When Plotinus, a philosopher in the
third century, was approached with the prospect of having his portrait made,
he exclaimed, “Is it not enough to carry about this image in which nature
has enclosed us? Do you really think that I must also consent to leave, as a
desirable spectacle to posterity, an image of an image?” Portraits have
always inhabited a space between who we are, what we look like, what we think
we look like, how others see us and—last but not least—how artists,
poets, biographers, painters and photographers interpret our physical image.
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Dennis
Keeley has worked as an artist, teacher, photographer and writer
for over 20 years. He’s also the author of our popular B&W
Portraiture column. “This is as close as anyone has been
to me with a camera,” says Keeley of this portrait by Josh
Sanseri.
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Interpretation of Image
Portraits begin with an image or likeness. We note the likeness in a portrait
by how it’s rendered, the depiction of its subject, the author’s
interpretation of the subject and the resemblance it has to the original source.
So then, what is image? Inside each of us is an individual realm of data aside
from the collection of features that we show on the outside. On one hand, our
image is simply identification. On the other, our image is a complex construction
for recognition by others, and probably a basis for our practice of personal
presentation, individual ornamentation and a foundation for our own memory.
Our image changes as we live, and while we don’t consciously change our
image every day, occasions like finding that perfect new shirt constantly refresh
and re-enforce our sense of self.
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Keeley
says he argued with Deborah Hart until she mentioned that he wouldn’t
put up with this
behavior from his subjects. Photo by Deborah Hart
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A portrait isn’t a simple mapping
of the face. An I.D. card is not a portrait (though I can think of ways it could
be). A portrait implies that someone is creating it. That person is leading
their subject in an intentional direction, with a goal in mind of how they see
the portrait emotionally resolved. The subject follows directions. The photographer
is a guide and interpreter, artist and technician, psychiatrist and friend.
The work is a result of that experience; of moments strung together, of stories
told, and the expressions and reactions captured by a camera and lens.
These human qualities transcend any mechanical aspect of the portrait experience
where a camera is pointed at you, people look at your face, and sometimes even
interrogate you about some facial anomaly that you never noticed before. Emotional
likeness is a much more valuable result than mechanical representation. A portrait
can possess this quality of human expression, which isn’t only exhibited
by a subject, but invited by the photographer. It isn’t simply given to
you by your subject, but recognized and interpreted by you. When artistic expression
is combined with a subject’s emotion, a portrait with greater depth is
created, which is something more than a picture and the person.
Transcending the Surface
So then, how do we act as translators of mood, and make these images that transcend
the limitations of our human physical likeness? Technology has given us an incredible
ability to capture, edit and preserve the images we make. We carry the sculptor’s
chisel and the painter’s brush and canvas with us everywhere. The artist
tries to put their experience of the moment on the canvas. From the moment the
paint is applied to the brush to committing it to the canvas, the artist is
in suspension with endless questions that surround the creation of meaning in
pictures. As keen observers, translators and painters of our subjects, our responsibility
is to recognize those moments and press the shutter. Not committed to one canvas
for months, we make many studies of our subject and image and ask of each one,
“Is this it?”
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Marc
Berndt shot these two pictures of Keeley while he was waiting
for Berndt to show up for a meeting. “I read every chance
I get, so he was able to sneak up on me.”
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As photographers, we often hear
comments like, “Do I look like that?” or “I usually break
the camera,” to “That’s very flattering” or “Wow,
you made me look great!” Your photograph can translate, transform or even
transcend a person’s real image. And what is our real image, but a fabrication
and arrangement of the given physical likeness along with style, cultural influence
and social alignment. The physical likeness in the portrait is actually the
easy part. As photographers, we’re comfortable translating three-dimensional
objects into a two-dimensional illusion of that object in space and affecting
our viewer at the same time.
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