Portrait Project: Studio Work

Studio portrait photography resembles a contest of sorts, one in which both model and photographer strive to bring forth their own desired outcome.

The photographer seeks to express himself by arranging the background and the lighting; by choosing the appropriate photographic equipment; by applying techniques of capture and post-processing; by guiding the model’s posture and expression; by selecting the angle of view, the frame, the decisive moment of exposure. Through all of these choices, he tries to obtain what expresses him — what he wants to say and communicate to his audience.

The model, however much they may adapt to the photographer’s intention, remains a distinct personality. Consciously or unconsciously, through posture and expression, the model attempts to project outward the self by which they wish to be defined. They perform the person they want to be.

The final photographs are the alloy of this relationship, the contribution of both participants to the photographic act.

Good chemistry between them elevates the result. It is what is often called photogenic presence, and is mistakenly attributed solely to the model, even though it is very common for a model’s photogenic quality not to emerge with every photographer.

In the history of photography, we encounter many famous model-photographer pairings that developed the special relationship which gives photogenic life to their images. A characteristic example is Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe. Stieglitz photographed O’Keeffe obsessively, introducing and supporting the idea of a collective portrait composed of many photographs. As he said, “each photograph is like a note in a musical composition, and all together they compose the full character of the model.”