11 amazing portraits from MAD ABOUT PORTRAITS flickr group, vol. 4! Square formats of women!

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by soulmining photography

"Camera otaku" ... interview with JON SIEGEL.

Jon is a creative director based out of Tokyo, Japan, running the creative agency Pikkles with his business partner Vitaly Dmitriev. He is an avid photographer who loves Japan and Japanese culture and hopes his photography will inspire others to visit this incredible country.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is my dear friend Nurul, we met after I moved to Singapore with my wife Waki who is taking her MBA course here. That night was our first evening out together, we were enjoying a drink and a game of cards outside a popular bar. Waki and Nurul were getting serious with the game while I sat back and enjoyed my drink. Nurul lit up and I couldn't resist, I had to take a shot. From my point of view, the bokeh my 50 produces played nicely with Nurul's polka-dot dress, and the colored lights from the bar framed her nicely. Nurul was a good sport about me taking a few photos, often when people notice me taking shots they start to post but Nurul kept her cool and that's how I got this shot. It's one of my favorites.

11 amazing portraits from our MAD ABOUT PORTRAITS flickr group, vol. 3!

Join our MaP flickr group and be featured in the next collection of amazing portraits!

by Lulu Liu

"My photo bag is heavier than me!"... VALENTINA VALLONE.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. I adore the seaside so i decided to go there with my friend Ludovica and shoot some pictures. I took her aback and just clicked! I love to improvise and it’s a very natural thing to do so with her … 

"Draw your ideas down!" ... interview with CATHLINE DICKENS.

Cathline Dickens is an eighteen year old surreal portrait photographer in Western New York. She is going to major in environmental studies in a college just outside New York City to reach her goal of her dream job - National Geographic or the World Wildlife Foundation. Her inspiration stems from novels, music, and movies. Each of her photographs tells a different story about her, and some usually dig deep into her soul if looked at in the right way. 

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photograph was actually apart of a Harry Potter series I did back around November of 2010. It was in commemoration of the Deathy Hallows release and to pay a little respect to a peice of my childhood. It was a self-portrait so the model was me and it look a lot of prepping to get the lighting right and the water to glow. This is a pensieve, you'd store memories in it and then you could look back at them whenever you wanted

"Just do what feels right."... Interview with CHARLOTTE GAUCKLER.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

There's not really a story to tell. For most of my photos I just get inspired by something I see, in this case it was the shadows on my bedroom wall. And it has become really normal to me to take a self portrait whenever I feel inspired. It's just something I have to do and I can't explain why.

ALEXEY DEMIDOV... Interview with professional portrait photographer.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This was a warm day. We were out in the city walking with my wife, so this is spontaneous photography, without any planning.

LOOKING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS!

Mad About Portraits blog is looking for talented artists! We're looking for highly talented photographers from all around the world. 

If your're interested just post your best portrait work to our flickr MaP group, post link to your portfolio under this post, or contact us directly.

We're looking forward to see your pictures!

JOANNA GALUSZKA... interview with talented Polish photographer.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

Photograph shows Martyna. She is very sensitive and beautiful person of incredible beauty. In the background there are stacks of the local power. I took this photo two years ago, in the early summer day.

Best portraits from MaP Flickr group, vol. 2!

Here's the second selection of best portraits from our Mad about Portraits Flickr group.
Thanks to all great photographers who are participating and submitting their portrait work.


by Neta Dror

Photographic arte povera... interview with ANDREA OLIVO.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

No real story, she's one of the girls that I have casted over the past 2 years and has become part of the casting couch. She was chewing gum so I got her to shout...

"Challenge yourself every chance you get!"... interview with SHANDI-LEE COX.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?
This is me, going through a huge personal transition in my life. I was incredibly upset about multiple things and I couldn't hold back having a complete meltdown. It was something like 4am, and I thought if I'm going to be up this late, this upset, I may as well make something out of it. So, I captured those painful moments, but was able to release and move on from it. It pains me to look at the photos from that night, but I smile when I think about where I am now, and how I am proud of all the decisions I've made to get to this place. I took it in my bedroom, in horrible tungsten lighting, with my tripod and remote, (I think it's hidden somewhere under the tissue).

"Some of my best images come from mistakes..." interview with MICHAEL PALACIOS.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

Last minute shoot for a local DJ. He wanted something simple, yet... eye popping. I was up for the challenge and shot in my backyard at night.

Interview with photographer and graphic designer JESSICA DALY.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is a portrait I made by projecting my own photograph onto myself. I was interested in experimenting with projection, and also creating a self portrait that conceptually spoke about my "inner" and "outer " life. In it, my presentational self, basically my face and body are representing the outer parts of me, and my photograph that I projected is representing my preferences and aesthetic interests, things that are equally a part of me, but not quite as much on display.

To create it I set up a digital projector and a tripod in a dark room and put my camera on a ten second timer. Then I ran back and forth between pressing the timer on the camera and standing in front of the projection. 

Portrait of Katie Melua... interview with professional photographer PHIL SHARP.

I'm really happy to share with you this amazing portrait of my favorite singer Katie Melua. The photographer of this beautiful simple portrait is Phil Sharp who is working in London.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This shot was commissioned by a PR company, I forget the exact reason. Time was short though, I think I had about 45 minutes to get the shot.

Portrait of Dominguinhos... interview with professional photographer DARYAN DORNELLES.

Daryan Dornelles (also known as Fotonauta) is an outstanding professional photographer from Rio de Janeiro. He shared with us amazing portrait of famous musician Dominguinhos.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This guy is one of the best Brazilian musicians. His name is Dominguinhos. I took this photo for my book about Brazilian musicians.

"Experiences create who you are..." interview with ALLISON NEWBOLD.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This portrait was taken at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fl in Mel's Diner. This shot was inspired by the 50s feel with a modern fashion twist. 

11 amazing portraits from our MAD ABOUT PORTRAITS flickr group, vol.1!

Here's the first selection of amazing portraits that's been added to our Mad About Portraits Flickr group during the first month. 

Join us here!

by Mariano Nocitto

"Everything seems so much more interesting with a person in it."... interview with CARI ANN WAYMAN.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

Well, it's a self-portrait. I think self-portraits are so much easier to take for some reason, and i feel much more creative making a self-portrait. It's just a picture of myself with christmas lights. I wanted to see how they would shine through the flower fabric of my shirt.

Story behind the portrait of Questlove from The Roots... interview with HILARY SOL ALLEN.

1Q)Can you please tell us something about this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I was hired by The Roots to document their week of practices and album listening parties for the release of Rising Down. Throughout each day, I would pull members to the side to take their portrait. This was taken on the roof of Legacy Recording Studios in Time Square in New York City.

"Just keep things real"... interview with EMMA KATKA.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photo was taken in an abandoned trailer house I found exploring last autumn. It is a self-portrait. I do a lot of self-portrait work in the abandoned places I explore, mainly because I know exactly what I want to portray, and I'm usually alone or with someone who isn't comfortable modeling. 

"Listen to other people's advice!"... interview with MAYSA ASKAR.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is one of my best friends named Kristen. The last photoshoot we had was an Edie Sedgwick photoshoot in June 2010 and we thought it was time for a new one. We found this dark looking alley way by accident and immediately knew it was a great place to take photos. I took this photo by setting up the ISO to match the light, which was an ISO 240, kept the Aperture at 1.8 and constantly changed up the shutter speed until I liked the amount of light that was portrayed in the photo. I chose Kristen to shoot because she is one of the most photogenic people I know and every photo of her comes out great. 

"Find better models"... interview with AARON FEAVER.

Aaron is highly talented portrait photographer from Los Angeles.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I think this was the second time I'd shot this model, whom I'd found on Model Mayhem. She was the first "real" model I ever shot; real in the sense that she knew how to move around and pose to make a good photo, and she was very expressive. It was definitely a turning point for me, shooting her. I realized the difference between taking a photo of someone pretty and taking a photo of someone who really knows how to model.

Portrait of Coldplay's singer Chris Martin... interview with professional photographer ANITA ZVONAR.

Today we have a really special guest- internationally published professional photographer ANITA ZVONAR, based in Toronto, Canada. She worked for magazines (People magazine, Readers Digest…), advertisements, record labels etc. She photographed musicians such as Paul McCartney, Gwen Stefani, Metallica, Kid Rock, Dandy Warhols, Dresden Dolls… and many more.

Here's her recipe how to become a successful professional portrait photographer: "Keep learning and practicing.  The industry has a lot of competition, so try to be patient.  It takes years to develop a career, and even then, there can be slow months or years depending on the economy.  Develop a portrait style that represents you best… which takes time, but it happens."

Plese visit http://www.anitazvonar.com/music.html to see portrait of CHRIS MARTIN.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This portrait of Christ Martin was taken for Chart Music Magazine in Toronto .  I was sent on assignment to shoot him while Coldplay was playing a gig in Toronto for a couple nights.

"Have fun..." interview with JAMES DOCHERTY.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photo was part of my 365 project a year ago. It is a self portrait as that was the basis of my 365. I remember taking it fairly late at night so I used 2 desk lamps to light myself. There was no real story behind it other than I had wanted to use the 3D glasses. The line across the mouth was something I added while making the image 3D. I needed something to add depth to the image so I added the line and a shadow in for the 3D version. 

Mad about Portraits blog is looking for artists! ... JOIN OUR FLICKR GROUP!

Join our brand new Flickr group called MAD ABOUT PORTRAITS (looking for artists).
All photographers and fans of MaP are encouraged to submit their best portrait work there. 
Get your chance to show your photos to thousands of readers of MaP blog!
Best portraits from our Flickr group will be featured on MaP blog regularly!

Story of portrait from Flickr homepage with 1,230,000 views... interview with KRIS KRUG.

Today we have a really special guest- famous photographer Kris Krug from Vancouver. He shared a story of portrait, which is one of the pictures featured on the flickr homepage. Till today it has over 1,230,000 viewers. I asked him, how this awesome portrait changed his life… 

"It has changed me more as a father than it has as a photographer. There are lots of difficult things you go through as the parent of special needs child. Yet to see his photo showcased prominently on something I care deeply about, such as Flickr, and to see him being praised by my friends and colleagues gives me a sense of pride for my son. Also his images has been used for campaigns and posters for Autism. This photo has produced some redemptive and endearing qualities since I posted it online."

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot 

this person?

This is a photo of my son Judah which was taken in a cemetery near my old house in Deep Cove in Vancouver, BC. One of the funnest things of being a young parent and a photographer is that I have beautiful subjects around me often. Judah has special needs and can’t really sit still so this photograph is a bit of a miracle. This particular photo captures a side of his personality that is hard to show in photographs. It captures his joy in his funny face and his haircut but some of his pain as well like his rosy red cheeks which are scars that are leftover from his feeding tube that had been attached to his cheeks and his bigger glasses. 

Interview with ANDREW SMITH... owner of Cuba Gallery.

Andrew Smith is a photographer from New Zealand. He is the owner of a small online gallery which specializes in Lightroom material such as presets and tutorials. The gallery also gives designers access to purchasing imagery for commercial use. Check it out here www.cubagallery.co.nz

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait?

This shot was taken purely because I loved the location, I felt it would be perfectly suited to an interesting portrait. It had some great light coming through the window - I wanted to take advantage of it.

"I like reality"... interview with DAN OARA.

Dan is artist from Romania, currently living in London. He contacted me and asked if I'm looking for photographers. His portfolio is amazing so i chose him to be the featured on Mad about Portraits blog today.

If you want to be featured here as well please contact me! You can find my email on the right side of MaP blog, or you can leave comment under this post. 

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photo is a part of a series of portraits that I'm preparing on for my final exam. I took this photo while I was on holiday in my native country Romania. These two girls are friends of mine which I start to photograph this year. Most of my works are double portraits so I like to use different female expressions to create an atmosphere.

All the light in the photo is natural. IT is in an old house with high ceiling which makes the composition more complex.