Portrait Photography for Sale
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Pocahontas - Fallen Princess
Dina Goldstein
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$2,036
Nick Cave & Blixa Bargeld
Detlev Schneider
Photography - 50 x 40 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 inch
$1,018
Sur les Chemins d'Alice - La Sieste.
Brno Del Zou
Photography - 22 x 33 x 0.1 cm Photography - 8.7 x 13 x 0 inch
$226
Sur les Chemins d'Alice - Le Vieux Monsieur.
Brno Del Zou
Photography - 22 x 33 x 0.1 cm Photography - 8.7 x 13 x 0 inch
$226
Stories Scheherazade Certified III
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Mère et enfant
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 120 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$3,393
Himba children tree master
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba Beauty
Faie Davis
Photography - 85.8 x 76.8 x 0.25 cm Photography - 33.8 x 30.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
An insipid notion #177
Javier Rey
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,350
Waiting for the rain in Wamba
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,052
At the heart of Huile
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
Young Hamer Woman
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
Lion of the Kalahari
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
Fula Nomad at Golondi
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
Fulani Bapteme Ceremony
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
Overseeing Merille
John Kenny
Photography - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,111
Rendille Mother and Child
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
Beads of the Omo Valley
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
Lady of the Arbore
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
The pure Wodaabe
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
At the edge of the Jade Sea
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,257
Afar woman of Assaita
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,555
Frida Kahlo in the Blue House, Coyoacán, Mexico. (3)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 35.6 x 25.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 10 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Frida Kahlo in the Blue House, Coyoacán, Mexico. (1)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 35.6 x 25.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 10 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Behind the Great Mosque in Djenne
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
Samburu adornment
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,052
Disruption II. Wall sculpture intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 36 x 28 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.2 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Heart - Alexander Skarsgard Portrait. 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
$2,000
Twiggy – at David Steen’s Home, Surrey
David Steen
Photography - 61 x 46 x 0.01 cm Photography - 24 x 18.1 x 0 inch
$1,561
Miroir d'Elle
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$204
Soliloquy. Photograph intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 30.5 x 20.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 12 x 8 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Soul - Kate Hudson, Portrait. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 45.7 x 35.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 18 x 14 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Now - Bruno Mars, Portrait. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 50.8 x 35.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 14 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Pride - Jennifer Lopez. Portrait Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 50.8 x 35.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 14 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Rêveries, de la série - Un été sans fin
Irène Jonas
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,357
Dans la machine
Muriel Deumie
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$622
Cinematography inspired session #17
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
El Color Grana I
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 35 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Papillon Mon Amour
Jean-Michel Rousvoal
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,696
Les Hespérides L'Insouciance
Jean-Michel Rousvoal
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,696
Le Souffle de la Légèreté
Jean-Michel Rousvoal
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,696
The Beatles Posing Together, "Our World" Satellite Broadcast Press Event, EMI Studios, London
Glen Craig
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
$1,750
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.