Is Classic Portraiture Dead?

by Robert Provencher

With the photographic industry going through massive changes, is 'classic' portraiture dead? First, let's define 'classic'. It suggests traditional, old, dated, artistic, traditional, standard, quality, on and on. You get the picture, right? In many ways, 'classic' portraiture is still around.

When you look at the styles of portraiture say from the 60's, 70's, and somewhat through the 80's, the posed family or executive and the old masters style brown background, well, that sort of 'look' is certainly dated and pretty much extinct (maybe you will still find it in some areas that still lag behind the times).

But, classic influences can still be found and, in my opinion, will never go away. Looks change, people want what's hip, cool, casual, fun, and funky, but all portraiture is very much influenced by the classic stylings. All we've done is taken a new twist on an old, never-to-go-out-of-date style.

You can go back to the old masters and still see photographers using the exact same fundamentals nowadays that they used to use way back when. Some studios still offer, and seemingly to higher-end clients, a very 'classic' look in their portrait photography.

For example, studios such as www.phillipstewartcharis.com and www.simoneportrait.com use classic stylings in their work. Likely, they are not mainstream, but they still keep the classic look alive. The Simones, one of my favorite photographer teams, have a created a great blend of classic with a modern twist. Check out their website, you'll see what I mean.

They are amazing. Charis shoots in the more traditional stylings using the same dark background for many images. Notice in both these examples, and in many others who still shoot in the classic portrait look, that they have some common threads characterized by darker backdrops, Rembandt lighting, and almost always serious/moody expressions.

The fact that that look is so consistent reinforces the pigeonholing of studios like these into the 'classic' style of photography. It's not a bad thing and in many ways will actually help keep them pointed to the higher end carriage trade clientele that request this type of look and have the bucks to pay for it. I prefer much more spontaneous and easy going looks in my portraits.

That doesn't mean I don't respect and agonize why I can't shoot at that level. I truly admire and am envious of this type of portrait when it is executed at the highest level. In many ways, it is produces some of the nicest looking portraits, in spite of the posing, control, and predictability. They are still very artisitic and, well, classic. What can I say.

What I do like about classic portraiture is the precision and masterfulness that goes into the creation of this style of portrait. But, enough about what I like. Is classic portraiture dead? Absolutely not.

There will always be a market, and there will always be a huge place for all the other portrait photographers to learn, grow and build the foundation of their style, all of which starts with the same fundamentals, which are timeless. Let's make a few comparisions.

Are candles dead? Think about it. At one time we used candles as a light source, but when the light bulb was invented, that changed the whole candlemaking industry didn't it? Or did it? Have you ever been to one of the candle home parties? Easy to spend hundreds of dollars on some of coolest and biggest candles I've ever seen! What about the candle section at department stores and gift shops?

Ever had a candle light dinner? Candles are cool, still. What about radio? When TV came along they predicted the end of radio. Did it die? I have two accounts for satellite radio. One for the photo studio reception area and one for my car. Not only is radio bigger and better than ever, but THEY'RE MAKING ME PAY FOR IT!!!!! The nerve.

What about classic rock? Is it dead? Not! In all the rock that came after classic rock and the stuff before, it is all built on the same fundamentals. And I'm positive that many of today's artists are strongly influenced by the classics, just like we photographers are, and should be, influenced by the classic stylings of portraiture.

Classic is timeless. There will always be a willing and earnest market. We as photographers will benefit greatly by learning from the masters of centuries gone by right up to the more recent portrait artists. That doesn't mean that we will shoot in the classic style, does it? But, it will lay the foundation for what will eventually be our own unique style, which for all of us has its roots in classic portraiture. Classic portraiture can also be reinvented. Think about the painterly look that many photographers are creating using digital files and working their art using Corel Painter.

The end result has many parallels and borrows the same concepts from classic portraiture. Think about the hundreds, if not thousands of photographers influenced and trained by the likes of Monte Zucker, who used standardized lighting and composition based on the fundamentals of classic portraiture. One of the greatest of the greats was Yousuf Karsh

Below is an excerpt from the Canadian Press newswire after he died at the age of 93 and a long career as one of the most reknowned portrait artists. There are many keys and 'secrets' to the whole picture that makes a truly great portrait artist:

"Karsh loved people, and could hold his own with the best of them. His sessions were events in themselves and became renowned for their repartee. An engaging, intelligent personality, he had a gift for disarming his subjects, for dismantling the walls that people erect between themselves and the camera - exposing, it seemed at his best times, their very souls. He had a great ability to get right to the heart of the matter and be able to put it into a photograph," his late brother, Malak Karsh, a renowned architectural and landscape photographer, once said of him. Karsh was polite and curious. He asked questions, elicited answers, reflections, profound moods. His sessions became known as "visits" and his subjects gave of themselves "with love and respect," said his brother.

"People knew they had a master with them and they appreciated that opportunity. They gave him the opportunity to find out what he needed to know about them so he could render them in the best way possible."

Combined with his mastery of light and composition, it made a formidable portraitist - a modern-day master, working most often in shades of grey. Karsh once said the fascination of greatness lies not in accomplishments or physical features, but in the essential element that created it. "I call it the 'inward power,' " he wrote in Karsh Portfolio (U of T Press, 1967).

"Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can. The revelation, if it comes at all, will come in a small fraction of a second with an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize."

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