I chose Julia Margaret Cameron’s “portrait of Julia Jackson”, because it is a strong photograph and is not typical of old-fashioned photography. This turns over my idea of 19th century’s female portrait photographs. The social status and lifestyle of many 19th century female portraits are represented by the subject’s hairstyle, make-up, and dress. But in this photograph, Cameron framed Julia in the center of the photograph and cropped it to make a close up. I could not see her social status and lifestyle from this photograph. I feel this emphasizes her personality. Julia is Cameron’s niece and one of her favorite subjects. I believe Cameron tried to capture Julia’s personality in her photo.
I am surprised that portrait photography has not changed since the 19th century. Since then, photographers have tried to capture both people’s personality and beauty. I can see similar types of portraits today.
