“A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows (s)he’s being photographed, and what (s)he does with this knowledge is as much a part of the photograph as what (s)he’s wearing or how (s)he looks.” – Richard Avedon
The key to a good portrait is to evoke emotion within the viewer. An image can be technically good but, not capture any emotion from the person being photographed. The viewer simply thinks “that’s nice.” How do we work together to give the viewer something that is surprising and insightful about the person being photographed. By drawing from the person’s environment, we can bring the viewer into that person’s world so that they feel something when they look at the portrait. It is not hard, it just takes some work.