What a good portrait really takes, and it is not a beautiful face

There is a stubborn misconception about portrait photography. That good photos come from good faces. From symmetry, from the right lighting, from someone who is simply photogenic.

But if you have ever seen a portrait that genuinely struck you, then you know that is not true. The photos that stay with you are rarely the technically perfect ones. They are the photos with something in them. Something you cannot quite name, but that you feel.

That something has a name: presence.

What presence does to a photo

A portrait is a snapshot in time. And the moment you are most aware of the camera is rarely the best moment. The best moments come in between. When you are not thinking for a second. When you react to something the photographer says. When you laugh at something you did not expect.

Those moments land because they are real. They show who you are when you briefly forget you are being photographed.

Jana Korčoková described it afterwards like this: “He knows how to find your deep, authentic personality and capture the right moment to give your photos a special meaning.”

Catching the right moment is the photographer's work. But there does have to be a right moment. And that moment only comes about if you are really there.

The photographer carries more responsibility than you think

Many people think they are themselves responsible for how they come out in a photo. And yes, your posture, your clothing, your expression all play a part. But the greatest responsibility lies with the photographer.

It is their job to create an environment in which you can be yourself. In which you relax. In which you stop thinking about what you should do and simply react to what is happening.

That asks something of the photographer. Not only technical knowledge, but also the skill to make contact. To listen. To sense when you are ready and when you are not.

Tímea Bruníková put it this way: “He has an amazing way with people and knows exactly how to bring out the best in them without any stress or pressure. You can tell that he loves photography and cares deeply not only about the final result but also about how the person in front of the camera feels.”

That is the difference between having a photo taken and having a portrait made.

Real is not the same as perfect

There is something else as well. Many people want to look their best in a photo. That is understandable. But looking your best is not the same as looking like yourself.

A polished portrait can be beautiful. But it rarely moves you. Realness does. A look that gives something away. A smile that is only just starting. A moment of doubt you happen to catch.

Those things are not perfect. But they are yours.

Cecilia Chien travelled from Amsterdam for her shoot and wrote afterwards: “He cares about authenticity and captures someone's stories behind each picture, so you can feel those raw emotions from his pictures. It's something truly meaningful and beautiful.”

That is what portrait photography is about. Not the best light or the sharpest lens. The real story.

What you can do

The answer is simple, really: nothing. You do not have to do anything. You do not have to practise in the mirror. You do not have to learn poses. You only have to be present.

The rest is the photographer's work. And the work of the time you take together.

In the next post I show what changes concretely when you really let yourself go in front of the camera. What happens then in the atmosphere, in the photos and in how you see yourself.

A portrait that is right starts with a photographer who takes the time to get to know you. That is exactly the thinking behind PAUSE, half a day for yourself, with portraits that show it. See what a PAUSE session involves.