What you need to know about...

Real and Ideal Portraits

For the Portrait assignment, we were paired with another person in our class. We were to take a portrait of the other person in hopes to gain a real perspective of the model and either the ideal of the model or an ideal that people place on the model. I took the later approach to this project.

↑ Ideal. When I think of a portrait, this is what I vision in my head. Going to a professional photographer, and have "meaningful" lighting, a beautiful dress, and a prestigious expression. Despite the true identity of the model, if you walk into a photography studio, photos such as the one above are more common to appear on the walls. Society has shaped this into an ideal. This is what I expect and see when I think portraits.

↑ Real. In reality a portrait should be something that portrays the model as is. 

Richard Brilliant proposes that portraits answer dome basic questions about a person:

• What does she look like?

This portrait resembles the person in the picture. She is not having to put on a different persona or even act like someone or something else.
While going about this project, I was able to get to know the model a little more. She told me she loved to write, how she was a English major and enjoyed sitting by a tree and relaxing in God's creation. I did my best to portray "her, " and who is there to know "her" more than the girl herself.

• What is she like?

 Through the portrait you can assume what kind of person she is. I see a out going, yet calm and peaceful girl who loves to write. Going past the surface, but yet use the surface to dig deeper to understand what is going on in this photo, and attempt to find "her."

• Who is she? 

 Social designations, where does one fall in society, what does one do?
To me, she looks child-like. The innocence, and the peacefulness can take the viewer into her worldview. She is not visibly put into some social norm. One cannot tell from this photo of what she does or is, and I believe that just as much adds to the essence of her.


During class we had the opportunity to watch a documentary about Richard Avedon, and how he took many portraits of many different people. He went beyond the stereotype or social norm (much like the first photo) and attempted to take the "real" aspect of each model. The concept was very intriguing. Many times we are too caught up in the way people should or want to view us and we fail to see the "real" person behind the camera. A lens limits what people can see. However, the way Avedon conducted things were not ideal. Forcing an emotion or purposely putting a face unto someone is not pulling out ones true self. It felt a lot like Avedon was doing this.

I contrasted the reality in which socially, people see portraits as the first photo. I would love someone to take me with "meaningful" studio lighting with gorgeous cloths and prestigious expression. However, that is not me.
This topic helped me a lot in a sense that are ideals and reals can be mixed up a lot in our lives, but it is no loss to take a moment to try to find the "real" in the person.