I love this image for its soulful, colorful and honest feeling. I like the direct gaze of the subject. The well put together subject stands out so well from his environment. The man's possessions scattered around give us some idea of his nomadic lifestyle. This is a heroic portrait full of pride and grace.
This beautiful imaged popped out immediately. The soft, yet crisp window light mixed with the blue netting creates a magical environment for the woman mending the fishing nets. The only thing I would change if I could would be to remove or swap out the colors of the white string that's sitting directly behind the menders face. The environment most definitely gives me a great idea of exactly who this person is and what she's doing there. The composition works well too and reminds me of an old painting. Well done.
This image brought a smile to my face for the sheer balance of it all. The flat lighting works well and helps create a simple tableau for the great composition. The muted colors act in a similar way to the flat light - allowing the subject and the composition to pop. I definitely learn a lot about this fisherman through this environment and his work tools.
675 Images entered
161 Photographers
Brief
See more contest details
Contextual portraiture is portraiture that sits the subject within a wider scene that brings more meaning to them. This might be their location, objects or other people in the scene, or their clothing, jewellery or possessions that add more to their story. These might tell us what the person does for a profession, the lifestyle they lead, their socio-economic situation or the particular news story they’ve found themselves a part of. The context of a portrait doesn’t need to tell the whole story, and it might even create more questions than it answers. But it does clearly distinguish the portrait from many studio portraits, where the focus is largely on the subject’s physical attributes and expression.
Meet the expert judge
