Beyond the obvious

I had no idea when I was making this portrait, that Mrs M only had eight days to live before she passed peacefully at the retirement home. She had a full life and was one of the pioneering Belgian woman photographers, specialising in social photography. She used a large format, bellows camera. While I made the portrait we chatted happily about the changes in photography. Her hair was in slight disarray but she would not let her son touch it, leaving the sea breeze to play with the strands. That's how she was. At the moment I took the image she was staring out to sea, seeming to look past her mortal existence. When I look at this image and think of that sunny afternoon it touches me. I hope it moves you too. Photography is all about light and time - that particular, never-to-return moment we freeze forever in a picture of light that becomes an 'aide-mémoire' . Till soon, Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk

Looking through photo-enthusiast's portrait photographs on the Internet I notice that nearly everyone goes for a very tightly framed shot with prominent head and shoulders or face. If there is any space in the frame the photographer often gets a comment along the lines, I would have cropped the top or side or whatever. The purpose of this blog post is to suggest that while Robert Capa's maxim, "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough," is definitely worth keeping in mind, you can really enrich a portrait by using the environment to help tell the story. I'm not saying anything new here and anyone who studies the work of the "father of the environmental portrait", Arnold Newman, will immediately see that his sitter's face is often quite small in the composition - stuck in the bottom right corner or off to one side of the frame. Arnold intelligently and creatively used the whole context to enhance the image. Editorial phot...

The above images are from my gull portraits series. Both images have a strong sense of eye contact with the photographer (me). The gulls hung around and I had a sense of connecting to them. They were definitely aware of me and as they hovered in the breeze I had a sense they were posing (yeah I know it sounds weird ). I've come to realise that in a sense all of my photography is about making portraits. The strict definition is a likeness of a person. But the Roget's Thesaurus expands on this: Main Entry: portrait Part of Speech: noun Definition: representation Synonyms: account, characterization, depiction, description, figure, image, likeness, model, painting, photograph, picture, portraiture, portrayal, profile, silhouette, simulacrum, sketch, snapshot, vignette (Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition) Most of my images are portraits, in other words a representation, depiction, description, account or characterisation of the subject. I supp...

Flemish sculptor, painter, artist and folk musician, Willem Vermandere sings from the heart during a visit to his house in West Flanders. Magda Indigo arranged a visit for us the last time we were in Belgium. Willem only performs in Flemish so his work is not well known outside Belgium and Holland although he has performed in the UK. Recently South African academics have also shown an interest in his poetic texts and his work is being translated into and performed in Afrikaans. Willem is a kind, warm, generous man who has tremendous humility. He is a legend in Belgium. It was a priviledge to meet him. I wanted to capture something of his spirit here. Cheers, Paul

A young lady checks her latest text message. Just about everyone has a mobile these days. It's part of life and the streets are full of people using them. Yet in society people don't seem to be able to really communicate and meaningful conversation is a dying art. "Hello, I'm on the train. Yes, it's snowing." Nothing beats a face to face chat. All of which has got very little to do with this picture, which I hope you enjoy. Cheers, Paul

Magda has been through a rough time with her health over a period of several months. She is now starting to recover. On Sunday we went for a walk in the local park. Naturally we had our cameras with us. A photographer's portfolio is the most vital marketing tool he or she has. If you would like to know more about building a successful portfolio then I recommend buying John Kaplan's excellent book, Photo Portfolio Success. Here are some of the tips from leading figures in the industry that he shares in the book: "Show your work and get feedback. Don't ever pass on a good opportunity." - Ruth Adams; photographer, educator. "Develop a personal vision, not just a style. One is just aesthetics and the other is a coming from the soul and the heart." - Tom Kennedy; Director of Photography, Washington Post Newsweek Interactive (Former Director of Photography at National Geographic). "Show the world through your eyes. It's as much about the real world ...

A grandmother sits on a wall at the Canal Gardens in Leeds, patiently waiting for her family. She looks like a strong and determined woman and I wanted to bring this aspect out in the photographs I took of her. As photographers we touch on many people's lives, our images a testimony to the passing moment we bear witness too. But the images can be so much more. They can be a metaphor and a symbol of someone's life, a tribute to them. I for one do not treat this responsibility lightly. I hope this image also bears witness to the respect I feel for the people who's portraits I make. More soon... Paul

Portrait of B on holiday with his family. This was one of several portraits for this family taken during a week long reportage. Perception is a strange thing. I like this portrait and so do the family that commissioned it. They are delighted with the images taken during the reportage. However, when I wanted to upload this picture on a photo sharing site my wife and fellow photographer, Magda, said, "No one is going to comment on that, it's just a straightforward picture of a young boy." And she is right. I tried the image briefly on three different websites. No comments. Many of my images delight clients when they see them in print but on the Internet they don't attract much attention from fellow photographers. It must be a matter of perception. I'm told time and again that I capture the essence of an individual. Of course if you don't know the person you can't recognise this aspect of what the image achieves. Portraiture is about the person you are phot...

There are a few things that irritate the hell out of me and one of them is the overuse of airbrushing techniques to smooth out portraits. Worst of all is when this technique is used on children and young people with perfect complexions. Turning everybody into a porcelain doll is just nauseating. There are several amateur photographers who, as is often the case with people where a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, seem to delight in turning everyone they photograph into a plastic effigy. I've even seen the technique used on babies. For heavens sake! A baby’s beautiful pure skin airbrushed and all those cute little wrinkles wiped out. What on earth are these photographers thinking? Look at any leading professional photographer’s work. Yes, they airbrush their models but you can still see skin texture and pores. The gradations are subtle and smooth, colours blend beautifully across cheeks but you can still see that it's skin, except in a few highly stylised images where the o...