Portrait Photography for Sale
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Airplane Lover (Lightbox)
David Drebin
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$36,000
Umbrella Silhouette II (XS)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Umbrella Silhouette (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
Umbrella Silhouette (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Kiss Silhouette (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Kiss Silhouette (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Bunny and the Man (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 cm Photography - 20 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Anonymity of Shape (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Anonymity of Shape (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
Soldier Silhouette (XS)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Mystery of The Dancing Twins (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
Lipstick Cigarette II (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
Lipstick Cigarette II (XS)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Hat Tu Silhouette (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Mouth in the Mirror
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
In the hood
Johann Fournier
Photography - 50 x 75 x 2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,470
Umbrella Silhouette II (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
Umbrella Silhouette II (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
$25,000
Umbrella Silhouette II (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Serge Gainsbourg au Palace
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$509 $458
152 - Van Gogh
Bernard Pras
Photography - 106 x 80 x 3 cm Photography - 41.7 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$5,654
Régis Marcon
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$509 $458
Cheveux d'Encre Peace
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$814
Virtuous Woman
Kamal Obat
Photography - 59.4 x 41.9 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0.2 inch
$450 $383
Manuel Viron
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$283 $269
Françoise Sagan
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$283 $254
The creation of blood and bones
Brooke Shaden
Photography - 25 x 25 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 9.8 x 0 inch
$961 $914
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
Cinematography inspired session #24
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$215
Cinematography inspired session #2
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$215
Eternal Recurrence #16
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 185.4 x 50.8 x 20.3 cm Photography - 73 x 20 x 8 inch
$5,000
Terence Stamp
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$679 $611
Eternal Recurrence #70, Photo collage with intervention by the artist.
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 151.1 x 123.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 59.5 x 48.5 x 0.1 inch
$6,000
Any Surprise For Your Val?
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$215
Appareil photo création Christer HAMP Hidalgo 1995
Christer Hamp
Photography - 30 x 21 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.3 inch
$1,006
1995 Homme à la moustache
Christer Hamp
Photography - 30 x 21 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.3 inch
$1,120
Last Paradise I
Nathan Brusovani
Photography - 102 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 40.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,018
Bouche femme
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$792
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.