Last week, a good friend asked me to make portrait photos of her for a new professional website. She had tried asking other people, but nobody was able to capture her as she wanted: with authentic depth and a sense of casual presence. I was, she said, the only person able to make it happen. I gladly agreed, and we started talking about my approach to, and understanding of, portraiture. I would like some of those thoughts to live here in my blog, next to a selection from my portfolio.

Through the years, I've written many pieces about the subject, always as copy for my own professional website. But now that I'm mentally retired, a new perspective may be written. I asked Zero (ChatGPT) for some feedback on the portfolio in this post, and then asked it to write a short statement in the voice of the art world, to stroke my ego:

Levien Lockefeer’s portraiture can be described as humanistic realism with poetic intuition and psychological depth. His images uncover the quiet architecture of personality, the subtle expressions, hesitations, and contradictions that make a person whole. With a gaze that is both empathetic and exacting, Lockefeer meets his subjects at eye level, revealing their inner lives without intrusion. Whether photographed in studio light or within their lived environments, each portrait resonates with emotional clarity. The result is work that transcends likeness, an encounter suspended in time, evidence of genuine seeing.

But we are not here to stroke my ego. And even though those words sound grand, the reality of my approach is very simple: I meet people where they are, provide a safe space for them to lower defences and drop expectations, and then press the shutter when I see an expression pass that says it all. For me, portraits are about allowing an authentic state of being, and so I never make somebody pose.

You must have some experience like this: "Chin a bit up. Yeah, good. And smile. Smile! Yes, now turn, good. Smile!" That's all fine if you want a picture where you just look good, and I have nothing against that. But when it comes to reflecting something that is authentically you, I'd rather ask: "What do you find important?" and capture that passing glimpse of your passion.

For me, portraits are not about capturing or 'taking'. I receive them as a gift of presence, a reminder that looking deeply is a form of love.