The Kodak Library of Creative Photography. The Art of Portraits and the Nude

Time-Life Books, 1983. — 288 p. — (The Kodak Library of Creative Photography)Good portraits are not just pictures of people. They are interpretations of personality: instead of simply recording what the sitters look like, the best port raits reveal what is individual about them, and perhaps what they are feeling. Sometimes, unposed pictures of friends or relatives can have this quality if the natural closeness between photographer and subject combines w i t h technique in just the right way. But a successful portrait of someone you hardly know is more difficult . You must quickly establish a basic understanding of character and a mutual confidence. You must decide what kind of surroundings will strengthen the portrait and what kind of lighting will suit your subject. And then you must find a pose that is telling and which at the same time lets the subject feel at ease.