Portrait Photography for Sale
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Save your search to find it quickly
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
Danza de Fortuna Tres. From the series "Danza de Fortuna"
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Danza de fortuna. From the series, Danza de fortuna
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Laetitia Casta
Klaus Roethlisberger
Photography - 70 x 60 x 0.2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$807
Adriana K
Klaus Roethlisberger
Photography - 70 x 60 x 0.2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$605
Fate and its inevitable consequences
Akif Hakan
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$617
La mirada d’Apol·lo
Martí Sala
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$785
Série des Pin Up N°3
Mehdi Mirbagheri
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$2,803
L'empire des femmes
Françoise Benomar
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
$1,682
Entre deux temps d'or
Françoise Benomar
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
$1,682
Irida XIII
Laurence Winram
Photography - 84.1 x 59.4 x 0.2 cm Photography - 33.1 x 23.4 x 0.1 inch
$636
Roarie XXVI
Laurence Winram
Photography - 84.1 x 59.4 x 0.2 cm Photography - 33.1 x 23.4 x 0.1 inch
$636
Prêtresse - Format XS
Mathilde Oscar
Photography - 45 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$336
Kouros .04, Back Pink
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Satyr, Drawing Restraint 7, Matthew Barney studio, NYC
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 61 x 43.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 17 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5, Gellert Bath House, Budapest
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 61 x 43.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 17 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 43.2 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 43.2 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
Tantalus (Diptych)
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Would you swim with me?
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 30 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$213
River Dreams
Cristina Fontsare
Photography - 33 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$673 $605
Lucia at fourteen in her grandma´s bedroom
Cristina Fontsare
Photography - 33 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$673
Celebrate
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$213
Barbie World
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$213
Val surprises
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$213
Flowers for the winners
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Do I Really Need to Start A New Week?
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Still Too Young
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Warm Winter Or Cold Summer?
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Weekend is over but I still wanna play
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Stretch on fur instead of snow
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Relax! Long weekend is coming!
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Morning stretch routine
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$213
Don't wake me up before winter is over.
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
It's Windy in Spain 2
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$213
Would you swim with me? XVI
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 52.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$213
Nun & Baby
Cécile Plaisance
Photography - 165 x 125 x 2 cm Photography - 65 x 49.2 x 0.8 inch
$24,664
Rayas Three
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$6,500
Série Backstage - F0597 – The alien
Idan Wizen
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$168
Interpretation: Rubens (1)
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 75 x 50 x 2 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,177
Interpretation: Rubens
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 75 x 50 x 2 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,177
Series: The skin of Mars - Skin 9
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 45 x 60 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 inch
$2,803
Series: The skin of Mars - Skin 17
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 80 x 60 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 inch
$3,924
End of the Market III (medium)
Jesus Torio
Photography - 84.1 x 57.1 x 0.2 cm Photography - 33.1 x 22.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,457
Papillon nocturne
Katia Chausheva
Photography - 48 x 33 x 0.3 cm Photography - 18.9 x 13 x 0.1 inch
$897
Lost and found
Cécile Plaisance
Photography - 70 x 57 x 4 cm Photography - 27.6 x 22.4 x 1.6 inch
$8,408
According to Francis Bacon
Jean-Claude Byandb
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$549
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.