Portrait Critique

[arith]

My computer is going crazy and I have to dodge and weave to write. I will look again at those links and look for art. cheers

[BriPhi]

Wow, I am gone for a couple of days, and my thread has gone crazy.
Where to start... Antonio, thank you for the thoughful and insightful critique. These models, which I have displayed, are ones provided by my school, and for me to shoot in a manner of my choosing. The school has chosen "pretty people" for me, perhaps in order to give me more confidence at such an early stage.
Thank you for the suggestion of posting one picture per thread. It is a very good point, and one in which I will remember.
I have just ordered some studio lighting, which are due to arrive on Monday. I will be setting them up in my garage, then I am sure I will get a chance to shoot 'normal' people. One of the first things I have to learn is posing the model. Most people don't know what to do, and it is up to the photographer to tell them how to pose in a way in which will flatter the model. That is what sets the pros apart from the amateurs, and one in which I have a lot to learn.

[Wirefox]

Is this what you mean by edgy photography ? Marian Drew is quite an example isn't she ?

Yes it is indeed. It is interesting that the nearest thing to photography was renaissance painting. Here we have photography that is drawing heavily on renaissance painting. An interesting reversal with the benefit of hindsight. The dead animals are the bitter side of the bitter/sweet imagery and these days have a shock value that engages the viewer. It is one example of the edginess that I like. The preferred aspect of edginess for me is not blatant shock value but a more surpressed, almost intangible 'feel' that is communicated through attitude and/or tone, shade or composition. One of my all time favourite images is 'Sadness' a portrait of the actress Ellen Terry at 16. Ellen Terry was at the time on the run from a unhappy marriage to a much older man. Cameron has captured a timeless piece of emotion (the image was taken the 1860's). Her portraits of John Herschel and Tennyson are also superb. Cameron was heavily criticised by her contemporary photographers (POTN?) because she was said to produce out of focus unconventional images (nothing changes) but the art community in the UK loved her. What a heroine

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...et_Cameron.jpg

[Antonio Correia]

Thank you Steve. Great an nice picture !...

The concepts of beauty depend indeed on cultures.