Introduction: Portrait photography is one of the most important fields in photography, and it is also one of the photography fields that best reflects the photographer's artistic realm. In the author's humble opinion, the artistic realm of portrait photography, from low to high, can be summarized as four levels: pleasing to the eye, lifelike, expressing personality, and interpreting life.

1. Pleasing to the eye

Pleasant to the eye is the basic requirement for portrait photography by the general public, including ordinary photographers. Whether it is commercial portraits, family souvenir photos, news portraits or even portraits in any photography field, whether they are the subjects, photographers or viewers, as long as they have no special purpose, they all want to see pleasing portraits, so that the audience, The physical and mental pleasure of the listener is one of the most important goals of any art form.

Pleasing to the eye has first become the common goal pursued by commercial photographers and customers. The development of modern photography has technically and easily solved many problems that were difficult or impossible for previous photographers to solve, thus making it relatively easier to achieve a pleasing state of mind for commercial photography. Portrait photography at this level, in addition to the requirements for the photographer's own quality, also relies on some objective factors, such as: excellent makeup artists, beautiful costumes, exquisite props, high-end photographic equipment, and advanced lighting. , photo studio with advanced equipment, advanced photo post-processing system, exquisite mounting and careful editing and planning, etc.

For portrait photography in this realm, the excessive involvement of non-photographic ontological language and the dilution of the ontological language of photography are the biggest flaws. The so-called ontological language of photography is the unique expression method of photography technology and art, including the use of film, exposure control, photography lighting and composition management, etc. Non-photographic ontology language mainly refers to non-photographic expression methods that originally play a supporting role in photography, such as makeup, clothing, props, etc.

In these portrait photography, the ontological language of photography is generally downplayed, and among the few remaining ontological languages ??of photography, most have become a fixed pattern and routine, and may even be distorted. . For example, in terms of lighting, in order to cater to the public's taste, more front light and soft light are used; in terms of exposure, in order to make the skin color appear whiter, overexposure is often used.

But all of this is for the sake of customers, which is understandable. To be pleasing to the eye is to make customers and the general public happy physically and mentally. Therefore, this kind of portrait photography itself is an important part of the art of photography. It is also this kind of pleasing photography that attracts thousands of people to the world. In the photo studio, this has become an important economic pillar for the development of Chinese photography art, especially amateur photography art.

Since photographic works have the ability to attract the public, it means that photographic works have the ability to guide the public’s aesthetic tendencies. In the ten years since this kind of commercial portrait photography, represented by pleasing to the eye, has become popular, the public’s aesthetic tendencies have been quietly changing.

Moreover, in recent years, with the outstanding contributions of a group of young photographers with great artistic expression to commercial photography, the current portrait photography is booming.

2. Lifelike

The emergence of photography has made the problem of "likeness" of portrait reproduction easy, and the development of contemporary portrait photography seems to be divorced from this development direction, especially Popular contemporary business portraits are becoming less and less like the person they are, and the distance between them and lifelike figures also seems further away. The vivid resemblance here is of course not just a simple "resemblance", but a physical and mental resemblance that is pleasing to the eye.

Portrait photography works in this realm generally have the following main characteristics:

1: Correct use of photographic ontology language and non-photography ontology language

Photography ontology The use of language is not solely based on whether it is pleasing to the eye, but is mainly based on whether it can express the facial features of the characters. The lighting should be natural and elegant, the exposure should be accurate, and normal skin color and texture should be reflected. Costume props should not be overly showy or sensational. The purpose of makeup is not to conceal something, but to set off something. Props are only to modify rather than express something.

2: Exquisite expression capture and eye shaping

The capture of expression is the eternal subject of the photographer, and it is also the key to whether a portrait photography can be lifelike. , in soft contemporary portrait photography, it should be said that it has done a very good job at this point.

There is something lacking in the shaping of the eyes. This is mainly due to the bland photography lighting. The high profile created by the soft light from the front makes it difficult to highlight the eyes. Therefore, expressing the character's eyes through the use of light is the key to portrait works in this realm.

3. Expression of personality

Expression of personality in portrait photography can be divided into two aspects. One is to promote the personality of the person being photographed, and the other is to promote the personality of the photographer.

From the perspective of the person being photographed, the purpose of taking portraits is nothing more than to commemorate, appreciate and show their personality charm. From this point of view, the photographer should help the subjects show their personality charm. From the photographer's point of view, as a creator of artistic works, he should use photography methods and the expressive ability of models to express his photography creativity, reflect his photography style, and even express his feelings about life through the language of photography. I do understand.

Portrait photography works in this realm usually have the following characteristics:

1: Unique photographic ontology language

From the perspective of the use of photographic language, first The use of photographic language in the first-level portrait photography works is generally bland, the use of photographic language in the second-level portrait photography works tends to be natural, and the use of photographic language in the third-level photography works focuses on being outstanding.

Light is the most unique ontological language of photography.

For example, Xie Mo’s "Two Girls Confronting the Shadow" skillfully uses shadows to create a wonderful illusion, which is unforgettable. Another example is "The Saint" by Zhu Enguang, "A Ray of Light" by Colin Thomas, "Pure" by Sabo Alex Sutton, etc. The beauty of photography’s ontological language is vividly reflected.

2: Unique and concise dramatic plot

For example, in "The Shadow of Life" shot by Adelair Mousavi, the hero and heroine in the picture were painstakingly photographed by the photographer. The light and shadow effects of the operation tell an intriguing story. It's not a TV series, but it seems to have more to say than a TV series. Of course, this work is also unique in its use of light and composition.

3: Demonstrate a unique understanding of the relationship between man and nature

Pure portrait photography may not include nature, but in this special era of environmental crisis, many photographers The camera focuses on nature and the relationship between man and nature. Either enthusiastic praise or sharp criticism.

Whether it is "Man and the Sun" by Carl Cowley or "Man and the Sun" by Yi Shuisheng, they both express the desire for the integration of man and nature.

4: Strong visual impact

Whether it is ingenious light and shadow, ingenious composition or innovative and bold lens use, the purpose is to produce a strong visual effect.

Promoting the personality of the person being photographed is to make the portrait photography unique and dramatic.

The photographer's personality must be expressed through his own personalized photographic ontology language to show his understanding of photography, his understanding of the people he is photographing, his understanding of portrait photography, and even his understanding of life. So in a sense Photographic works are the silent confessions of the photographer.

4. Interpretation of life

The reason why great portrait photography is great is because it depicts the soul of the character, because it eulogizes the greatness of life, and because it records The spiritual outlook of an era is because it records the great sorrows and great joys of human society.

From an individual point of view, great portrait photography profoundly records the inner world of the person, whether it is sadness or joy, thinking or shouting. It is precisely because it presents the inner world of the characters that such photography gives people a spiritual shock. At the same time, it eulogizes the value and greatness of life. Facing such a work, every audience will be proud to have life.

From the perspective of human society as a whole, great portrait photography records the spiritual outlook of people in an era, and it records the great sorrows and joys of human society. The significance of great portrait photography has completely exceeded the significance of ordinary portraits. It is a symbol of society, a symbol of the times, and a symbol of history. In this sense, the significance of portrait photography goes far beyond the commemoration of the subject and the expression of the photographer's personality.

Great portrait photography usually has the following characteristics.

1: Strong emotional impact

2: Reflecting the value of life and praising the greatness of life

3: Reflecting the joys and sorrows of human society

4: Reflects the special personality charm of the person being photographed

5: The dilution of the ontological language of photography

For example, " "Little Girl with Big Eyes", because it captured the longing gaze of out-of-school children and carried the hopes of countless out-of-school children, it shocked the hearts of countless Chinese people, and at the same time gave this seemingly ordinary portrait photography a special common sense.

For example, in the photo "Three Black Children Running to the Assembly" taken by the Hungarian photographer Martin Munkasi, who was highly praised by Bresson, although the faces of the three protagonists are not even visible, But it makes all observers realize the value and greatness of life. The positive and uplifting spirit of human society reflected in this photograph may be something that the observer will never forget.

Another example is Churchill photographed by Halsman. His stern face and sharp eyes all show the inner world of this iron-fisted politician and are also the spiritual symbol of that unforgettable era. The Einstein he photographed has almost become a representative symbol of science. It is said that when this photo was taken, Einstein was deep in thought about the original [sensitive word] that exploded in Hiroshima. You can see that there is a heavy sadness in Einstein's wise eyes, and this is also the reason for this photo. The most touching place. Of course, the success of these two photographic works has something to do with the special personality charm of the subjects. And these great photographic works seem to have a common feature, that is, the language of photography tends to be bland.

The above analysis of the artistic realm of portrait photography is not a simple judgment of portrait photography. It is also difficult to clearly classify a specific photograph into which realm. However, portrait photography in any realm may achieve the purpose of providing artistic enjoyment to the observer, but the experience is just different.