I saw his wonderful full white beard through the shop window and stopped in the street. The light and the warm coloured walls also caught my attention. I said to Magda, "I really want to make a portrait of him." We headed into the shop and after a chat he agreed. A lovely man.
These days we see many portraits that are tightly cropped in but I wanted to let this one breathe with plenty of space. I don't follow trends.
Every element here is carefully considered. Look at how lines intersect, where they touch and where the subject breaks through them. The whole composition is used to incorporate all of the visual elements and compliment the subject.
Portrait of Amitabh Bachchan. Click on the image to see larger version. Every portrait is different but there are also elements which are the same, whether you’re shooting the famous or the locally famous. Fame is of course all relative. It depends on profession, accomplishments or media celebrity status. Whoever the ‘famous’ individual is there are millions of people in the world who will never have heard them. For example I photographed the legendary Indian Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who amongst his many accolades was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award of France. But I’m positive that many people in North America will not have heard of him – although he has more fans than Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro put together. I find that however well known a person is cracking through egos and insecurities is really important when it comes to getting authentic strong portraits. However I hasten to add that when it came to photographing Amitabh th
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