent example would be Ragnar Axelsson, whose understanding of the (challenging) available light of the north is clearly evident in his informal portraits in Faces of the North, which I described (there was a url link here which no longer exists). "Rax" is the man when it comes to available light environmental portraiture, in my opinion. Though you may be looking for more formal compositions.

Stoo Batchelor · Mar 6, 2009

You would have to include Jane Bown

http://89.234.0.17/collections/search/person.php?search=sa&sText=Jane+Bown&LinkID=mp07814&role=art

I own a wonderful book by her called 'FACES' The creative process behind great portraits, in which she includes a little of the thought process and tech detail on each photograph.

Best

Stoo

Chazzy · Mar 6, 2009

Stoo Batchelor said:
You would have to include Jane Bown

http://89.234.0.17/collections/search/person.php?search=sa&sText=Jane+Bown&LinkID=mp07814&role=art

That link gets me a mostly blank page, although it could be a problem with my browser.

naeroscatu · Mar 6, 2009

Charles, the link works, I was able to get in. Quite an impressive body of work, many famous people there.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 6, 2009

Rembrandt, Vermeer.

Of course the nineteenth-century portraitists generally used natural light. Nadar understood light--

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/N/nadar/nadar_georges_sand_full.html

Chazzy · Mar 6, 2009

naeroscatu said:
Charles, the link works, I was able to get in. Quite an impressive body of work, many famous people there.

It worked for me when I tried a second time. If at first you don't succeed

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 6, 2009

Oh, don't forget Alexander Gardner, Matthew Brady, and those millions of otherwise unknown wet plate portraitists whose work most of us have in family albums stashed away in some dusty corner of the attic somewhere.

vdonovan · Mar 6, 2009

Don't be forgettin' my man August Sander!

rorye · Mar 6, 2009

Snowden

Chazzy · Mar 6, 2009

vdonovan said:
Don't be forgettin' my man August Sander!

Thanks for the link. There's a Sander book that I've been wanting for some time, but it always goes for too much on eBay.

pierods · Mar 6, 2009

thank you all so much.

Rob Skeoch · Mar 6, 2009

I've always liked Arnold Newman.

Schlapp · Mar 6, 2009

Tina Modotti http://www.modotti.com/

Morry Katz · Mar 6, 2009

Let's not forget Edward Weston, Imogene Cunningham. Dorothea Lange, Walter Evans et al.

Morry Katz

eddym · Mar 6, 2009

W. Eugene Smith; Manuel Alvarez Bravo; Sebastiao Salgado

AlanC · Mar 6, 2009

1. Irving Penn. Worlds in a small room...
2. Frank Meadow Sutcliffe. Victorian photographs of Whitby fishermen

Alan Clark

eddym · Mar 6, 2009

Oh, I forgot... Antonin Kratochvil!

keithwms · Mar 7, 2009

Oh yes, do check out Cheryl Jacobs' latest offerings in the galleries!

BobNewYork · Mar 7, 2009

Snowdon

Bob H.

rorye · Mar 7, 2009

Ah yes, my typo

Rory E

Ann M · Mar 7, 2009

How about Eve Arnold?

Anton Lukoszevieze · Mar 7, 2009

Harry Callahan

best natural light portraitists?

pierods

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

Pinholemaster

keithwms

Stoo Batchelor

Chazzy

naeroscatu

David A. Goldfarb

Moderator

Chazzy

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

vdonovan

rorye

Chazzy

pierods

Rob Skeoch

Advertiser

Schlapp

Morry Katz

eddym

AlanC

eddym

keithwms

BobNewYork

rorye

Ann M

Anton Lukoszevieze

best natural light portraitists?

Membership Council

Moderator

Membership Council

Advertiser

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency