My top 5+1 Contemporary Portrait Photographers

I chose portrait photography, simply because of the challenge. I knew I didn’t want to steal photos of people a-la street photography style. I knew that I wanted people to be aware that they were standing for a portrait with me.

This is intimidating for both the photographer and your subjects. I hate being in front of the camera, and unless you are a model and make a living with your looks, most likely you also hate it.

We’ve all had a bad photo of us taken. We’ve all been tagged on THAT photo on facebook. These images get tattooed in our subconscious, and then we associate every single standing-in-front-of-the-camera experience with THAT photo of ourselves.

It is challenging breaking that barrier and allowing people to trust you. But when I first showed someone a photo of themselves where they looked great, but they weren’t expecting it, that is when it all clicked for me. That is the ultimate reward.

My photography has been heavily influenced by a handful of people. This list has my top 5+1 contemporary portrait photographers that have been my mentors, without them knowing it. I thank them for making me fall in love more and more with portraiture, for always pushing out incredible content and for being an inspiration.