STILL THE BEST PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS

Hands down, Retro Atelier (link in the sidebar) is still the best portrait studio that I know of. A number of studios do first-rate work with models, but these guys seem to be out to prove that ordinary people can be made to look good in photography, and they make a good case for it.

Disclaimer: er...actually I don't recall that they ever explicitly declared that intention...but my near flawless intuition and ability to read between lines has confirmed that this is the case.

I'm guessing that a number of the photos here are of professional models, but the selection is mine, and I couldn't help myself.

Try to get this effect (above) from your mall photographer.

It must make a portrait photographer's day when a subject with an angular face (above) walks in the door. There's so much that you can do with people like that.

Delightfully and artistically seedy (above).

Wow! I imagine a lot of Photoshopping was done on this (above), but it was time well spent.

This man (above) looks like an old-time gunslinger but I like the suggestion that he's also a laborer.

Amazing! It's hard to believe that this photo (above) is a recent one.

Okay, I'm beginning to realize that all the photos I chose are probably of professional models.

Man! If you were a girl wouldn't you like to be shot by a photographer who could do this (above)?

I love photos that portray people as thinkers. What is she mulling over here? Revenge? Maybe she just realized that her husband has been cheating on her, or that he's caught her cheating. Maybe something puzzling has just been resolved, or maybe she's recalling the events of the day and coming to some realization. Maybe she's composing a letter of great importance.

Alright, alright....I'll concede that a lot of people probably aren't suited for this kind of picture, but I'll bet it would work with more types than you'd expect. I wish I had the time to experiment.

AGAIN, WHO'S THE PHOTOGRAPHER!?

I CURSE MYSELF for an UNGRATEFUL WRETCH!!!! A few weeks before Halloween a commenter sent me a link to these wonderful pictures and I can't remember the commenter's name or the name of the photographer! Can somebody help me out here?

Anyway, the pictures were all, every last one of them, taken recently, even though they look 50-100 years old. I think the photographer is Ukrainian.



What dates these pictures besides the car and the way the model's dressed? Well, there's the color of course, and the matte finish. Maybe also something about the dignity possessed by the model, even though she's obviously striking a planned pose.



Interesting! A girl taxi driver (above) and her passenger are frozen in a moment of time, like a fly caught in amber.



I like poses that are obviously planned (above). They're unreal but they tell you something about the sitter and about the era they were taken in that you can't get any other way.

People seem to be trying to express an ideal in pictures like this. They have a notion of the way things should be and they enjoy expressing it. In addition, you get the feeling that this girl wanted to project her image into the future, the way Egyptian kings used to.




This (above) could have been a Hollywood publicity still, but I'll bet high-end portrait photographers were doing this sort of thing too. Everybody must have wanted to look like Dick Powell and Myrna Loy, but you need posed, studio photography to get that effect.

Fascinating! I can imagine this guy (above) hanging out at the mall, wearing a Billabong tee shirt and baggy jeans, and yet here he is in another era, looking like a practical businessman. Boy, men sure have changed since the 30s.

Here's (above) a photo that might have been taken in the 20s when pulps were full of stories about high-society cat burglers. Some of the stories had an eerie, supernatural feel to them.



Wow! The photographer included his reference in the upper right corner (above)! In the color version the girl is less threatened, but the picture still conveys a mood. The air around the woman feels like a creepy, green soup. She recognizes the intruder. He's someone she knows, hell-bent for murder. A less earthy girl would scream, but this girl continues to adjust her stocking. She's going to try to brave it out.



Yikes! Here's (above) that supernatural feel again. I don't think the same shot would look half as good in color. Once again, you need posed, studio photography to get effects like this. Kinda' makes you want to retire your SLR doesn't it?



Holy Mackerel! I think this (above) is the same model that was in the bikini way up top!



The same girl(above) again!!! Boy, what a difference a good model makes! That old viewer behind her looks like an alien robot. The two are collaborating now because they need each other, but when the goal is in sight they'll betray each other and a great battle will ensue.