Portrait Photography for Sale
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Marilyn Laughing in Black Dress
Bert Stern
Photography - 48 x 33 x 1 cm Photography - 18.9 x 13 x 0.4 inch
$2,831
Vanitas Vanitatum Omnia Vanitas #05
Malo
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$6,366
Vanitas Vanitatum Omnia Vanitas #04
Malo
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$6,366
Vanitas Vanitatum Omnia Vanitas #09
Malo
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$6,366
Vanitas Vanitatum Omnia Vanitas #09
Malo
Photography - 120 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$14,096
Happiness Music Dinner
Philippe Shangti
Photography - 109 x 222 x 0.5 cm Photography - 42.9 x 87.4 x 0.2 inch
$39,787
No prostitution Here Geisha
Philippe Shangti
Photography - 90 x 90 x 0.5 cm Photography - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.2 inch
$17,052
À contre-jour
Arnaud Ele
Photography - 118.8 x 84 x 0.1 cm Photography - 46.8 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$1,455
André Villers Photograph of Picasso's Atelier
André Villers
Photography - 48.9 x 41.28 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.3 x 16.3 x 0 inch
$3,979
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 49.53 x 58.4 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.5 x 23 x 0 inch
$3,979
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 53.34 x 48.26 x 0.1 cm Photography - 21 x 19 x 0 inch
$3,979
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 40.64 x 50.8 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0 inch
$3,979
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 40.64 x 50.8 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0 inch
$3,979
George Bush Rubix Cube
Alison Jackson
Photography - 83.8 x 114.3 x 2.5 cm Photography - 33 x 45 x 1 inch
$8,000
Marion - Île de beaulieu - Nantes - série Danse photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Kévin - Le mur - La poste - Nantes - série Danse photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Jessie - Halles Alstom - Nantes - série photo Danse Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
MC Solaar, Daddy Lord C et JP Manova - Médiathèque Françoise Sagan - Paris - Concert de JP Manova pour la radio Le Mouv' - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Pépé, une seconde avant - Festival Fête du Bruit - Saint Nolff - Concert du groupe Deluxe - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Pépé, saxophoniste du groupe Deluxe - Le Stéréolux - Nantes - Dans les coulisses de l'Olympia d'Ibeyi - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
L'homme à la guitare - Le Trianon - Paris - Avant première du concert de Guts - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
IBEYI23 Olympia - L'Olympia - Paris - Dans les coulisses de l'Olympia d'Ibeyi - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Dany Dan - La Carrière - Saint Herblain 2013 - Dans les coulisses du festival Hip Opsession - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Emily - Le Bataclan - Concert de Jukebox Champions - Paris 2014 - série Photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
The Art of Distortion 8
Paula Golemo
Photography - 40 x 32 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 12.6 x 0 inch
$205
Les sandales - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 35 x 35 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0 inch
$500
Les sandales 2 - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Le barbu - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Le sucre, Père Jean-Joseph - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
La ligne, frère Marie-Antoine - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
L'évier - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
L'Escalier - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Tonsure, la valse - série Une Vie de Moine
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Tonsure, humilité
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Père Pio-Marie
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Les trois carreaux
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
L'Ampoule
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
Tonsure Frère Lazare
Jean-François Talivez
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$500
L'homme en rouge, Kenya
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,183
L'ivresse bleue, France
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,183
Coluche - Iconic portraits
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,591
Hausa and Fula cultures collide
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,669
Oceani Mentali n°4
Luca Izzo
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.4 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$398 $358
Forest Whitaker
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,876
Silver
Kalliope Amorphous
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.05 inch
$2,200
Introspection
Mathilde Oscar
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$2,274
Untitled (Identity Promises series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 18 x 27 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.1 x 10.6 x 0 inch
$369
Cristina's world (Identity assertions series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 18 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.1 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$369
Livre IV / Eryngium giganteum L. (Panicaut géant), 2022, in Herbarium Florum obsidionalium (2021-2023)
Sophie Zénon
Photography - 30.5 x 41 cm Photography - 12 x 16.1 inch
$4,547
Blue sky's here for me
Ana Zegheanu
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.02 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$182
Iggy Pop - La Villette 86
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,591
On Top
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 8.847 x 10.752 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.5 x 4.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,705
La montée des eaux
Fabienne Cresens
Photography - 40 x 40 x 4 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.6 inch
$568
Winter Gentleman
Dan Holmqvist
Photography - 140 x 118 x 0.2 cm Photography - 55.1 x 46.5 x 0.1 inch
$3,804
The Pianist
Dan Holmqvist
Photography - 101 x 78 x 0.2 cm Photography - 39.8 x 30.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,336
Lived-in (Cocoon)
Giana De Dier
Photography - 70 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
$7,389
I Have Wings Too
Dasha Pears
Photography - 70 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$1,341
Marilyn in Vogue (1962)
Bert Stern
Photography - 25 x 21 x 1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch
$1,807
El Revolucionario
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,061
Elan
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,978
El caballero
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,061
Hombre de la Luna
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$676
Coversaciones 3
Giana De Dier
Photography - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$3,979
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.