Outstanding Portrait Photographer To Admire?

ScarletBrown · Jan 29, 2014

In portrait photography world we have many top most inspirational portrait photographers but which one of your inspirational portrait photographer that boost your photography skills and spirits?

For me only one portrait photographer who inspires me a lot and her name is Gertrude Käsebier.

SchwinnParamount · Jan 29, 2014

Avedon, without a doubt. Take a look at "Richard Avedon's West"... if that is the title. He went west with his Deardorff and made some heart stopping portraits of the "area man", to harvest a bon mote from The Onion.

The book... actually, I think it is "Richard Avedon's West" or something, is inspiring and gorgeous. If you can find it, buy it. If your library has it, check it out.

irvd2x · Jan 29, 2014

William Albert Allard.Best photographer of the human subject I ever saw.

Sent from my LG-P509 using Tapatalk 2

David Brown · Jan 29, 2014

SchwinnParamount said:
The book... actually, I think it is "Richard Avedon's West" or something, ...

"In the American West"

ajmiller · Jan 29, 2014

irvd2x said:
William Albert Allard.Best photographer of the human subject I ever saw.

Sent from my LG-P509 using Tapatalk 2

Good one - wasn't aware of him before now, thanks.

For me having a quick look through the books on my library it's probably August Sander.

doughowk · Jan 29, 2014

All those usually mentioned in portraiture have inspired me including Avedon, Karsh, Newman and Penn. One of the lesser knowns that I recently became familiar with is Dead Link Removed. He photographed many artists, especially dancers, that passed thru New York. He retired in Florida, but I unfortunately never met him before he recently passed away.

jeffreyg · Jan 29, 2014

I do have a first edition copy of "In the American West" and I'm sure the list of outstanding portrait photographers will grow quite long. My addition to the list is a Canadian photographer Craig Richards. A number of years ago while on vacation I had the pleasure of meeting Craig and was most impressed by his photography. We later had a chance to entertain him here in Miami where I purchased one of his environmental portraits. while he is probably best known for his mountain landscapes, his portraits are exquisite. The ones I have seen were all silver-gelatin from 4x5 film.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

www.craigrichardsphotography.com/

MDR · Jan 29, 2014

Edward Steichen was a genius of portrait photography and a great inspiration, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand what an inspiration and in my opinion he also inspirated Avedon to a certain degree. Annie Leibovitz even if not liked by many is a constant source of inspiration and a good portrait photographer.

adelorenzo · Jan 29, 2014

Greg Heisler. Highly recommend his new book 50 Portraits.

Fast14riot · Jan 29, 2014

I also like Heisler.

-Xander

Jeff L · Jan 29, 2014

So many that are great, and so many opinions too.
Avedon for sure, and also for me David Bailey and JL Sieff.

Bill Burk · Jan 30, 2014

Sergei Rodionov, you can find his portraits in posts on a forum similar to this where the focus is on large format photography...

Erik Petersson · Jan 30, 2014

August Sander, outstanding.

Regular Rod · Jan 30, 2014

Have a look at the work of Giancarlo Rado http://www.flickr.com/photos/23868213@N03/ He's on a mission photographing Italian folk. I feel sure he has been influenced by Robert Frank for the concept of his mission but his work really has something special about it. I think it's to do with the way he has the subjects so often making very firm eye contact with us...

RR

MDR · Jan 30, 2014

Thank you RR his work reminds more of Sander than Frank the title is more Frank than Sander though

RalphLambrecht · Jan 30, 2014

ScarletBrown said:
In portrait photography world we have many top most inspirational portrait photographers but which one of your inspirational portrait photographer that boost your photography skills and spirits?

For me only one portrait photographer who inspires me a lot and her name is Gertrude Käsebier.

yosuf Karsh

jovo · Jan 30, 2014

My father was an excellent portrait photographer whose images blended Karsh like lighting formality with relaxed invitations to the sitter to talk, or be expressive in whatever way they chose. He used a view camera and took great pains to compose a picture so that light would reveal features successfully, and focus would have as much dof as possible, and then he would stand beside the camera and not look at the GG again. He would talk to the sitters, and get them to forget the camera was even there. Since most subjects were used to seeing a photographer glued to the view finder, his detachment from the GG put them at ease. They didn't even realize he'd tripped the shutter with a long cable release until he went back to the camera to change the film holder. Because of the moving around I've done over the decades, I no longer have any of his work. but I remember the best of it vividly to this day. So....my dad was my favorite portraitist!

Inayat Noor · Jan 30, 2014

Doug,

ACA (Atlantic Center of the Arts), Daytona/New Smryna Beach currently has an exhibition of Jack Mitchell's portraits. Its a wonderful show with an abundance of Jack's portraits. Well worth seeing.

jovo · Jan 30, 2014

Inayat Noor said:
Doug,

ACA (Atlantic Center of the Arts), Daytona/New Smryna Beach currently has an exhibition of Jack Mitchell's portraits. Its a wonderful show with an abundance of Jack's portraits. Well worth seeing.

Just saw that exhibit a few weeks ago with some friends (including Doug!). The Mitchell portraits are a permanent exhibit I think, and they're excellent. There are a lot of them...mostly people in the arts as that was Mitchell's concentration. He lived in New Smyrna, and just passed away there last November. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mitchell_(photographer)

JamesMorris · Jan 30, 2014

Nicholas Nixon

SchwinnParamount · Jan 30, 2014

jovo said:
My father was an excellent portrait photographer whose images blended Karsh like lighting formality with relaxed invitations to the sitter to talk, or be expressive in whatever way they chose. He used a view camera and took great pains to compose a picture so that light would reveal features successfully, and focus would have as much dof as possible, and then he would stand beside the camera and not look at the GG again. He would talk to the sitters, and get them to forget the camera was even there. Since most subjects were used to seeing a photographer glued to the view finder, his detachment from the GG put them at ease. They didn't even realize he'd tripped the shutter with a long cable release until he went back to the camera to change the film holder. Because of the moving around I've done over the decades, I no longer have any of his work. but I remember the best of it vividly to this day. So....my dad was my favorite portraitist!

That was Avedon's technique too. It really works well. I've been trying it myself. It isn't as easy as it sounds like it should be.

lns · Jan 31, 2014

I think this is a matter of taste. For example, I went to a huge Karsh retrospective and could not get through it. To me his work was all technique, and just empty. The prints were dramatic, of course. In the next room were maybe a dozen of Avedon's portraits, which also were beautifully printed pieces but in addition had artistic resonance, for me, and conveyed a certain psychological insight. FWIW, I can see others feeling the opposite. It's what you like.

Some of my favorite "portraits" were done by Henri Cartier-Bresson, and with a Leica. They are informal and the opposite of what most people in this thread would consider portraiture, but they teach me something every time I view them.

Did anyone mention Irving Penn? I love his work, and find his corner portraits especially brilliant.

removed account4 · Jan 31, 2014

jovo said:
My father was an excellent portrait photographer whose images blended Karsh like lighting formality with relaxed invitations to the sitter to talk, or be expressive in whatever way they chose. He used a view camera and took great pains to compose a picture so that light would reveal features successfully, and focus would have as much dof as possible, and then he would stand beside the camera and not look at the GG again. He would talk to the sitters, and get them to forget the camera was even there. Since most subjects were used to seeing a photographer glued to the view finder, his detachment from the GG put them at ease. They didn't even realize he'd tripped the shutter with a long cable release until he went back to the camera to change the film holder. Because of the moving around I've done over the decades, I no longer have any of his work. but I remember the best of it vividly to this day. So....my dad was my favorite portraitist!

i worked with someone named eileen mcclure who worked this way, every day from the 1930s -1990s.
i was lucky enough to meet her, print her work, learn lighting, retouching technique &c from her.
she was a local legend and she is my favorite portrait photographer.

Markauf · Jan 31, 2014

Arnold Newman

cliveh · Jan 31, 2014

I think Julia Margaret Cameron was pretty good.

Outstanding Portrait Photographer To Admire?

ScarletBrown

SchwinnParamount

irvd2x

David Brown

ajmiller

doughowk

jeffreyg

MDR

adelorenzo

Fast14riot

Jeff L

Bill Burk

Erik Petersson

Regular Rod

MDR

RalphLambrecht

jovo

Membership Council

Inayat Noor

jovo

Membership Council

JamesMorris

SchwinnParamount

lns

removed account4

Markauf

cliveh

Outstanding Portrait Photographer To Admire?

Membership Council

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency