I have never been very good at sticking to rules… well all the unimportant ones anyway! So when I started working with people, taking standard shots was never going to be something I was going to be interested in. Thankfully, neither have my clients. My clients seem to actually be just as keen on the quirky images I produce. Well, maybe that’s why they are my clients in the first place!

So let’s go back to those rules of portraiture… what “should” they be… (I have also got rid of the word “should” from my dictionary but let’s not go there…)”

Rule number 1: A portrait should be “a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders”

Nah. A portrait, for me, tells a story of who you are or who your loved one is. It tells the story of a moment. It tells the story of a situation. It takes you right back. It reminds you that your 2 year old used to watch Peppa Pig like there was no tomorrow.

Rule number 2: Fill your frame.

Nah. I am not going to fill my frame unless there is a reason for me to do that. For me portraits need to be environmental. They need to give you context. They need to trigger memories. They need to trigger sensations. Here for example, it could be the sun’s warmth on a cold winter afternoon.

Rule number 3: Follow the rule of thirds.

Nah. For me, geometric shapes are really important, I love to create negative space with, well, space within your rooms, or shadows. So I can embrace a rule of third if it fits the frame or choose to completely ignore it. You may need that one shot that reminds you that the position she used to adopt whilst nursing was that of a starfish.

Rule number 4: Portraits need to have eye-contact

Nah. They can have eye-contact but they don’t need to. Some of the strongest portraits I have seen don’t have eye-contact from the subject. What matters to me most is that my photos tell you something about this person. Take Albie, for example, his movements always seem to be considered. Often in his own world and disconnected from the present, he goes about life pondering. This photo does not have eye contact, my subject isn’t even facing the right way around. But we know a bit more on how he approaches life in general.

Rule number 5: Once you have worked out your own style, stick to it.

Nah. The best type of rebellion is self-rebellion, is it not? Sometimes, when cuteness stares right at you, well, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do… and ignore your own rules…

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So if you are thinking about hiring a photographer for a portrait session, ask yourself why. Is it that you want a standard headshot or are you actually looking for something a little different? Are you looking for a family photographer who can bring in her documentary family photography expertise into the sessions to create some very strong individual images that… well… tell the story of your family, but also help tell the story of each member of that family independently.

And if you are actually just interested in how to create some of those images yourself, grab your phone, grab your camera, and just have a go. Don’t hold back. Don’t listen to rules. Rules are always there so we can break them. (Well, some anyway!).

I will leave you now with a few other images from my portfolio which I deem portraits. Whether they are or not, I will leave it to you to decide!