Portrait photography

The American sculpture Hiram Powers is one of many quoted as saying ‘The eye is the window of the soul". But interestingly, since the birth of the Daguerreotype photographers have seen the power in shooting portraits without the subject’s face (see example below) and even going as far as taking a portrait photograph without a single person present in the shot.

 [Button] circa 1940s-50s

It is this understanding of portrait photography that interests me the most.
The aim of a portrait is to portray one's character, in the example above the buttons signify the political presence of the subject.
Over time this practise has evolved to the degree that photographers now understand they are trying to give an account of their subject in a portrait and this can be done in many other ways.

Although the above images could be pigeon holed as still life, when you read the images with a wider understanding of the world these images become bold statements about the owners of the items.
Purists would argue that a portrait must fit certain criteria but to me as long as the image tells a story or portrays someone in a certain way, it has done its intended purpose.
Portrait photography is a way of displaying a person for who they are and the smallest details can give clue to a number of things. From the subject’s social hierarchy, their political beliefs, their history and their profession. 

Much like the answer to what is photography, the understanding of portrait photography also lies in a person’s greater understanding of the world. The more knowledge you have the easier it is to read portrait images and their intended purpose.