TAYLOR WESSING: PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE

   Hosted at the National Portrait Gallery, the annual portrait photography competition comes around again. One of my favourite yearly exhibitions in London, it displays the widest range of portraits from David Cameron's family christmas card photo to a young girl from Kabul with her skateboard. Having attended this exhibition for the past several years, the talent just keeps on growing and growing with something more inspirational each year. This year the competition had over 4000 entries which is not a surprise considering the prestige of the competition - not to mention the heavy £12,000 prize for the winner. Most of the photos are not 'strategic' - they don't impose a great deal of forcefulness such as studio lit and costumed models, but very natural and spontaneous photographs.

   My favourite would have been between the portraits taken by Chris Frazer Smith of the girls wrapped up in their towels or of the photo taken by Birgit Püve of the twin boys.

Drying Off by Chris Frazer Smith

I think what draws me to this photo is the maturity and posture of these young girls. The photographer says that his daughter and her friends were playing in the garden with the paddling pool and he felt that it was a moment he just had to capture. After reading this I presumed it would be a very 'natural' shot of them, relaxed and acting carefree, but instead I was presented with quite a serious photograph. This juxtaposition is formed because the young age of the children contrasts with the sophistication of their faces and poses. Like I mentioned earlier, many of the photographs in the exhibition didn't seem strategic and this is a perfect example as it has been taken purely by chance when the photographer believed he could capture a moment.

Braian and Ryan by Birgit Püve

I love this photo of the twins, partly because of the genius of the photography and partially because of the series it is part of. The series is called Double Matters and the message behind what the photographer is trying to portray is quite incredible and mesmerising. In her book she photograph twins and triplets to explore the meaning of similarity and identity in a world that celebrates uniqueness. The photos show two or three people who look alike but differ greatly in personality and the photographer found that many of the growing number of twins, instead of trying to be differ, want to be similar, to be different to us all. I found this particularly beautiful and says something quite powerful at how we view uniqueness and individuality, that we all try so hard to be different that we just end up the same.

Below I have included a selection of other work that I also enjoyed at the exhibition as they all displayed some sort of meaning or story behind them. Each says something different, the story of religion connecting cultural heritage, or how young girls find enjoyment in their days from skateboarding immaculately dressed down dusty hallways. Or even the blind boy living in a small village with his five blind brothers and father and dreams of going to school. The tribute to an old model or a photo of a young women dressed in her mothers clothes. This is pays tribute to the old saying: 'a photo is worth a thousand words' and I think in this case, these photos say a lot more than a thousand.

Chayla in Shul by Laura Pannack (won the John Kobal New Word Award)

Skate Girl by Jessica Fulford-Dobson

Blind Boy in a  Village Hut by Graeme Robertson

Ricardo Martinez Paz by Catherine Balet

Jamila As Her Mum, Olivia by Hayley Benoit

   It is fair to say that the winning shot was definitely worthy of its position and it captures an amazing moment in life and as the lighting falls so perfectly it looks like a painting.

Konrad Lars Hastings Titlow by David Titlow

   Sadly I have not included all the photos selected to be hung in the National Portrait Gallery, but hopefully this will have enticed you to see it for yourself as there are a many more incredible photos that definitely deserve a viewing.  I think this particular year of the national portrait prize has started something new; possibly a new era of what we will call 'portraiture'. It no longer seems that well lit, forced and precisely planned photoshoots obtain the best portrait shots and I think that this is a good thing as it allows the photographer to be more 'free' and no longer constrained but what is traditional portraiture and what isn't.

Gallery location: National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE

Closest station: Embankment or Charing Cross

Cost: £3

Finishes: 22 February 2015