Lensculture review of my portfolio
Hello, Eliza,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your work with us, and welcome to our support program. There is something raw about your pictures; something honest and unspoken that touched my artistic sensibilities from the very first moment. There is an ongoing dialogue about what makes a portrait picture to be portrait. According to the definition of Portraiture, a portrait photograph is the artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression are predominant. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. For this reason, a portrait photograph is not a candidly taken shot but a pre-organized and staged shot of the subject. Personally, I find this definition pretty strict as it excludes pictures that do not follow the lines yet are surely compelling portraits. I am happy to say that your submission is a solid proof of my claim as there is no doubt that your pictures respect the depicted persons no matter if you have captured them candidly or you have preorganized the shots. I mean that in all your pictures there is a refined balance between staged and candid approach and to me, this gives the work its uniqueness. I firmly recommend you to seriously reflect on this issue as it may define your style in the future. From my standpoint as an art critic, what I can say for sure is that your wish of capturing people's souls and making them see themselves as beautiful has been successfully manifested by your photographs, and believe me, this is a lofty goal in and of itself. You see, there are many photographers out there whose words do not correspond to their images. Many are claiming about things they do or investigate but their photographs tell a different story. This usually happens when a photographer is not sure of what they truly want or seek. Of course, at some level, all artists seeking recognition and validation from their audience and peers but it is essential to understand and embrace their vision, helping it to maintain its integrity. To be effective, the images must be believable, and that might mean they aren’t always crowd-pleasing. For the vast majority of photographers, that’s the problem. It is a delicate balance. But ultimately, to me, you have to believe first in truth, your very personal truth either is pleasing or not, and the audience will come along ultimately. This "personal truth" seems to be present in your pictures, fueling your work with enough energy to move the viewer both emotionally and intellectually.
Aesthetically speaking, I noticed that you like working with both formats, color, and monochrome. What is interesting to me is that you seem to be very good at both styles, something rare these days. Your delicate use of both formats makes things difficult for me to decide which of the two looks more captivating and believable. Although color touches my artistic awareness more, I deeply respect the abstraction of the monochrome format. Black-and-white is more emotive. Color contemporizes a picture; it brings the subject into the realm of Now. The monochrome implies a timeless perspective of the subject, not always, but surely much easier than color. On the other hand, you are surely very skillful in using color, not just a stylistic element but also as a narrative device. So, while usually, I recommend photographers to focus on one format, in your case I will not do that and the reason is that the content of your pictures does not depend on the stylistic selections but mostly on your intuition. Your intuition allowed you to establish and maintain a certain aesthetic, a certain tone, and everything is reading as authentic, within that framework. Also, the white half-borders I see in most pictures give one more layer of content as they create a nice impression of a contact-sheet. Contact sheets were prints used mostly in the film era with which the photographers studied their shots to select the best for the final print. Some photographers still use this particular practice either for practical reasons or to give a study-like feeling in their work. I love this practice regardless if it is needed or not, as it gives some sort of personality to a work.
So, Eliza, my answer to your main question is a big YES. Monochromes or colored, candid or staged, your portrait pictures are way impactful and emotionally charged. I really enjoyed seeing and writing about your work. Consider my comments as friendly pieces of advice and not as strict rules. I hate rules. Rules stifle creativity. I am looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Do not miss to check out some useful recommendations bellow, for more help and inspiration.
Take care.
Additional Recommendations
Photo Competitions
Other Resources
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The Practical Art World: Suggestions for Writing your Artist's Statement
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The Poetry of the Surface: Craftsmanship and Materiality in Photography
New Recommendations
Books (fine art philosophy & criticism)
Photographers (fine art & street)
Photo Competitions (fine art & street)
Photo Competitions (general & other)
Photo Competitions (portrait & commercial)
Relevant Quotes from Past Jurors
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"Does the image tell the story or illustrate the photographer's vision clearly? The difference between a good photograph and a great one can be subtle, but a great photograph evokes an emotion/connection in the viewer. — Patricia Lanza, Director of Talent & Content, The Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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"What separates a good photo from a great photo is a feeling somewhere between what I feel physically and what I would call an 'aesthetic experience.' It's almost like the beginning of a love affair, you are just drawn to the image, you are lifted off your feet, you are moved. You just have to have it. You want to ask them to dance." — Sarah Leen, Director of Photography, National Geographic, Washington, DC, USA
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"Every image should contribute something fresh and new to the series and help add character to the submission. A strong submission can be as few as 5 images, or as many as 10 or 15 or more." — Jim Casper, Editor & Publisher of LensCulture
Books (PJ and documentary philosophy and criticism)
Books (business & practice of art & photography)
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The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression, by Bruce Barnbaum
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Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (Rudolf Arnheim)
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Article and debate on the pros and cons of using post-processing
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How to Assess and Edit Your Photographs by Karen Marshall (seminar leader)
Photography Grants
