"Say cheese!" I cannot imagine two words that have more potential to derail my portrait efforts. Among the short list of forms of photography in which I indulge as an artist, I would not hesitate to describe myself as a portraitist. The thing about that title that gives me pause is that most people expect portraitists to set out to make mediocre and/or uninteresting people into instant glitterati. Glamour Shots and numerous other mall photography retail studios have made gazillions by convincing people that their best interest is in being remembered as lovely, without blemishes, wrinkles, or excessive freckles. To ensure absolute beauty, their images should be retouched. To ensure absolute perfection, they should stand before a muslin backdrop. To ensure pleasantness, they should contrive to smile and hold it until they are certain the camera has stopped recording images. Yuck.
In my estimation, a portrait ought to give the viewer a real insight into the subject and the subject's life. It should also give some idea of the artist's life and views. No one should view a great portrait and not know how the artist felt about the subject. If there are multiple persons in a portrait, there should be no ambiguity about how the subjects felt about each other. If the subject is interacting with objects, there should be some connection evident between that person and those objects. Otherwise, either the person or the object doesn't belong. In the photo above, the paper and the scissors are objects of great importance to Cannon. He would much rather be interacting with them than to have his Mommy kiss him right then. It is clear that Mommy loves Cannon; it is equally clear that Cannon loves Mommy and considers his dodge a game. This is a much more poignant illustration of who these people are than a shot of her standing next to him, dressed in their finest, smiling until the camera stops. Nothing about this image is staged, and the viewer knows the subjects and the photographer a bit better after seeing it.
