The Whole Story In A Portrait

For most of us, personal experiences with portraits trend on the boring side—school or work pictures taken in front of a bland screen or while posing in a nice venue. 

On the other hand, many famous and well-loved artworks are portraits. The Mona Lisa, Whistler’s Mother, self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo—each tells a story and reveals the essence of its subject. Boring they are not!

A true portrait catches a person in the act of being who they really are. Even though it takes planning, the result is one extraordinary moment in time captured…one that reveals someone’s story in a look, a pose, an attitude and a location. Every detail captured by or created by the artist reinforces the portrait subject’s narrative.

Decisions about clothing, hair style, makeup, posture, facial expression and background all contribute to a declarative statement.

With their permission, I’m sharing portraits of two people who wanted to tell their story in their own imaginative way, with me as the artist (lucky me). 

Brenda’s love for mystery novels was the seed that began the piece shown above. How would you caption this portrait?

Can you feel the emotion this young lady is radiating? Her elegance shines through, but her expression embodies a deep sense of introspection. What title would you give this portrait?

View more story-telling images in the Individual Portrait Portfolio by Lara Grauer Photography