Portrait Photography for Sale
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Mujer de Viñales
James Sparshatt
Photography - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,244
China Girl - Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print
Alain Le Garsmeur
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$645
Bruno Mars, Portrait. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 29.5 x 21.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11.6 x 8.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,080
Muse. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 29.5 x 21.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11.6 x 8.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,080
Paris. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 29.5 x 21.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11.6 x 8.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,080
Series: Omnipresence - Poseidon
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Series: Omnipresence - Dyonisus III Cannabis 26,6%
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Series: Omnipresence - Dyonisus VI. Hallucinogens 2 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Series: Omnipresence - Dyonisus V. MDMA 2,2 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Series: Omnipresence - Wheat 27 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Series: Omnipresence - Artemis IV
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,262
Kate Moss - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Don de soi III
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$4,071
Jeune femme thaïlandaise jouant de la basse de violon
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 50 x 40 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 inch
$1,470
Jeune fille thaïe assise
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
$1,470
Dancer
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 70 x 50 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 inch
$905
Dancer
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 70 x 50 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 inch
$905
Cinematography inspired session #23
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Cinematography inspired session #24
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Stories Scheherazade Certified I
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Cinematography inspired session #15
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Cinematography inspired session #7
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Miles Davis le célèbre trompettiste en concert, Paris Jazz Festival, 3 novembre 1969. - série Jazz
Philippe Gras
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,074
Japanese Life 03
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 25 x 120 x 3.8 cm Photography - 9.8 x 47.2 x 1.5 inch
$339
#10. From "La Piedra Sustituta II" Series
José Sierra
Photography - 101.6 x 58.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 23.02 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Deseo Insular III
José Sierra
Photography - 91.4 x 55.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 22 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Deseo Insular IV
José Sierra
Photography - 69.9 x 45 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 17.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Deseo Insular XII
José Sierra
Photography - 69.9 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Eternal Recurrence #42
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 152.4 x 135.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 53.5 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Nuit rouge
Philippe Martins
Photography - 90 x 90 x 0.4 cm Photography - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.2 inch
$961
Francis Joyon
Christophe Paucelier
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,074
Attente, La Havane 994
Jean-Robert Franco
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
$2,827
Elvis Presley from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 69.9 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,250
Mata Hari
Paloma Castello
Photography - 119.9 x 83.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 47.2 x 33 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Rudolph Valentino from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 119.9 x 83.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 47.2 x 33 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Marlon Brando from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 69.9 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,250
Teatrino from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 69.9 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,250
Hedy Lamar from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 69.9 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,250
Delirio Exótico #5
Paloma Castello
Photography - 119.9 x 82.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 47.2 x 32.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
1915 Lady à la robe noire Lady with black dress
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
$1,640
Architects Anonymous
Alexander Benz
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,036
Cocteau Aqua Atla #2235
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 152.4 x 135.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 53.5 x 0.1 inch
$8,900
Kenya - Les Samburu & Turkana_Mont Kenya
Nadia Ferroukhi
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$1,696
Kenya - Les Samburu & Turkana_Mont Kenya
Nadia Ferroukhi
Photography - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,262
Kenya - Les Samburu & Turkana_Mont Kenya
Nadia Ferroukhi
Photography - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$905
Above the clouds #5
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
$662
Galaxy brain
Leobardo Huerta
Photography - 39.4 x 31.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.5 x 12.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,200
Rêve imaginaire
Sabyl Ghoussoub
Photography - 100 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
$1,131
Sans titre #6
Thierry Valencin
Photography - 47 x 39 x 4 cm Photography - 18.5 x 15.4 x 1.6 inch
$1,583
Sourire Omar
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 28 x 43 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11 x 16.9 x 0.1 inch
$792
Le photographe
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$792
Sotigui Kouyaté
Bernard Pras
Photography - 106 x 80 x 3 cm Photography - 41.7 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$5,654
Michel Desjoyeaux
Christophe Paucelier
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$871
Cinematography inspired session #22
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215
Men & Serpent, One
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
La México. CDMX.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$8,878
Série des Pin Up N°2
Mehdi Mirbagheri
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$2,827
Hope - Pharrell Williams, Portrait 2. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 63.5 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 25 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Serie Chapadmalal Lenticular
Marcel Antelo
Photography - 35 x 50 cm Photography - 13.8 x 19.7 inch
$2,499
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Portrait Photography for Sale
In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered the process for setting images onto pewter plates. In 1833, upon Nièpce's death, Louis Daguerre and François Arago continued his experiments and invented the daguerreotype, a process which created a printed image on a silver plate that had been exposed to light. Photography was born.
Similarly to how portrait painting had dominated artistic output in previous centuries, portrait photography was to become the pillar of the Second French Empire's photographic industry. Lenses with a shorter focal length, which enabled reduced exposure times, gradually appear on the market. The required equipment was expensive and difficult to handle. Some photographers, called daguerreotypists, decided to open their own photography studios to make a profit from their endeavours. The daguerreotype process was temperamental, and photographers had to take their pictures with great precision and attention to detail. They welcomed many people into their studios and customers choose how they wished to be photographed from catalogue of poses. Originally only accessible to the bourgeoisie, lower prices resulting from the growing number of studios eventually attracted a wider customer base. This phenomenon infuriated the poet Charles Baudelaire who was frustrated by the sense of narcissism sparked by the daguerreotypists.
Despite his protests, the egotistical trend only grew with the emergence of 'carte de visite' portraits (small photographs, the size of today's business cards). These were the brainchild of Adolphe Eugène Disdéri came up with the idea of producing portraits akin to visiting cards in 1859. He printed eight portraits in a variety of poses onto a single plate and once developed they could be cut up into eight distinct “visiting cards". Very popular with the bourgeoisie, they highlighted the sitters' social status. 'Carte de visite' portraits featuring celebrities were also sold to customers, who could subsequently add them to their albums.
The photographer Nadar was one of the first to demonstrate a conscious artistic approach to producing these portraits. He emphasised facial expressions and ensured the sitter was comfortable and at ease before taking the photograph. He photographed the era's greatest thinkers and artists, including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo. He even managed to reconcile Baudelaire with portraiture.
At the end of the 19th century, the art of photography started to enter the mainstream, with the arrival of the Kodak company. The use of the camera, and the taking of portraits, became everyday occurrences. A century later, it was the invention of the digital camera which challenged the status quo. Whereas before alterations could only be made to photographs when they were being taken or developed, with the digital camera editing became easier, quicker and more convenient. Digital photography has given photographers much more freedom when it comes to editing and new methods and techniques are constantly being explored.
Some of the photographers who have left their mark on the last century include: Cindy Sherman, who excelled in self-portraits, Annie Leibovitz, who captured celebrities, the wacky duo, Pierre and Gilles, as well as Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims.
So, do portraits help us to learn more about each other, to remember, to invent, to act, or to reconnect with ourselves? Find out on Artsper, by exploring the works of Formento & Formento, Naomi Vona, Ahmed Bennani, Chou Ching Hui, Samuel Cueto, Brno del Zou, Ren Hang, Markus + Indrani, Jerome Liebling as well as Annina Roescheisen.
A portrait photograph can be a photograph of a person's head and shoulders, but it can also be of an animal or of a different section of the subject's body such as their feet. Portrait photographs in art often tell or hint something about its subject to the viewer, such as an aspect of their personality, but still contain an element of mystery.
The three major types of portrait photography are posed portraits, candid or anonymous portraits, and conceptual portraits. The last type, conceptual or creative portraits, can be experimental and abstract, and may not represent an image close to a traditional portrait.
The six main types of portrait photography are fine art portraits, traditional portraits (for example posed portraits taken at school), lifestyle portraits, group portraits, street portraits and glamour portraits.