A quote from US portrait/fashion photographer Richard Avedon in his book In The American West:
A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion.
When a portrait photographer chooses lighting, lens, camera angle and the moment to click the camera shutter then it’s the photographer’s opinion that matters most. This is the “opinion” that Avedon refers to in the above quote.
But for commercial portrait photographers, when the subject looks at their proofs and chooses their favourite picture then it’s the subject’s opinion that matters most.
When a viewer looks at the finished portrait, it’s the viewer’s opinion that matters most. The viewer gets the last word.
This is why, for a commercial portrait such as a business portrait, the first two opinions have to work together to help positively influence the third and final opinion. A business portrait has to be done with care to create the desired response in the mind of the viewer.
