Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Portraiture Definition

Dictionary Definition: the art of painting or taking portraits.

Own Definition: A piece of artwork that depicts the emotions and characteristics of an animal or person.

Words to Describe Portraiture: Emotion, Faces, Features, Characteristics.

Four annotated pictures:




This portrait of a hooded woman has been taken with the effect of black and white. With this in mind, I can determine that the formal element of 'tone' has been used here. We can see that she is a white woman, due to the colour of her face, despite the fact that all colour has been removed from the picture. Also, the photographer has let the background become blurry, so as to allow the camera to focus solely on the woman.


The above portrait of this man has definitely been edited in specific ways by the photographer to allow the viewer to focus on specific parts of the photograph. All of the photo has been taken in black and white, aside from the man's eyes, which have kept their colour. The fact that they've kept their colour immediately makes us focus on that one detail, so the photographer has evidently succeeded with their intention.




This portrait is an example of what can fit into the portraiture category without the person facing the camera. Emotion can still be seen, and the lighting used in this photograph has allowed the viewer to be focused on the woman's face in particular. Colour could be a formal element that appears in this photograph, due to the woman's make up and dress.



The formal element of 'Form' can be seen in this portrait, due to the shadows that are noticeable on his face. Form is used to show the dimensions of a focus in photography, and due to these shadows, we can indeed see that this picture has not been drawn, and is in fact a photograph. Also, he is staring right into the camera, giving a connection between the photograph and the viewer, as if he is looking at them.


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