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What is the difference between a portrait of a nebula and a photograph of a nebula? One difference could be that a portrait could also refer to a painting, but
by mosselman 6y ago
What is the difference between a portrait of a nebula and a photograph of a nebula?
One difference could be that a portrait could also refer to a painting, but I doubt there is some painter module attached to Hubble, knowing it is essentially a big camera in space, what makes this a portrait?
'Portrait' also leaves room for this being an artistic render, but I also doubt that somehow. My question is more about: why use the word 'portrait' when it leaves so much room for interpretation. Is it about humanising nebulae?
- jjbinx007 6y agoMy guess is the orientation of the nebula itself in the photograph.
- hulitu 6y agoA picture is taken, a portrait is drawn. Maybe the lenses are broken and now Hubble makes portraits using AI and ML because it's cooler. Or maybe is just press exagerration.
- user-the-name 6y agoThis is definitely not correct. Many photographs are portraits.
- simonh 6y agoWhat distinguishes a portrait is that it is a representation of a single subject. Personally I would add a corollary that there is generally an expectation of some artistic merit or high fidelity, so I think there's a subjective element to the appropriateness of the term. The OED has: 1.1 A representation or impression of someone or something in language or on film or television. ‘the writer builds up a fascinating portrait of a community’