Well a bit out of order and maybe over due, But i will start with a comparison of the similarities and differences between photographs of old and of new found in the AWM.
(Left - Right)
James Quinn 1871-1951; No date for the painting, but lets assume its around 1940.
Nancy Bird-Walton; yet again no exact date, from what i could gather it was around 1942.
David 'Dare' Parker; c. April, May 2003. (Images courtesy of awm.gov.au)
Firstly a similarity of earlier portraits, painted or photographed. Both of which i found have a similar feel to them; Flat, quite neutral facial expressions and stance, easy to hold positions, could be similar because there was old fashioned mentality about what a portrait should look like or because the camera exposures took almost as long as the paintings.
Now moving on from 1940s- 2003. One of the main changes in portraiture in particular, apart from obvious change in technology (hence changing the manner in which these photographs are taken) I found is the style. More modern portraits tell a bit more story about the person, capturing more an essence of the person rather than just a nice picture. In the above examples, even a quick glance at David Parker (right) could tell you that he is a photographer and with a rugged kind of background we might guess he is field photographer. Whereas to look at Nancy Bird-Walton (middle) It would be very difficult to tell that she was part of the Woman's Air Training Corps or the president of Australian Woman's Flying Club. I think maybe if this portrait was retaken today it might be taken in front of an air-craft or holding a pilots helmet, or something of the sorts.
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