Portraits reveal a desire for human connection;
a desire so strong that people who know they will never see me again
open themselves to the camera,  all in the hope that at the other end
someone will be watching,
someone who will laugh or suffer with them.

A true portrait should today and a hundred years from today,
be the testimony of how this person
looked and what kind of human being he or she was.
– Philippe Halsman, 1906 – 1979

As human beings we are fascinated with each other and how we look.
Diane Arbus talked about the gap between intention and effect as revealed in portraiture.
People put on make-up and adorn themselves because they want to create an
effect and give a certain impression.

Photography and the genre of portraiture have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship.
From the beginning of depiction, the portrait has invited its audience to recognize the
identity of the subject and then to remember.
– Anthony Bannon

A good portrait is one that says something about the person.
We usually see parts of ourselves in others, so the good portrait
should also say something about the human condition.

Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face,
the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited,
and the wealth and confusion man has created.
It is a major force in explaining man to man.
– Edward Steichen, 1879 – 1973

 What could be more simple and more complex,
more obvious and more profound than a portrait.
– Charles Baudelaire 

The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and
put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.
– Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908-2004

A good portrait ought to tell something of the subject’s past and
suggest something of his future.
– Bill Brandt, 1904 – 1983

When I have had such men before my camera my
whole soul has endeavored to do its
duty towards them in recording faithfully the greatness of the
inner as well as the features of the outer man.
The photograph thus taken has been almost the embodiment of a prayer.
– Julia Margaret Cameron, 1815–1879