Photographing Authenticity: The Art of True Portraits

Capturing the Real You—One Frame at a Time

Stop Trying To Be Someone Else

I believe I’ve mentioned similar ideas over the past few weeks, but today, we’re talking about the power of authenticity.

In particular, I want to focus on two main areas I’ve been working on a lot lately.

First, the power in your posing in portraits comes from being yourself—not trying to be someone else.

We all do it. We look at photos of attractive people who know how to pose, imitate them, and then find ourselves looking and feeling uncomfortable. Why?
Because it’s not about trying to look good as someone else—it’s about knowing how to be yourself and looking good as a result.

I recently photographed two gentlemen for a company, and it could not have been a better example of why being yourself is so important.

For context, these two gentlemen are best friends but very different in their roles and what they do. To put it simply, one wears work clothes half the time, while the other wears suits.

Fast forward to our shoot. We set up the first frame—the background looks good, the lighting looks good—I take photos of both men looking dapper in their suits. And I get two very different results.

And by "results," I don’t just mean images. That’s only half the battle.
I mean how the images read—how they both look and feel.

The answer is simple. The man who regularly wears suits was completely comfortable and in his element. The other, however, looked like he was trying to be something he wasn’t—but felt he had to be.

Thankfully, we worked this out quickly and found a frame that suited each of them individually, as well as one together that captured their strengths—one with the hands-on knowledge of the job, the other with people skills and the ability to speak to the business side.

Now, let’s take it a step further.

There are posing techniques I use and share with people I work with.
But I’m not trying to pose them as someone else—I’m guiding them through the awkwardness of posing until they feel and look comfortable in what they wear, where they are, and who they are.

This is why I love working with artists and makers so much.

There’s no expectation—on my end or theirs—for the artist to be anything other than themselves. Their portraits are often taken in their studios, in their own mix of calm and chaos. Being disheveled and a little messy isn’t just okay—it adds to the narrative that they are unapologetically themselves.

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How Do You Know Who You Are—So You Know How to Pose?

I think it’s in what you do and how you do it.

Take this image below.

This artist is an incredible illustrator, and when we started working together, we quickly realised how much of her was in the work—how she was, in a way, part of the characters in her paintings. So, we leaned into that.

Now, this is a specific example, and not everyone I work with is an artist. Some are woodworkers, photographers, architects, interior designers—the list goes on.

But let me add this:

The way you pose isn’t just about how you stand or hold your arms.
I’ll say that again.
The way you pose isn’t just about how you stand or hold your arms.

When working with anyone, context is invaluable.

With artists, context is obvious the moment you step into their space.
But let’s say you’re photographing a CEO who’s great at being who they need to be—how do you capture the real version of them?

You spend time with them. It’s that simple.

Last week, I talked about the importance of connection—how it’s often a better road to great photos than any technical skill ever will be.

Let me give you some real examples of photographers I love to emphasise this point.

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Rodney Smith

Rodney Smith was an incredible photographer whose work spanned landscapes, portraits, surrealism, and more. Today, though, I want to talk about his portraits of CEOs—including those from Heinz Ketchup.

“Upon his return to New York, he landed his first major commercial assignment: a series of executive portraits for H.J. Heinz—a daunting task for any young professional. Smith approached these captains of industry just as he had the coal miners in Wales—he humanized them.

He attributed his success first to his comfort level with these men—they were no different from the business associates of his father’s that he’d known as a child—and second, to his surprise, he found that he liked many of these CEOs, some of whom became his friends.

Smith got beyond the formal pose and trappings of privilege and power and created penetrating, intimate portraits.”

—Stuart I. Frolick

Rodney didn’t just walk in, set up a white backdrop, and take a headshot.
That wasn’t even a concept in his images.

Instead, he spent time with his subjects. He captured real people in real places, creating frames as a result.

His ability to find beauty in the obscure still makes me smile every time I see his work.

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Arnold Newman

Another brilliant example is Arnold Newman.

Arnold photographed Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Igor Stravinsky, just to name a few. One technique of his that I’ve fully embraced is photographing a subject in front of their work while maintaining meticulous attention to detail.

This immediately provides context—connecting the artist to their artwork—while allowing room for creative composition.

“We don’t take photographs with our cameras, we take them with our hearts and our minds. They are a reflection of ourselves... what we are and what we think.”

I once read that he spent four hours photographing Picasso in his studio—only stopping because he eventually ran out of film.

Can you imagine getting to photograph people like that?

It’s a dream of mine to work with artists in their spaces—to capture them not just for who they are, but for how they express themselves.

And in a way, it’s also a dream of mine to be one of these artists.
Not just doing what I love, but doing what I need to do—for myself.

Expression is simply bringing an idea to life and letting it dance on its own to see if it has merit.

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To Tie This All Together

I take portraits. And this topic is a huge passion of mine.

This is something I do often and am continuing to build in Perth, WA.
If you’re interested in seeing more of my artist work—or even booking a shoot—click here.

So stop trying to pose like someone else in an outfit you wouldn’t wear.
Understand that the only way to improve—in posing, in art, in life—is to get to know yourself.

Have a fantastic week, and I’ll see you all next Tuesday.

Love,
Adam

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