CONTEMPORARY PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Contemporary portraiture is the exact opposite of classical portraiture. It focuses on capturing the models personality and mannerisms so the images often depict movement

Early contemporary portraiture tended to be very much directed by the photographer in order to capture expressions of happiness and have a somewhat staged feel about them 

I much prefer more modern contemporary portraiture, where the photographer tends to take a more voyeur approach, letting the models express themselves. This allows for more diversity in the images and captures the true personalities of the models

My favourite contemporary portrait is one I call "From the mouth of babes". I love it because it shows just how relaxed the baby was and how totally underwhelmed he was by me!

The images are high key; dominated by mid-tones and highlights with lots of contrast and few shadows

Digital photography has enabled more post production effects; both in terms of perfecting the models features and adding new dimensions to the images