New Zealand’s First National Portrait Salon

from CameraTalk August 2022

by Photographic Society of New Zealand

PSNZ Notices

By Paul Byrne FPSNZ ARPS AFIAP

Portrait photography must surely be one of the oldest genres of photography. It must also be the single most popular subject photographed by humans across our planet. This is in large part due to the mobile phone era and the advent of “selfies”.

Early cave dwellers made crude rudimentary drawings of themselves and their activities on the walls of their rocky homes. These usually depicted information about their lifestyle. It also provided historians with valuable information about their weapons and the kind of animals they would hunt for food.

Many years later, as the human race evolved and pigments became sophisticated paints, artists developed more realistic images and 3D forms with detailed information, textures and shapes. Royalty and affluent members of society queued up to have images of themselves painted for posterity. Some artists made a reasonable living by painting small intricate portraits onto lockets and pendants. Often these were used by loved ones as tokens of devotion or mementoes.

When the camera was invented it revolutionised the way humans recorded activities. It also changed the way we see ourselves and others. As photographers, we have learned much from the world of art. We frequently use terminology which is relevant to both: e.g. composition, lighting, focal points, form, etc. There are considerable similarities between the results of artists who paint canvases and the work of photographers who make and record images. Both are regarded as “art forms”.

The Photographic Society of New Zealand, together with the many affiliated photographic clubs which it represents, have organised events, competitions and salons to promote improved photographic outcomes for their members. Salons are used to display exceptional imagery and talented photographic works. In New Zealand, we have salons representing most genres of photography but, for some inexplicable reason, portraiture has never featured as a salon or competition in its own right.

The Tauranga Photographic Society plans to rectify this oversight by offering all photographers the opportunity to enter New Zealand’s first dedicated Portrait Salon. The salon will open for entries on Sunday, 4 September 2022 and will close on Friday, 30 September 2022. Results will be available on or before Sunday, 23 October 2022.

For the Inaugural salon, two sections will be available. Section 1 will be for PORTRAITS of human beings. (Sorry, no animal or wildlife portraits will be permitted in this section.) Section 2 will be OPEN, and any subject matter or genre may be submitted in this category.

Salon Guidelines

Section Guidelines:

• Portrait: People are fascinating subjects to photograph. They have the power to shape the world around them. A portrait can symbolise character, importance, power, beauty, weakness, and innocence. The identifying characteristic is the human element, and conveying this through the image is what can make a truly incredible portrait. The portrait category is broad in scope. It considers a wide variety of portraiture, from posed studio photography to environmental portraiture, candid portraits, self-portraits, composite imagery, to abstract portraits that may even be difficult to identify as human. Entrants are encouraged to submit emotive and original portraiture that captures the essence of their subject. Although we accept imagery that has been entered in other competitions, we would love to see new ideas in original work. N.B. In this instance, “Portrait” refers to “Humans” only.

• Open: Anything goes: any subject, any style, in colour or monochrome. In future years it is likely that the portrait section will be further subdivided to separate styles of portraits: for example, studio, individual, group, wedding or street portraits.

This detail has yet to be decided and will be dependent upon the outcome of this year's event.