Agreed.

Taken from

http://exposurecompensation.com/

There are so many ways to shoot interesting portraits and at the same time there are so few that will be remarkable.

As people we have evolved to be curious and intrigued about other human beings. It is part of our genomic imprint influencing our visual attention so that a form of a human being will become an important reference point in a photograph. Photographers use this to their advantage for critical compositions. In portrait photography it is not just about the presence of a person, this is a necessity of the genre. What then becomes the focal point of attention in a portrait is either the gesture, the uniqueness of the person or the relationship of that human being with the surrounding environment.

Capturing a sensitive gesture that elicits the empathy of the viewer will transcend the image into feelings and by doing so elevates the nature of the portrait. Portraying unique individuals raises our curiosity, our wonder of the diversity of our cultures and species, so that the more different the subject is from the viewer the higher the curiosity. We are attracted to beauty but we are also attracted to ugly, we are attracted to what is different from us, we are attracted to what we wish we could be or what we are pleased not to be. We are attracted to human bodies in such a way that we look at them to make a comparison with our own bodies, perhaps even guessing a trend to sensuality.

The wonder the viewer feels while looking at a portrait raises questions about the story of the human subject, a story that the viewer builds by relating the person to the surroundings of the image. This is what is so striking about environmental portraits, they provide visual clues that help the viewer to imagine the story, real or not. They provide life to the subject, a glimpse of what this person is about and the factors that define his/her circumstances. It is about expanding the story, providing a sense of purpose to the subject.