John McIntire Photography: The Blog

Portraits Are For Life

A photographic portrait is a great many things to many different people but most importantly a portrait is an everlasting representation of you the moment it was taken. A sort of time capsule, if you will. Portraits evoke memories and emotions. A portrait can bring back the times of joyous youth or they can remind you of your personality and how you looked and the way you dressed in times past, though I’m sure not all people enjoy that aspect. A portrait is a memento that should be carried with you through the rest of your life to ignite and carry on the legacy that you’re building now. Amongst all this: a portrait is for life!

Our daily lives have been full of photographic portraits since their inception. Just think of how proud parents adorn the walls with their cherished children, grandparents build photographic shrines to their families, loved ones carry portraits of they’re loved ones everywhere they go, hard working breadwinners display they’re family on their desks as they pay the bills and social media ensures the first thing anyone new sees of you is a portrait. Portraits are the now!

Picture this: It’s thirty years from now on a rainy day. An impulse leads you to start dredging through all the old boxes you’ve set aside for such an occasion. You come across a pile of prints. All of which are portraits from different times in your life. Imagine remembering your life now. What do you see? What do you remember? How does it feel? Everyone, is of course, different; however, the catalyst for all of those emotions is a  portrait. An imprint of times past that can revitalise dormant memories at any time.

Now, the only caveat is that not all portraits last forever. There are the images you never want to see again. These portraits are often full of bad haircuts and fashion faux pas’. Think back to your school portraits. Does anyone keep those? Does anyone dare actually ever look at them? Society has tricked us into believing that the reason we hate the school portraits is because of ourselves. In actuality, it’s because they’re bad portraits and bad photography. Just think back to them for a moment and you’ll remember the long queues of hundreds or thousands of students standing in the photographic “assembly line” waiting to sit down for 30 seconds each under the same lighting set up with the same horrible mottled background. It was neither a fun experience nor was any effort put in to make a good portrait of you the subject.

Sadly, the trend of late in portrait studios across the world has been exactly this. Portraiture nowadays seems relegated to a single lighting set up for all subjects despite the common knowledge that there is no single lighting method that is flattering to everyone. It’s undermined by trends and fads spurred by technology. For example, can you honestly tell me that in 20 years time, you won’t cringe at the black and white photo with your eyes or a bunch of roses in colour that epitomises the late nineties and early noughties? Digital technology has allowed for the “machine gunning” of images and thus, far too many “photographers” make their selling point quantity where there is no quality. Portraiture in a lot of “portrait studios” is no longer about photography. It’s no longer about memories. It’s only manufacturing. these “portrait factories” will churn out thousands of low quality, heartless images a day with no care for the significance a portrait can hold in someone’s life. The defining factor that many people use these “portrait factories” is usually cost. All I can say to that is that old adages are old adages for a reason: you get what you pay for.

When I provide my portrait services, every session is unique. The lighting is styled and tailored to each individual in order to catch you, the subject, at your very best. Each image is carefully and painstakingly retouched to bring out the very best. Each single image is a relic, a memory, an emotion that means as much to me as the creator as it does you the subject. To me, every image is personal and lacklustre portraits do nothing but reflect on me the creator. I believe in quality and I believe in the everlasting.

Raynbow Studio

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that’s just irresistable. This opportunity came over a year ago when Raychel Perks of Raynbow Studio expressed to me her interest in trying some bodypaint. The experience was incredible, to say the absolute least, for everyone involved! The whole day was exciting and new and the results were just breathtaking. Of course, on the heels of such success, we absolutely had to do it again and then again and then yet again! This collaborative relationship between Raychel and I has not only made for an incredible collection of imagery but it’s built the foundation for a lot of great things to come.

Here’s a brief outline of some of the bodypaint specific work we’ve done since then.

The very first bodypaint session we did, involved a pair of concepts based around a Native American theme with Alexandra :

As well as a Cleopatra theme:

During our second session Raychel completely improvised an idea I had with ivy and then proceeded to turn Integra Fairbrook into a statue!

Our third bodypaint session with Rudigo saw Raychel take an aboriginal starting point and with a few twists and turns mould it into her own!

More recently, Raychel, again working with Integra Fairbrook, had the urge to convert her into a Na’vi from “Avatar”.

Very shortly after the Avatar incident, Raychel really wanted to try some UV bodypaint. We talked Madison Flint into the task and I must say it was rather spectacular to see in person!

Most recently, Kittiwake showed up for her bodypaint session with Ladybird fingernail polish! Some people might have considered that a mistake, considering the proximity of Raychel’s red paint!

In the end, over the past several months, we have immensely enjoyed making these images and I personally hope for a lot more to come. Though this post has focused on bodypaint, Raychel has done make-up on many occasions as well, but that might be a topic for another day!

Project: Tattoos – Subjects Needed

*This post was updated on 08/06/2010*

After a long time delaying, I have decided to start working on a body of personal work. The project I have decided to start with will revolve solely around tattoos and body modifications.

The aim is to build up a stylised and comprehensive body of work which displays the intricacies and the profound statements often made by tattoos and their ilk and the relation with whom they adorn.

I have now decided that the output of the project will be a self-published book and a limited run of fine-art prints. Anyone who takes part should be happy with these uses!

The Concept

As simply is possible, the underlying point of the entire project is to illustrate how tattoos are a integral facet of each individual. Their interests, their personalities and their lives. Most tattoos are an incredibly personal statement that usually transcend fashions and other fleeting aspects of culture.

Basically, what I’m looking for is anyone with tattoos. No matter how large or small, how intricate or simple, any tattoos will do. Also, I’m looking for people of all shapes and sizes, both male and female, all races and all ages. You don’t need to be or think you are model material, this project is about you and your bodyart, it is a study, if you will, into tattoos and the people whom they adorn and this project was concieved with “real” people specifically in mind.

To anyone who wishes to participate: basically, what I need, is for you to kindly donate an hour or so of your time to allow to me to create a portrait of you and your bodyart.

IMPORTANT: The nature of this concept calls for at least “implied nudity”. To keep it simple, this means that you will be nude (depending on where your tattoo is located*); however, nothing that you wish not to be visible will be displayed. I will never seek to push anyone beyond their limits and my primary concern will always be the comfort of you as the subject, the image itself is the second priority. If you are not comfortable with this, I will not push; however, it is required to ensure uniformity throughout the final body of work. (All images in this revised post are “implied nude”)

To see more samples of the project in progress, just ask!

*If your tattoo(s), for example are above your neckline, a headshot will suffice. If they are well above your waistline, then only “implied topless” is needed.

If you’re interested, please get in touch and we’ll get something sorted! (Alternatively, feel free to use Facebook to contact me if that’s easier for you.)