Portrait Photography for Sale
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Rendille Moran at Nyiru
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,669
Fire of the Himba
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,061
Mursi traditions
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,061
Collection Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon - HB1255
Idan Wizen
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$853
F0479 - The fantasized
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,046
H0384 - The secretive
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,364
Lee au coucher de soleil
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
$909
Jittaporn nu de pleine lune
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$909
L'Éphémère
Jean-Michel Rousvoal
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,705
L'Envol
Jean-Michel Rousvoal
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,705
1914 Lady en corset
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$1,648
1915 Beauté d'Afrique African beauty
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
$2,217
Let's Go Ice Swimming
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 65 x 55 x 0.1 cm Photography - 25.6 x 21.7 x 0 inch
$216
Danseuse auréolée
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,080
Singularity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$853
Life's essence 006
Ivanna Alejandra Sanchez Moretti
Photography - 90 x 60 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 inch
$909
Untitled Nude at Marfa
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 44.5 x 55.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17.5 x 22 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
40 Mins of Anaïs III
Charlotte Abramow
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$3,524
Ice cream parano
Fabien Novarino
Photography - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,125
Obra del Grupo Danza del Alma, Cuba
Sonia Almaguer
Photography - 32 x 24 x 2 cm Photography - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,364
Kate With Tassles - 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
Sára + dívka (Sarah and girl)
Jan Saudek
Photography - 17.9 x 13.9 cm Photography - 7 x 5.5 inch
$1,705
Nguegalengo girl from Garganta, with goat. Angola
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 58.5 x 2.5 cm Photography - 24 x 23 x 1 inch
$975
Mukuaita wearing ker ungava hairstyle. Angola
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 58.5 x 2.5 cm Photography - 24 x 23 x 1 inch
$975
Nguengalengo boy with chicken
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 58 x 2.5 cm Photography - 24 x 22.8 x 1 inch
$975
Cinematography inspired session #21
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$216
De la série : La beauté des femmes - ingénieux
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 18 x 23 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.1 inch
$1,364
De la série : La beauté des femmes - aspiration
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 18 x 23 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.1 inch
$1,364
Collection Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon - HB1353
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$853 $725
Couple femmes
Claude Guillaumin
Photography - 40 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,876
H0427 – The crusher
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$568
F0488 – The surprising
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$853
F0564 – The dauntless
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,046
F0500 – The dancer
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,046
H0430 – The last one
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,046
F0547 - The scared
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,364
F0555 - The duchess
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,364
Sin título (Identity Testimonies Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$966
Autoportrait devant «Amours»
Pierre Molinier
Photography - 16.7 x 12 x 0.1 cm Photography - 6.6 x 4.7 x 0 inch
$1,591
De la série : La beauté des femmes - thoughtfull
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 20 x 15 cm Photography - 7.9 x 5.9 inch
$1,364
Milne Bay Beauty
Anthony Horth
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$850
Aphrodite's Dream
Anthony Horth
Photography - 50.8 x 71 x 2.5 cm Photography - 20 x 28 x 1 inch
$900
Summer Swimsuit
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 70 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Thai au coucher de soleil
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
$909
Diu nu de pleine lune
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
$909
Joy nu de pleine lune
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
$909
Young girl with little boy
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 70 x 50 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 inch
$909
Siamese warrior
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 100 x 75 cm Photography - 39.4 x 29.5 inch
$909
Noble woman from tak province
The opium smoking white elephant
Photography - 90 x 55 cm Photography - 35.4 x 21.7 inch
$909
Cinematography inspired session #26
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$216
Cinematography inspired session #19
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$216
Would you swim with me? XII
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 61.8 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24.3 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Would you swim with me? XI
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 52.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Would you swim with me? X
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 52.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Would you swim with me? IX
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 52.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Would you swim with me? VIII
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 52.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$216
Untitled I
José Sierra
Photography - 101.6 x 75.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 29.65 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Mauricio Bodegon diptych. From los vendedores series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Andrés diptych. From identidad series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Fabian diptych. From the pre-Columbian fantasy series
Celso Castro
Photography - 68.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
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.