The History of Portraiture and How It's Influencing My Work

I feel that as my idea has developed, my work has become more and more influenced by the past. Early portrait photography was all about appearance, in the words of Angier, "the face was a key element in all daguerreotype portraits. It was taken for granted as the essential sign for identity. It had to be visible". Because the face must be seen, and camera technology of the time meant that images had to be taken with long exposures, often the heads of the subjects were held up by braces hidden from the camera. This reduced any blur from the head moving within this time.

Often, to further dignify a portrait, props were added to the backgrounds of images. This included drapes, curtains, and even fake columns. This gave the audience context while also making the subject look more wealthy and prestigious. This is similar to my own work, especially the last shoot which had curtains in the background. I have been showing backgrounds all throughout my images to lend some context to the images, however I have not set anything up or attempted to make my subjects look better in any way. I prefer the more casual backdrop to show that they're normal people.

Angier states that "early portrait photographs had little do to with complex notions of character or identity. They were not about the inner self.". They proceed to explain how portraiture's identity goes back to Roman ideologies of the self and of 'persona' - meaning mask. "The idea was that the self was something to be worn, like a mask, Whatever might lie behind the mask was not important."

This particularly reminds me of how the men I asked about growing up told me how it feels to grow up yet they don't show it on the outside, like wearing a mask.