A photographic portrait cannot be a mere mechanical recording of fact; it bespeaks some kind of relationship between the photographer and the subject, a relationship that must precede the moment of the photograph. Though the photograph is only a two-dimensional artifact, it is actually a record of a conversation between the photographer and the subject. The photograph now speaks for the subject while the photographer is silent. But though silent, he is not unheard. For in a good portrait there is a revelation: the subject reveals some truth about himself or herself and the photographer reveals some truth about himself or herself. So a good portrait is about human truth.
