Portrait Photography for Sale
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Zoë (Paris)
Stefanie Schneider
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,262
Himba children teenager
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children straight portrait
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children look right
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children look right
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children blanket master
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Like diamonds shining (Identity Testimonies Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$961
Spider Monkey #3
Brad Wilson
Photography - 74 x 58 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.1 x 22.8 x 0 inch
$2,262
Der himmel über...(Image of the floating world) Identity testimonies series
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 53.3 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 21 x 0 inch
$1,131
Eurasian Eagle Owl #3
Brad Wilson
Photography - 51 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$2,262
La montée des eaux (2)
Fabienne Cresens
Photography - 100 x 100 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 inch
$1,244
Tina Turner On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Tim Curry Rocky Horror
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Tim Curry Rocky Horror
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Queen Album Cover
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Pink Debbie Harry
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Motley Crue Bubble Bath
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Lou Reed Transformer
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Lou Reed And Andy Warhol
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Joan Jett - 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
Jagger And Warhol
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Iggy Raw Power - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Freddie Mercury On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Bowie And Cyrinda Foxe
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Mick Jagger On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,234
Hamar Women from Ethiopia
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.2 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0.1 inch
$975
Korean dreams, North Korea 1
Nathalie Daoust
Photography - 75 x 50 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 inch
$1,244
Spotty face beauty
Faie Davis
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$925
Karo people from Ethiopia
Faie Davis
Photography - 30 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$990
Karo make up artists
Faie Davis
Photography - 45 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$980
Frida Kahlo in the Blue House, Coyoacán, Mexico (2)
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.
Leo Matiz
Photography - 35.6 x 25.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 10 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Beauty with gold
James Chiew
Photography - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$3,336
Stories Scheherazade Certified XIV
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Don de soi 4
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$5,654 $5,089
Twiggy in Yellow Shoes
David Steen
Photography - 61 x 61 x 0.01 cm Photography - 24 x 24 x 0 inch
$1,583
Paris Tour Eiffel "Dad"
Hégémon (Hedge) Chaignon
Photography - 70 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$1,357
Maxime Medard
Clément Poitrenaud
Photography - 30 x 30 x 4 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.6 inch
$1,470
Stories Scheherazade Certified XII
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Stories Scheherazade Certified II
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$215 $162
Portrait du roi Rama IV, Bangkok 1865
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$905
La fille du roi de Birmanie réfugiée au Siam
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
$905
Portrait d'une jeune femme thaïlandaise
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 30 cm Photography - 23.6 x 11.8 inch
$905
Women's walk through life
Geert Lemmers
Photography - 81.3 x 81.3 x 2.5 cm Photography - 32 x 32 x 1 inch
$1,220
L'homme du passé
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$192 $173
Ganesha. Royal case of elephantiasis
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 40 x 40 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 inch
$905
Soldier resting
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 100 x 75 cm Photography - 39.4 x 29.5 inch
$905
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.