Faces, not portraits
A portrait is a face someone agreed to. I wait for the other one.
Essay
Jan 11, 2026
6 min
Lisbon studio
Every sitter has two faces. The first is the one they bring for the camera, practised in mirrors. The second shows up when they forget I am there.
The face they agreed to
I always take the first one. It matters to them, and it gets them comfortable. Then I keep shooting after I have said we are done. Shoulders drop, someone laughs at a joke off camera, and the second face appears.
That is usually the frame they print.
Warming up
The first twenty minutes are for the sitter, not for me. I take the pictures they expect, I show them a few on the back of the camera, and I let them see that they look good. Trust is built frame by frame.
Once that trust is there, I stop talking about the pictures. We talk about their week, their kids, the restaurant downstairs. The camera keeps working.
The tell
Everyone has a small tell when they relax. A hand that stops fidgeting, a laugh that comes from lower down. When I see it I slow down and shoot less, not more.
A portrait is a face someone agreed to. I wait for the other one.
Hasselblad X2D
Lisbon studio
