Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize

The last time i went to the TW Portrait Prize was to see the 2009 exhibition, which was a real insight to me as to what made a successful portrait as i was just starting out to explore photography at A-level. Two that stood out for me in the room were: 

Red/White 2009 by John Brennan

Self Portrait With Chickenpox 2008 by Garth Walker

For me, in these images, it was what i personally connected to with them. For example, Brennan's as it had recently snowed before id seen the image and had taken pictures similar, and Walkers as after the exhibition i had a skin condition and took a picture inspired by his work. So what did i see this time round and what caught my attention most?

Tatiana and Belene, from the series Venus & Furs, 2011, by Yann Gross

Melinda,  2011 by Tina Hillier.

With Gross's image, it was the idea behind that got me. Being a swedish man, he used a swedish model and was shooting in swedish country side, but used the exotic animal and interesting clothes for a fresh approach to something that could have seemed quite traditional otherwise. There seems to be a connection in the image tonally as the colour palette is fairly simple, but the character of the animal and model seem to me quite amusing. Looking as if they dont want to be there and somewhat out of place, i couldn't help but smile when i saw this image in the gallery.

And then there's Hillier's image which i was drawn to by her use of lighting. The soft yellow light felt warm and comforting against the cool blues of the wall. The background behind the image was that Melinda is an artist and this picture was taking the morning that her work was going to exhibited. In that respect, the soothing tones of yellow make you feel relaxed about what's to come, something that can be nerve-wracking.

I really enjoyed my time at the gallery, however i left the actual winners till last to look at. The way i had worked my way around the room was to approach each image and take in what i could first hand, and to then read the description connected, and then look back at the image and see if there was anything new that came to it. I felt that when i looked at the winning image (Harriet and Gentleman Jack, 2011 by Jooney Woodward) not a lot of excitement came to mind. Yes the colours were pleasing, and the focus, but subject wise i didn't feel a lot! 

Harriet and Gentleman Jack, 2011, Jooney Woodward.

So now im left wondering, what does make a good portrait? Well hopefully my portrait project for this semester will let me explore and adventure into the depths of portraiture photography!