Portrait Photography for Sale
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1972 Fish Eye Autoportrait
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.5 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inch
$2,160 $1,080
Portraits Of “Áo Dài”
Chiron Duong
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,023
1972 Vienna Muse 7
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 18 x 24 x 0.5 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
1972 Vienna Muse 5
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
1972 Vienna Muse 4
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
1972 Vienna Muse 3 Vue du ciel
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
1972 Vienna Muse 2 Vue du ciel
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
1972 Vienna Muse 1
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
Himba children teenager
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children straight portrait
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children look right
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children look right
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Himba children blanket master
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$1,400
Spider Monkey #3
Brad Wilson
Photography - 74 x 58 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.1 x 22.8 x 0 inch
$2,274
Eurasian Eagle Owl #3
Brad Wilson
Photography - 51 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$2,274
Tina Turner On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Tim Curry Rocky Horror
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Tim Curry Rocky Horror
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Queen Album Cover
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Pink Debbie Harry
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Motley Crue Bubble Bath
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Lou Reed Transformer
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Lou Reed And Andy Warhol
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Kate Moss - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Joan Jett - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Jagger And Warhol
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Iggy Raw Power - Limited Edition Mick Rock Estate Print
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Freddie Mercury On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Bowie And Cyrinda Foxe
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Mick Jagger On Stage
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,245
Hamar Women from Ethiopia
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.2 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0.1 inch
$975
Korean dreams, North Korea 1
Nathalie Daoust
Photography - 75 x 50 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 inch
$1,250
Spotty face beauty
Faie Davis
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$925
Karo people from Ethiopia
Faie Davis
Photography - 30 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$990
Karo make up artists
Faie Davis
Photography - 45 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$980
Appareil photo création Christer HAMP Hidalgo 1995
Christer Hamp
Photography - 30 x 21 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.3 inch
$1,012
1995 Homme à la moustache
Christer Hamp
Photography - 30 x 21 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.3 inch
$1,125
Beauty with gold
James Chiew
Photography - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$3,353
The Storm Above The Clouds
Brooke Shaden
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,728 $2,455
Spike Lee
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$682 $614
Like diamonds shining (Identity Testimonies Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$966
Making a mark
Brooke Shaden
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,728
Der himmel über...(Image of the floating world) Identity testimonies series
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 53.3 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 21 x 0 inch
$1,137
The drowning of consumption, teddy bear sauce
Idan Wizen
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,364
Jenny Bel'Air
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,080 $972
Frida Kahlo in the Blue House, Coyoacán, Mexico (2)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 35.6 x 25.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 10 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Frida Kahlo in the blue house, Coyoacán, Mexico.
Leo Matiz
Photography - 35.6 x 25.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 10 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
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.