Portraiture and drawing tell the story of a person, his beauty, character and aspirations. A portrait artist deals with a person’s character, his complex individuality. To understand a person, to understand his essence by appearance, you need a lot of life and professional experience. The artist is required to have a deep knowledge of the person depicted. In addition to the individual traits of the person depicted, it is also important to convey those traits that his professional environment imposes on him.
Portrait(French portrait - image) - a genre of fine art depicting one person or a group of people. In addition to external, individual resemblance, artists strive in a portrait to convey the character of a person, his spiritual world.
There are many types of portrait. The portrait genre includes: half-length portrait, bust (in sculpture), full-length portrait, group portrait, interior portrait, portrait against a landscape background. Based on the nature of the image, two main groups are distinguished: ceremonial and chamber portraits. As a rule, a ceremonial portrait involves a full-length image of a person (on a horse, standing or sitting). In a chamber portrait, a waist-length, chest-length, shoulder-length image is used. In a ceremonial portrait, the figure is usually shown against an architectural or landscape background, and in a chamber portrait, more often against a neutral background.
Based on the number of images on one canvas, in addition to the usual, individual ones, double and group portraits are distinguished. Portraits painted on different canvases are called paired if they are consistent in composition, format and color. Most often these are portraits of spouses. Portraits often form entire ensembles - portrait galleries.
A portrait in which a person is presented in the form of some allegorical, mythological, historical, theatrical or literary character is called a costumed one. The titles of such portraits usually include the words “in the form” or “in the image” (for example, Catherine II in the form of Minerva).
Portraits are also distinguished by size, for example miniature. You can also highlight a self-portrait - the artist’s depiction of himself. A portrait conveys not only the individual traits of the person being portrayed or, as artists say, the model, but also reflects the era in which the person depicted lived.
The art of portraiture dates back several thousand years. Already in Ancient Egypt, sculptors created a fairly accurate likeness of a person’s external appearance. The statue was given a portrait likeness so that after the death of a person, his soul could move into it and easily find its owner. The picturesque Fayyum portraits, made using the encaustic technique (wax painting) in the 1st-4th centuries, also served the same purposes. Idealized portraits of poets, philosophers, and public figures were common in the sculpture of Ancient Greece. Ancient Roman sculptural portrait busts were distinguished by their truthfulness and precise psychological characteristics. They reflected the character and personality of a particular person.
The depiction of a person’s face in sculpture or painting has always attracted artists. The portrait genre especially flourished during the Renaissance, when the humanistic, effective human personality was recognized as the main value (Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto). Renaissance masters deepen the content of portrait images, endowing them with intelligence, spiritual harmony, and sometimes internal drama.
In the 17th century In European painting, a chamber, intimate portrait comes to the fore, as opposed to a ceremonial, official, exalting portrait. Outstanding masters of this era - Rembrandt, Van Rijn, F. Hals, Van Dyck, D. Velasquez - created a gallery of wonderful images of simple, unfamous people, discovering in them the greatest wealth of kindness and humanity.
In Russia, the portrait genre began to actively develop from the beginning of the 18th century. F. Rokotov, D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky created a series of magnificent portraits of noble people. The female images painted by these artists were especially charming and charming, imbued with lyricism and spirituality. In the first half of the 19th century. the main character of portrait art becomes a dreamy and at the same time romantic personality prone to heroic impulse (in the paintings of O. Kiprensky, K. Bryullov).
The emergence of realism in the art of the Wanderers was reflected in the art of portraiture. Artists V. Perov, I. Kramskoy, I. Repin created an entire portrait gallery of outstanding contemporaries. Artists convey the individual and typical features of those portrayed, their spiritual characteristics with the help of characteristic facial expressions, poses, and gestures. The person was depicted in all his psychological complexity, and his role in society was also assessed. In the 20th century the portrait combines the most contradictory trends - bright realistic individual characteristics and abstract expressive deformations of models (P. Picasso, A. Modigliani, A. Bourdelle in France, V. Serov, M. Vrubel, S. Konenkov, M. Nesterov, P. Korin in Russia).
Portraits convey to us not only images of people from different eras, reflect part of history, but also speak about how the artist saw the world, how he related to the person being portrayed.
Photography today is not just a way to capture an important life moment. Thanks to a huge amount of high-end equipment and special programs, everyone has the opportunity to make photography their hobby. Artistic photography as an art form is quite multifaceted. Even a beginner will be able to show his imagination to his heart's content. At the same time, everyone will find their favorite genre.
A little history
Today there is a digital camera in every home. But a hundred years ago photography was a real luxury. Few people know that an ordinary photograph is an image painted with light. This unique discovery came about thanks to several scientists. Before photography appeared in the form in which many people know it, a lot of work was done. The history of photography is interesting and exciting.
Attempts to obtain images were recorded back in the 17th century. But they cannot be called successful. Art photography dates back to 1839. The French scientist Louis Daguerre was the first to obtain a clear image of a person. In this case, the exposure time did not exceed a minute. Since then, photography has been improved many times. Today we have the opportunity to create real masterpieces with minimal time.
How to create a unique photo?
Anyone can pick up a camera and take pictures of everything without any preliminary settings. In this case, you will most likely not be able to get a beautiful photo. Those who want to become a real photographer should first learn how to correctly select the content of the frame. The light must be selected correctly and the lens must be adjusted. These rules are the same for any technique, regardless of whether you have to shoot with an old Zenit or the latest digital camera.
It is impossible to become a professional photographer from the very first days. You will have to take a huge number of pictures before a real masterpiece is born. In this regard, digital technology has many advantages. An unsuccessful frame can be deleted at any time. Every aspiring photographer should identify for himself the genres of photography that he will pay attention to first. To become a professional, you can’t spread yourself thin. It is rare to find a specialist who is well versed in all sectors of a particular field of activity.
Portrait
Portrait photography was born when people learned to take the first photographs. Here artists tried to repeat the images of painting. The first portraits were quite expensive. Only aristocrats could afford them. They took pictures both on their own and with their family members. Some ancient photographs have survived to this day and are now in museums around the world.
A portrait is not just an image of a face. If a person is depicted in full height, this is also considered portrait photography. Any school of photography primarily includes this genre in its course. Models can be photographed both outdoors and indoors. It is important that
the main emphasis fell precisely on the person. No details should distract attention.
Special mention should be made of studio shooting. This type of portrait photography is relatively new. Previously, stars were photographed in this way for fashion magazines. Today, everyone can please themselves with a photo shoot in the studio. Artistic photography involves the correct selection of background and organization of lighting.
Still life
This genre of photography also originated from painting. Artists depicted beautifully arranged fruits and vegetables in their paintings. The image was complemented by beautiful fabric and dishes. As soon as the first school of photography appeared, still life also began to gain popularity. From the French “nature morte” literally means “inanimate nature”. Professional photographers, like artists, are able to beautifully convey to the viewer the meaning of the existence of certain inanimate objects.
For a long time, still life belonged to an unclaimed genre. The technique and art of photography was taught in schools for educational purposes only. With the development of information technology, still life has become very popular. With its help, photographers hone their professional skills. Besides, is it possible to remember an online store without product photos? After all, the image of a particular product is a still life.
Today, still life occupies one of the first places among all genres. The history of photography tells us that the emotional power of images of objects was previously not inferior to portrait photographs. At the moment this trend has been lost. But without still life, the existence of online stores would be impossible.
Scenery
The classic genre that involves photographing nature is called landscape. This branch of the photo industry can be called the most emotional. It is from nature that every aspiring photographer can draw inspiration. And some pictures are so amazing that it’s hard to take your eyes off them.
It is difficult for a beginner to master the landscape from the very first days. Anyone can take landscape photos. But the point is not to capture the moment. The image should convey the photographer’s state of mind. The process of finding a successful shot can be complicated by various natural phenomena. Unlike in the studio, working outside can be hampered by bright sun, precipitation or strong wind. Sometimes a photographer has to work for weeks to get a really good photo.
Architecture
Like previous genres of photography, architecture arose almost immediately. There is a huge resemblance to the landscape. The only difference is that the objects are various buildings and structures. There are also distinctive features. Great attention is paid to the correct choice of shooting point. The most profitable way to rent a building is from a hill. For example, one house can be photographed from the roof of another.
Architecture is one of the most difficult genres. Finding the right position is often complicated by traffic and weather conditions. In addition, it is not always possible to convey details through the camera lens. Photographing architecture requires expensive equipment.
Reportage shooting
Today this genre is quite widespread. And reportage photography began to become popular only in the second half of the 20th century. Few people know that photographs of various events and holidays are a report.
It is believed that a photographer simply films this or that event. In fact, reporting is an opportunity to convey not only the essence of certain actions, but also the attitude towards them. If we consider various genres of photography, the reportage most accurately conveys the character of the photographer, his emotional state and professionalism. If a protest is being photographed, for example, it is up to the photographer to show both sides in a positive light. An objective look at things is one of the most important character traits that a real photojournalist should have.
Household or genre photographs
The transfer of everyday life using a camera belongs to genre photography. Quite often, images have a documentary basis. Genre photographs are very similar in essence to reportage ones. A professional must convey life exactly as it is. The photo may show children playing, a grandmother cleaning the yard, a beggar begging, etc.
The difference between genre photography is the ability to convey the emotional state of not only the photographer, but also the subjects themselves. In the picture you can see joy, tears, disappointment and anger. This can be either street photography or indoor photography.
Interior photography
Today we cannot do without this genre of photography, although it is quite young. A ready-made interior created by a professional designer has its own emotional load. At the same time, the photographer’s task is to convey the idea completely without distortion. Interior photography is closely related to design. No professional could create a portfolio of their work without the help of an experienced photographer.
Angle plays a huge role in portrait photography. The correctly chosen point determines how the room will look in the picture. In addition, one element allows you to decorate the entire space. Therefore, the photographer should pay special attention to the most advantageous interior details.
Reproduction
This genre of photography is not artistic. Regardless, it is important. There are a huge number of scanners with different technical characteristics. But the photographer will be able to convey the essence of the picture more correctly. In addition, many ancient images require special treatment. Do not touch the paint again. Photography is the ability to accurately transfer an image onto paper. And some photographs are taken with such high quality that it can be quite difficult to distinguish the photo from the original.
Photography in Nude style
The naked human body is a popular subject for filming today. In fact, this genre originated quite a long time ago. Everyone knows that artists loved to depict their women without clothes. As soon as the first artistic photograph appeared, the Nude style was born. This genre has occupied one of the most important places for many centuries.
Most often, girls are the subject of photography. This can be either street photography or studio photography. A naked body in photographs can only evoke positive emotions. No anger or disgust.
Nude style is often intertwined with everyday photography. These genres of photography exist perfectly together. For example, a naked girl may be depicted going about her daily business or sunbathing on the beach.
Avant-garde
As with any other area of life, you can find a non-standard approach to photography. Avant-garde is a special genre of photography. It is characterized by going beyond conventional aesthetics. To achieve his goals, a photographer can use the most unconventional means.
Avant-garde does not have any specific features like other genres of photography. Therefore, it is often quite difficult to track the professionalism of a photo. The photographer can depict a “second reality” that is in no way connected with the real world. The subject of photography can be people, animals, household items and plants. And they will be depicted in an unusual form for others.
Macro photography
This genre is very popular among beginning photographers. It involves obtaining an image at a certain scale. Many people consider macro photography to be an opportunity to photograph at a short distance from the subject. But it is not so. Special lenses allow you to take high-quality photographs. Technology for transferring objects on a large scale is quite expensive.
Macro photography allows you to capture the life of insects, small animals, and microorganisms. With an expensive lens you can even photograph a mosquito or a flea.
Non-standard photography genres
There are types of filming that cannot be called generally accepted in professional circles. First of all, these include self-portraits. No photographer can photograph himself well. This genre is more suitable for amateurs. With the development of information technology, self-portrait began to enjoy enormous popularity. At the same time, in order to take a photo, a regular mobile phone is most often used.
You can also shoot landscapes with your smartphone. The photos look good for a home album. High-quality professional photographs must be created using appropriate technology, which is not cheap. It is still advisable to start getting acquainted with photography with a semi-professional SLR camera from the middle price category. Such equipment allows a novice photographer to get an idea of the genres of photography, as well as learn the basics.
When shooting a genre portrait, you must first of all show the person in his natural environment, talk about his life, interests, and hobbies. We invite you to get acquainted with the works of Ukrainian and Russian photographers who attracted our attention.
Editor's Choice
The design of the web resource is made in dark colors - this contributes to a better perception of black and white works. The work of Yuri Bonder is widely represented here, but, unfortunately, there is no biography of the photographer or information about his achievements. We hope this gap will be filled soon.
Kirill Zaitsev
Dmitry Zhamkov is a representative of the classical school of photography. Some of his photographs resemble pastoral paintings. This author started out as a landscape painter, but the desire to communicate with people led him to the portrait genre. Dmitry actively uses image post-processing programs. His website has a “Lessons” section, which provides practical advice regarding computer image correction.
Oleg Oprisko
This web resource introduces the viewer to the commercial project of Dmitry Popov, commissioned by the Autopilot magazine. It’s interesting that when taking photographs telling the history of the auto industry, this photographer did not just photograph vintage cars. His work is dominated by the man - the owner of the car. The “antique” shots are good proof that genre portraits can be obtained not only by observing real life, but also by acting as a director.
Yuri Dyachishin
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The life of Lvov in all its manifestations is the main theme of the work of a photographer from Western Ukraine. In the “Life” section, one of the most extensive on the site, you can see street scenes and portraits of citizens. These works belong to the photo projects “Sounds of the City” and “Life is Beautiful”, which were exhibited at the Dzyga art center. In addition, Yuri regularly travels to the Carpathians, where he photographs the Hutsuls, and to Transcarpathia, from where he brings colorful portraits of gypsies (these photographs are placed in the “Gold Reserve” section).
And sculptures have been known since time immemorial. The most interesting thing is that there is also a genre portrait as a type of the genre itself. We will talk about it in this material, focusing on photography, since this division appeared at the intersection of fine art and, in fact, photography.
Definition
In fact, the line between a simple portrait and its genre variety is quite arbitrary. Just an image of a person without any events in the background can be safely attributed to the portrait genre as a whole. But the appearance in the background of details or other people who have some, at least slight, relation to what is happening in the foreground can already be called a genre portrait. Therefore, obviously, many works that are obviously representatives of portrait art can just as easily be classified as a genre variety. Thus, the features of a genre portrait are the correlation of a character or several in the foreground with the environment.
Photo
Genre portrait in photography is defined similarly. If the background or background does not have a history associated with the foreground, in which a person or several people are located, then, obviously, it is just a portrait. However, any, even the most insignificant connection, or even just a hint of it, automatically transfers the photograph to the category of a genre portrait, naturally, provided that one or more people are observed in the foreground.
A genre portrait, like genre painting, for that matter, is like a kind of mirror in which people see themselves, comprehending who they really are. The origins of the concept go back to the depiction of scenes of everyday life, that is, almost to the times of cave paintings. Subsequently, such art was manifested in the visual representation of holidays and other events, incidents, etc. All these are examples of classical genre painting. With the advent of photography, and then its manifestation as a separate art among its elegant forms, the concept migrated into it, forming its own laws here. It is these canons that photographers shooting genre portraits now follow.
The most important law when creating such photographs was the requirement for a plot. The themes are often events of everyday life, random scenes from the context of everyday life, and the social and everyday environment of people. Thus, the main difference between a portrait and its genre variety can be called the absence of a process, action or hint of it.
Shooting
When shooting a genre portrait, you should be careful about diverting attention from the character to the details of the environment, as this can easily be overdone. On the one hand, the environment should complement the image of the model, on the other hand, there should not be so much of it that attention is distracted. It is precisely this difficulty that a photographer who decides to take up genre portraits will face.
Conclusion
To summarize, we note that the line between genre and genre is very thin and often simply elusive. However, in the latter one can always catch a hint of action, a plot that can be veiled, but cannot be absent. This is what makes a genre portrait so interesting, pushing the boundaries of fine art to depict human life, giving the connoisseur the opportunity to see himself, to consider his life from a new, perhaps completely unusual, angle. Philosophize with the creator of the image and leave the exhibition a little different. To understand yourself better, which means getting a couple more steps closer to perfection, which, apparently, is what art is for.
On May 29, the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography hosted a master class by Sergei Shandin dedicated to genre photography. Together with the participants, he tried to find the differences between genre photography and journalism and other types of photography.
According to Sergei Shandin, genre photography has three main criteria:
Documentary, the presence of history and plot (that is, what is shown?), form and composition (how is shown?). Sergei dwelled on each component of genre photography in more detail. Here are excerpts from his speech.
About the documentary nature of genre photography
When we talk about dividing photography into genres, we must understand that there are certain conventions,” said Sergei Shandin. - Photography has a characteristic feature that distinguishes it from other forms of art, from painting, for example. The author's style, choice of composition and color scheme - all this is characteristic of painting. But why does a person pick up not a brush and paints, but a camera?
The main components of genre photography: documentary, presence of history and correct composition. Photo by Sergei Shandin
The main thing about genre photography is that all these elements can be generalized. Photography is inherently documentary. Looking at a photograph, we can say: “Yes, it happened.” Stopped time, relevance, the truth of the moment - these are the features that distinguish photography from other forms of art.
Genre photography: is staging possible?
A photograph may not be documentary if the photographer took a staged photo. An example is the work of Robert Doisneau. He often resorted to staging, inviting actors and friends to perform a certain scene. If we do not call a photograph a document, then, by and large, there is no difference: a staged photograph or not. If the photographer simply creates a situation without pretending to be documentary, then staging is possible.
Robert Doisneau often resorted to staged photography, making arrangements in advance with actors and passers-by. This type of photography is also genre photography, but lacks documentary quality.
Also, the photograph may not contain an event or story. She may not have narrative and compositional photography. If all these features are present, we can call the photograph genre.
The photographer selects a subject to present to the audience
In photojournalism, the photographer explores a certain phenomenon and passes it through himself. This concept is much broader, I mean genre photography. For genre photography, the presence of a plot is important. By the way, photography can create a story that doesn’t exist. If a plot appears in a photograph, although it did not exist in life, a story arises. Photography in such cases creates a reality that did not exist. The photographer has a whole world unfolding in front of him, and it is important for him to see the frame, highlight it and present it to the public. He must choose the elements and characters he wants to show in the frame so that the photograph tells a story. This is why composition is so important. It must be good because it determines the perception of the frame. If the composition is not very good, viewers will not understand the story part of the photo.
The photographer has the whole world before him, and it is important for him to see the frame, highlight it and present it to the public. Photo by Sergei Shandin
Much more important are the boundaries between whether it is a document or not. In any photograph there is always the photographer himself. It influences the situation in a certain way. His very appearance influences the situation and determines the behavior of people caught in the frame. Therefore, no photograph can be one hundred percent objective and documentary. Just by his presence, the photographer brings an element of delivery.
There is always a story in genre photography
It is important not only what is shown, but also how it is shown. Any event can be shown interesting, or it can be shown not interesting. The criteria for an interesting photograph are quite subjective. To understand some works you need to know art history, but for others you don’t. It is impossible to measure the degree of beauty with a ruler. André Kertesz, for example, succeeded in creating both narrative photography and photography in which form is important.
One of the most important components of genre photography is form. The richness of forms creates an aesthetic perception. We look at the frame and say it’s beautiful. Photographer Trent Park shoots the most ordinary subjects, but notices the combination of surprising elements.
Often in such works the plot can be very poorly defined and expressed. But the wealth of forms - we look at the photograph and simply say that it is beautiful. The richness of forms creates an aesthetic perception. The addition of elements into a certain abstract figure. The form determines in this case the emergence of the plot.
Photography is also trying to look for new means of expression. Over time, the means of expression have changed several times.
Another interesting photographer is Trent Park. He films, for the most part, the most ordinary subjects, but shows them in such a way that we are surprised.
Where to look for stories?
Most good photographers I know use the same tactic. They decide in advance what they want to film. A photographer must go for a walk with the specific intention of photographing something.
In genre photography, it is important to be able to “calculate” the picture and wait for the right moment. Photo by Henri Cartier Bresson
Stories can be found everywhere. Your intention determines the appropriate equipment you need to take with you. It is important to know the places where you can shoot what you have in mind. You can find the place where the situation arises, “anticipate” an interesting shot and wait for the right moment. Ambush photography is one of the methods of genre photography.
Genre photography: what is the difference from reportage?
Reporting is when you clearly know that there will be an event and film it. If you photograph a grandmother running across the road, this is not a reportage, this is genre photography, or street photography. Sports photography is also a reportage.
conclusions
The best way to create genre photographs is to get used to the situation, the event, the faces and establish a strong emotional contact with the characters. It takes time to feel the situation. It is ideal if you have enough time to wait for such a mood.
Photography shows simple things in a way that makes us interested in looking at them. During filming, photographers often do not understand what they are doing. It is important then to select one picture out of hundreds from the footage. You can find a subscript in any image. A photograph should speak to the viewer in a simple, understandable visual language. There are as many associations as there are people watching. There is no need to prevent the viewer from seeing something of his own.
