A portrait, technically speaking, is simply a picture that includes the subject’s face up to the shoulders. In essence, though, it’s a whole lot more. Portraits, well, portray. It is a depiction and a description, dare we say, of who you are and what you represent.
Perhaps this is why portraits can be a source of joy for some, and anxiety for others. There’s a sense of intimacy that comes with trusting someone with your image. As a subject, there is bravery in the act of posing in front of a camera and allowing a stranger to see—and capture—who you are.
The photographers, meanwhile, bear the responsibility of working with what the subject brings to the table, and, more importantly, getting to know them (and in a short span of time) so they’ll be at ease and comfortable enough to reveal themselves as they are. Not everyone is born a model, but don’t we all prefer to have our immortalized images show the best of us?
We all don’t want an unflattering angle. There’s likely an image, or, say, a version of ourselves that we want to project. And when it comes to vulnerability or realness, not everyone can be cool with the idea, and the level of rawness we’re willing to show varies per person.
What makes a beautiful portrait? We ask some of the country’s most respected portrait photographers, Cyrus Panganiban, Joseph Pascual, and JL Javier. All three are masters at their craft, having featured countless personalities from all walks of life in the course of their careers. We get behind their lenses and into their minds, learn about their photography style and discipline in the craft, and explore how they capture beauty in their portraits—by all means, definitions, and iterations.
How would you describe your photography style?
Cyrus Panganiban: I specialize in portrait photography.
Joseph Pascual: I’m wracking my brain for adjectives, like thoughtful, careful, or intentional. But instead of them being a photography style, they seem to describe how I approach my subjects.
Style can be an aesthetic choice or the result of an intention—I hope that my work has some noticeable characteristics because of the latter.
Every subject is different, but there are things I love that don’t change: natural light, a sense of ease, the feeling that in a portrait sitting 10 minutes or 3 hours long, I hopefully was good to someone. I wish I knew who said this: Portraits capture the mood between the photographer and the subject. There’s no way to make this sound less corny, but my primary goal is to honor someone or their story. I would call that a style.
JL Javier: My style would fall somewhere between portrait and documentary photography. When photographing people, I aspire to portray my subjects as honestly and intimately as possible. I like portraits that are simple but nuanced.
What led you to carve a niche in taking portraits? Is this something you’ve wanted to do since you started getting into photography?
Cyrus Panganiban: I tried almost all fields of photography and I felt very comfortable with taking portraits. It took time for me to be comfortable with connecting and communicating with my sitters but eventually, it became so natural and it became a vehicle for learning.
Joseph Pascual: Maybe it’s a chicken or egg situation where I don’t know which came first, my love for portraits, or the assignments that helped me become better at taking them. When I started as a photographer, newspapers and magazines were more widely read, so working in print was the way to begin a career. Every new photographer does everything: lifestyle pieces about restaurants or hot establishments, fashion or beauty editorials, event coverage, portraits, anything—over time, most of my assignments became portraits. My assignments included musicians, artists, film and theater actors, and politicians. These portrait sittings trained me to be observant and curious, two things that have shaped my approach the most.
More than knowing exactly where to focus on, my editors there led me to portraits before I knew what I wanted, or what I was best at. I liked the idea that a photo could help describe someone. I also am grateful to those editors who believed I was the one for the job.
JL Javier: When I was starting, I was a kid with just my phone as my camera, and my subjects were mostly scenes and objects. Though I really wanted to do portraits, I was intimidated by having to direct people. In high school towards college, my subjects became my friends and our daily, mundane lives. I think it was when I started to really pay attention to the photography in local publications that I realized what portraits could mean and where I wanted to take my own photographic work. There are so many possibilities in taking photos of people; it encourages you to go outside your world, make connections, and tell stories. To see beauty in everyone and everything. I think it’s this excitement that has inspired me to keep at it with portraiture.
What experiences would you say helped you hone your craft in taking portraits?
Cyrus Panganiban: Discovering and getting to know yourself is maybe the key and practice. After you’ve photographed a lot of different individuals you get comfortable with the process. Just be always in the moment and listen to your subject. Research about them before the shoot.
Joseph Pascual: Funnily, it’s my mistakes that shaped me the most. Submitting sloppy work, being late, not doing my research, or ultimately disappointing people who hired me taught me that creative work involves more than the creative process. You couldn’t do good work if you didn’t fully show up. Great ideas can’t take the place of discipline. Learning this the hard way was valuable.
JL Javier: I think that really just shooting and trying different things in photography is really what has carried my portrait work through. Over the years, I was lucky enough to be able to do photographic work that involved taking pictures of people: event coverage, documentary, photojournalism, fashion, and lifestyle. From someone who photographed people from afar, I slowly learned how to talk to and direct subjects. And even in the kind of work where people weren’t necessarily the subject (like in food, product, and travel photography), I know I gained something, may it have been in technical knowledge, or in terms of thought and discipline. But if anything, I think with the type of portraits that I like to create now, it’s really my background in documentary photography and photojournalism that I have to thank the most.
I’ve learned that showing up with openness tells my subjects that they can share something precious with me, even if it’s their time or a glance. A connection is the most beautiful thing. I spend most of my time trying to make one.
—Joseph Pascual
You’ve photographed countless personalities, big and small in the course of your career. How do you ensure that you’re able to capture your subjects’ best selves in the truest way possible? Alternatively, how do you make them feel less comfortable in front of your lens?
Cyrus Panganiban: Again, research what has been done before, especially when your subject is famous and has already been photographed a lot. Try to connect with them and try to photograph them in another light.
Communication between the photographer and the subject is paramount for me. I normally talk to my subjects first before photographing them, explaining what I have in mind and asking them also if they have something to add to the plan. That process will lead to respect and trust and will be the bond between us while making the portrait.
Joseph Pascual: By telling them I want to do exactly that! When I arrive at the sitting, I’m in awe of the industry veteran looking back on their life’s work. I’m fascinated by the artist and their process. I believe in the Senate candidate. I’m rooting for the bride and groom. This is the BEST! PARTY! EVER! Then, I make sure to tell them when we meet. Preproduction can seem so tedious but starting a portrait session by assuring everyone present that you’re on their side is powerful. Sometimes, that’s all everyone needs.
Some people think portraits have to be perfect and monumental and feel like they can’t become that, but nobody is either of those. Maybe Jesus is, but he’s not booking me.
I’ve learned that showing up with openness tells my subjects that they can share something precious with me, even if it’s their time or a glance. A connection is the most beautiful thing. I spend most of my time trying to make one.
JL Javier: Whoever it is that I’m photographing, in general, it has always helped me to imagine myself in the position of my subject. I know how self-conscious I get when I’m in front of the camera myself, so I ask myself, what would make me feel comfortable? As a photographer, you want your subject to see you as someone they can trust and rely on. I really try my best to foster a connection with my subjects, by simply talking to them between shots, even about mundane things. I also assert that the photos are as much theirs as they are mine: “What angle do you prefer?” “How do you feel about these photos so far?” “Would you like to try some more, or something else?” I want their portrait to feel like something they have created with me as compared to something I just took from them. Above everything, I just want someone getting their picture taken by me to feel that they are in good hands.
I really try my best to foster a connection with my subjects, by simply talking to them between shots, even about mundane things…I want their portrait to feel like something they have created with me as compared to something I just took from them.
—JL Javier
What makes a “good” portrait? What makes a “bad” portrait?
Cyrus Panganiban: Just for myself, my portrait should be honest and can last the test of time. Even when you look at it five to 10 years from now it should still communicate with the viewer.
Joseph Pascual: “Good” and “bad” can be subjective, but for me, a successful portrait serves its purpose. Before a sitting, I’ve learned to ask what the story is. Is my subject doing press for upcoming work? Are they celebrating an important milestone? Are they unsung?
People know how powerful an image of themselves can be. As their photographer, I try to walk the line between the image my subjects have, the image they want, and who I think they are in that moment.
It could go back to my intentions of just honoring whoever’s in front of my camera. There’s some school of thought out there that a great portrait can capture someone’s essence—I don’t fully believe that’s possible.
I do believe that I’m called whenever there’s a story—as a portrait photographer, it’s not my job to shape it, I’m there to help my subject share it.
JL Javier: I think a good portrait is able to help a subject showcase the parts of them that they want to show; a bad portrait misrepresents them. A portrait to me is still just a story after all. What is this photo trying to say? How is it saying it? A good portrait like a good story should offer a good point about the subject, and a compelling experience of them.
What are your most memorable portrait shoots? Can you tell us the story behind them?
JL Javier: I think about a project that my friend Apa Agbayani and I did in 2019 called “Tenderness,” where we photographed a few of our friends in various states of undress. I look back fondly at this exercise because the shoot was pleasant and no-frills. Our process, where we took the photo shoot easy and slow, and talked to the subjects about anything and everything as I took pictures, resulted in portraits with a candidness and intimacy that I’ve aspired to find in every shoot since.
I also think about our recent cover shoot for CNN Philippines Life with Jon Santos. Meeting him and witnessing the light that he is was such a treat for us. I also had a lot of ideas for this shoot’s art direction that our talented team helped me articulate and flesh out. I’m really so proud of the portraits we were able to create.
One of the highlights of my career was being able to take the portraits of the attending 2022 presidential and vice presidential candidates at CNN Philippines’ debates then. I remember being present at a similar shoot years ago for the 2016 election debates, where Jake Verzosa took photos of the vice presidential candidates, and dreaming that I could one day do the same. At the shoot, I knew we’d have very small windows of time with the subjects to take the portraits; that, coupled with the fact that most of these people were then the key figures in a big moment in our history. It was not lost in me that how they were portrayed in the images was a delicate and important thing. I was incredibly nervous during the shoot and I know I could not have pulled it off without everything I’d learned working over the years.
Cyrus Panganiban: I have been fortunate enough to have been able to photograph icons, CEOs and everyday people. What stuck most would be a portrait sitting with Eddie Garcia. It changed my photographic career in terms of having that confidence, and judgment. Let’s just say I got it from that shoot.
Joseph Pascual: During the Duterte presidency, Esquire Philippines planned profiles for its December 2016 issue on Commission on Human Rights Chair Chito Gascon, and Mocha Uson. I photographed them both. I was anxious about Chito’s lonely work with the victims of Duterte’s violence and Mocha’s moral bankruptcy. My feelings for them showed through the portrait sittings, which the Esquire team and I planned.
My favorite image of Chito has him doing the iconic Duterte fistbump, which wasn’t published; we had photographed him in a beleaguered light, and I wanted something defiant.
Mocha’s sitting though is what I’m most proud of. We had a white cloth background taped to the wall and I photographed her against it. Halfway through, I decided to partially dismantle it and asked her to hold the roll of tape. Bodies had been discovered in taped-up trash bags, victims of Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang. I wanted Mocha to own her part.
Sometimes, my intentions lead me to take photos of what I can’t put into words at the moment. I pitied her, and her story disgusted me. Sometimes, honoring the story comes before honoring the subject. Ultimately, the covers went to Chito and then-Vice President Leni Robredo, which was more fitting. I will repeat a previous answer: People know how powerful an image of themselves can be. As their photographer, I try to walk the line between the image my subjects have, the image they want, and who I think they are in that moment. Everyone deserves to be photographed. Everyone deserves to be seen for what they are.
BEHIND THE LENSES
Cyrus Panganiban
Born to a family of artists, Cyrus pursued the craft after college, getting his start photographing events. Since then, he’s focused on editorial and built his portfolio with images of some of the country’s most famous and powerful personalities, oftentimes showing a side of them that not many get to see in public.
Joseph Pascual
Joseph, meanwhile, started his career in lifestyle photography for print, branching out to taking portraits. for publications and events. His penchant for capturing a person’s true character with only a few minutes in front of his lens has since made him a favorite for intimate events like weddings, too.
JL Javier
JL’s experience as a documentary photographer is seen in the way his photos distill specific moments in time. Whether it be a series of portraits of a celebrity or a single shot of an ordinary citizen going about their day, each of his images has a quality that makes it seem like it could move.
