Almost full body portrait disappearing into darkness

[smoke665]

With respect, Zucker's "look" now seems dated despite its fundamentals. That taxidermic approach leaves me cold in 2025. Shop around.

Winners: Portrait Awards 2024 | Dodho

We are pleased to announce the selection of 100 photographers as winners and finalists of the 2024 Portrait Awards, a distinction that underscores their eminent status within the photographic community. This recognition is a testament to their exceptional skill and artistic merit.

www.dodho.com

Portrait features in Aperture are also worth a look.

The fundamental basics in posing have been around for centuries, and the portraits created from those fundamentals have stood the rest of time. Within any art form there will be deviations that come and go, capturing short term attention, but few last long. I noticed that in your link were many that used gimmicks to capture attention, but there were still several that utilized the classic fundamentals of posing.

 

[cgw]

The fundamental basics in posing have been around for centuries, and the portraits created from those fundamentals have stood the rest of time. Within any art form there will be deviations that come and go, capturing short term attention, but few last long. I noticed that in your link were many that used gimmicks to capture attention, but there were still several that utilized the classic fundamentals of posing.

All a matter of taste. Funny how those "deviations" not infrequently equal progress through new ways of seeing.

 

[nas-matko]

Winners: Portrait Awards 2024 – Dodho

First and second places I don’t like at all, some other out of hundred are really good.

 

[smoke665]

All a matter of taste. Funny how those "deviations" not infrequently equal progress through new ways of seeing.

I would never discourage someone to think outside the box, but you need the knowledge of what's in the box first. Even a blind pig can find an acorn in the woods every now and then, but they're far and few between.

 

[cgw]

I would never discourage someone to think outside the box, but you need the knowledge of what's in the box first. Even a blind pig can find an acorn in the woods every now and then, but they're far and few between.

Three cheers for dumb luck!

 

[Golem]

About the posing issue, I wonder about having some suitable prop in her hand with the hand somewhat behind her back. My thought is twofold:
It adds something to the "empty territory", and it helps rationalize some reason for posing a subject with their back is to the viewer.

 

[cgw]

I appreciate Zucker's stature--and influence--in the wedding/portrait business 20 yrs ago. Today I doubt its resilience(relevance)among younger photographers whose influences come from media technology that simply didn't exist in Monte's heyday. Their comfort with ambiguity and nuance now guide them in different directions. In many fields, photography included, current practitioners knowingly stand on the shoulders--and faces--of the their mentors.
For me, portraiture is always a voyage of discovery.

 

[Golem]

First and second places I don’t like at all, some other out of hundred are really good.

That reaction, liking most of the field of contenders but strongly disagreeing about the top winners, is extemely common when viewers post reactions to various conpetitions. Its just the way it always goes. Very understandable. Im no exception to it myself !