Outstanding Portrait Photographer To Admire?

[ScarletBrown]

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]

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]

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

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[David Brown]

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

"In the American West"

 

[ajmiller]

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

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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]

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]

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]

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]

Greg Heisler. Highly recommend his new book 50 Portraits.

 

[Fast14riot]

I also like Heisler.


-Xander

 

[Jeff L]

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

 

[Bill Burk]

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]

August Sander, outstanding.

 

[Regular Rod]

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]

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

 

[RalphLambrecht]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Nicholas Nixon

 

[SchwinnParamount]

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]

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]

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]

Arnold Newman

 

[cliveh]

I think Julia Margaret Cameron was pretty good.