This studio course explores contemporary, classical, painterly, fashion-oriented, and postmodern approaches to portraiture by examining how photography has conveyed identity, beauty, urgency, imagination, ambiguity, extreme sensibility, emotional depth, refinement versus rawness, the rigorously technical representations of surfaces, and diverse examples of visual ideology perceived through different forms of portraiture over the course of history. During the semester students develop a range of portraits, associated with a particular field of interest including fine art, editorial, documentary, fashion, photojournalism, still life, or collage. The class looks closely at some of the exemplary photographers who have contributed significantly to the portraiture genre, as well as the mavericks who defy conventions to forge more personal or idiosyncratic representations. Discussions will focus on student’s ideas and concepts as they evolve as well as technical and formal strategies to expand and strengthen one’s work.