Assignment 1

Topic 1: The role of portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today

The portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today have many differences and also similarities. Those main differences may include the quality, the sense that a photographer want to show, and the purpose. Because of the development of the technology, portraits are changing from black and white to color. This is the most visible thing. Also, they are more detailed as new technical tools are able to catch the specifics of the targets. The sense that a photographer want to show can be solemn, relaxed, and cheerful and so on. By having one's portrait done an individual of the ascending classes could visually affirm his new social status both to himself and to the world at large. To meet the increased demand for portraits, the art became more and more mechanized. The photographic portrait was the final stage in this trend toward mechanization. (1) However, the portraits in the early days may be always solemn as most of them are for recording events. Since there are so many other reasons for making the portraits, the sense is easily changed when you are in different ambiances. The photographer in the past might be an official for recording kings or emperors, and today, they are more likely the hobbyists or even the sellers. The subjects of photographs were mostly about record. Some of the earliest portraits of people who were not kings or emperors, are the funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's Fayum district. These are the only paintings of the Roman period that have survived, aside from frescos.(2)

Work cited

(1):Precursors of the Photographic Portrait

(2): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait