Are you an aspiring portrait photographer looking for a portfolio website? Have a peek at some of the best portrait photography portfolio examples here along with tips and tricks on how to build one.
June 18, 2021Leah den Bok is an acclaimed fashion and portrait photographer who dedicated herself to capturing the stories and images of people experiencing homelessness. Since 2015, she has travelled to major cities worldwide, including Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles, to document the struggles of those affected by homelessness for her project, Humanizing The Homeless. Through her work, Leah aims to humanize and raise awareness of homelessness.
https://humanizingthehomeles.format.comZaineb Ouazzani, based in Casablanca, Morocco, is a portrait photographer renowned for her elegant, editorial style infused with vibrant colors and raw emotions. With a keen eye for capturing authentic moments, Zaineb's work transcends traditional portraiture, evoking a sense of timelessness and storytelling. Each image reflects her passion for creating visually striking compositions that resonate deeply with viewers.
https://createdbyzaineb.format.comLanta is an immigrant photographer living in Edinburgh, Scotland. With 15 years of experience in digital, analogue, and lomography, her work often bridges surrealism, nature and humans. She loves exploring people's feelings and body language, which she believes reveal the true beauty of the world.
https://lantasire.format.comFlavia Catena is a portrait and lifestyle photographer originally from Italy, but now based in London. She is obsessed with lines, pure colours, cold blue tones, houses smelling like old books, and dreamy closed eyes. Her portraits are dreamy and romantic. She loves collaborating with sustainable fashion brands and companies, and with artists and creatives.
https://flaviacatenaph.format.comTay Danson is a portrait photographer from Manchester with a focus on artists, actors and professionals. He has a background in directing and design for theatre and film. His passion is people and loves creating art together with his clients.
https://portfolio-upinjyy.format.comFrances Carter is a photographer and director from Tāmaki Makaurau. A deep and lifelong love of music led her into photographing live gigs while still in high school, which over the years has grown into an extensive portfolio spanning music, fashion and portrait photography, as well as moving imagery. Her work has appeared in well-known publications including Rolling Stone, i-D, The New York Times and Vogue, and on billboards around the world.
https://francescarter.format.comA great way to improve your self portraits, whether you’re a beginner or a pro, is to study other self portraits and practice recreating them. This will not only give you insight into facial expressions and how to pose, but it will also give you ideas for how to light your shot and how you can get creative with your self portrait edits in Photoshop. Looking through the portrait portfolios of photographers that inspire you is a great place to start.
Kyle Dorosz is a New York City based photographer. Born and raised in the great state of Maryland. When he's not shooting, he enjoys road trips, spicy margaritas, and is always on the lookout for his next denim jacket.
https://kyledorosz.format.comAnna Jopp is a Polish photographer living in Budapest since 2014. She has been working with different 120 mm and 35 mm cameras and films. The aesthetic of analog photography, the colours and textures have convinced her that this type of photography suits her best. She believes analog photography is kind of a ritual, from the careful choice of film and shots to the development process.
https://annajopp.format.comFranklin Yeep is a black & white film portrait photographer based in NYC. Yeep shoot all things analog, which gives them a one-of-a-kind experience to the subject and the viewer. They believe the slow process allows the sitter to "breathe," enabling them to capture their portraiture in an honest, and transparent way. Everything is hand-processed by Yeep from start to finish without involving any photo labs, which allows them to have complete control over the creative process.
https://franklinyeep.format.comMatthew Sutton is a local Australian based portrait and documentary analogue film photographer whose work focuses on people and their lives.
https://matthew-sutton.format.comDavid Katzinger is an American photographer & artist from rural Kansas. He started his career working as the full-time photo assistant for fashion photographer Bruce Weber before setting his focus on documenting the life around him. As a photographer, David learned that in order to have a clear creative voice you must first learn the language in which you'd like to speak. For him, the language he chooses to speak is one of love and truth.
https://davidkatzinger.format.comDeion Squires-Rouse is a Scarborough born visual artist, currently in his first year of Ryerson's Image-Arts program. Working primarily with lens-based media, he attempts to communicate the link between the physical world and emotional consciousness, oftentimes drawing upon contemporary themes to incite a connection with his viewers. He is heavily influenced by his forays into the various diverse scenes of Toronto youth culture as well as his experiences as a young person of colour.
https://deionsquires.format.comOne of the challenges of family portraits is getting everyone to look at ease at the same time. If one group member looks uncomfortable or awkward, it can ruin an otherwise good photo. A great way to help your subjects feel relaxed is to shoot in a setting that is familiar to them. In the case of family portrait photography, shooting at their home, or at a local location such as a park that they all enjoy, can help you capture images they’ll all be sure to love.
Dan Fontanelli is a photographer and the owner of Bright Rooms, an open access darkroom, and studio in London. He has built a large body of work shooting portraits of contemporary artists whilst also working on several book projects. He takes on private and editorial commissions and works with London institutions on photographic projects. Bright Rooms was built to share his passion for analogue technique, build community, and also a teaching space for all to learn.
https://tenfontaine.format.comBrandon Gorrie is a photographer based in Austin, TX who loves to capture images that pose more questions than provide answers. Much of Brandon's work is inspired by Soviet and Western Cinema from the 60's until present- his favorite cinematographer being Sven Nykvist who worked with Ingmar Bergman and Andrei Tarkovsky. .
https://portfolio-ylcmeqz.format.comNino Bartolo, a multi-talented artist hailing from Macau of Portuguese descent, has garnered acclaim in both photography and hairdressing. He has been honored with multiple awards, including the prestigious "Picture of the Year 2011/12" in the Exposure Award Photo Competition. A decade ago, Nino fully committed to photography, honing his skills in portraiture, landscape, and architecture, utilising both digital and analogue medium format cameras.
https://white89photography.format.comRachel Seidu is a conceptual, portraiture and documentary photographer interested in visual stories.
https://rachel-seidu.format.comJan Mayo is a portrait photographer based in Manila, Philippines. He is also a trained aeroplane pilot, a professional theatre performer, and a sports science graduate – all of which allow him to passionately combine creativity and technical skill.
https://jan-mayo.format.comMulti awarded portrait and fashion photographer, based in St Helens North West.
https://anna-salek.format.comAcing your lighting setup is key to taking great portraits. A studio portrait photography tip you can start using right away is to avoid using on-camera flash. Illuminating your subject with a bright light directly from the front can really flatten their features, and remove any interesting dimensions you could otherwise capture. Instead, use an off-camera flash setup and light them from angle. You can play around with the position for the most flattering shot.
Jason Ward is an LA based street, documentary, and portrait photographer.
https://uncannyportraits.format.comDaniel Hébert is an award winning, Bay Area based photographer whose work focuses on fashion and portraiture. Daniel attended the Hallmark Institute of Photography, and received a degree in Art with a specialization in Photography. Daniel's work has been featured in international publications and media.
https://daniel-hbert.format.comSheona Beach is a portrait and headshot photographer located in Brisbane Australia
https://headshots-brisbane-sheona-beach.format.comNicklaus has been obsessed with photography since he was 16 years old. At the time, his main interest was capturing photos of his friends skateboarding in his hometown. Nicklaus's work has been licensed by some of the world's biggest brands including Apple, Conde Nast, Facebook, Amazon, Spotify, American Express, AT&T, Cosmopolitan, Walmart, Allergan, Booking.com, Invesco, Healthline, John Hancock, Whattoexpect.com, and Bauer Media.
https://nicklaus-walter-zucc.format.comInfluenced by literature and the cinema, Sapna Khan's work focuses on portrait, photojournalistic, and editorial photography. A journalism graduate of the University of Westminster (UK), she went on to attend the Spéos International Photography School (Paris). She has exhibited her work in London, Paris, Rome, Naples, Barcelona, and Lahore. Sapna has received over 6 Honourable Mention Awards in the TIFA 2019 and IPA 2016 & 2018, and her work has been published in Forbes Magazine.
https://sapnakhan.format.comEileen Perrier’s work has been widely exhibited since 1999, including The Photographers' Gallery, (London, UK); Tate Britain (London, UK); The Whitechapel Gallery (London, UK), the touring exhibition Africa Remix, which included the Hayward Gallery (London) and The Centre Pompidou (Paris, France).
https://eileen-perrier.format.comYou don’t need a breathtaking location or expensive studio to start taking portfolio-worthy portraits. Getting creative with your portrait background is a great way to make your images stand out. You can take a DIY approach with materials you may already have, like bedsheets and fabric. You can also buy backdrops online in just about any color or print you can think of. These typically come in reusable rolls, so you can repurpose them for future shoots.
Nikita Artinian is a portrait photographer in Midwest, USA
https://nikita-artinian.format.comMihkel Ernits is a freelance photographer /director/ performing artist from Estonia. Last 3 years he was working as lighting operations manager at Big Sky Studios in London. He's shooting mainly portraits and documentary projects.
https://mihkel.format.comMatthew is a freelance photographer specializing in portrait and architectural photography. Born and raised in Colorado and working as a designer in Chicago, he brings a free spirited love of the outdoors and a thoughtful approach to his process.
https://matthew-wzbn.format.comNoemie is a Brooklyn-based photographer whose work is a form of storytelling through the language of colors. Her wide-ranging portrait photography website includes portraiture, environmental photography, event photography, color grading, and videography services. She has worked with top brands such as Nike and Spotify and has been featured in the pages of Vogue.
https://noemie-tshinanga.format.comTodd Collins is a Salt Lake City based photographer whose work focuses on portraiture, as well as promotional work for businesses and events.
https://todd-collins.format.comHenri Verhoef (1990, Harderwijk) is an Amsterdam based image maker whose work evolves around socially constructed ideas about masculinity. In creating imagery he finds control. His stylized portraiture is known for it’s technical perfection and tremendous eye for detail. Sculpting the faces of his subjects with light, he looks for theatricality combined with stillness, finished off with an artificial gloss.
https://henriverhoef.format.comCamera phones have reached new levels of quality in recent years with built-in features that recreate the look of higher-quality DSLR cameras. Check if your phone has a portrait mode that enables you to blur the background of your portraits if you want them to look like they were shot on an expensive camera. If you’re using a phone tripod, place it slightly below your eye level for a flattering portrait.