Rejection only made these amazing photographs stronger
Sometimes, the best parts of things are the ones that didn’t make the original cut. The b-sides, the leftovers, the extra parts that weren’t shown in theaters. And one group is setting out to prove that the rejected shots from a highly-regarded photo competition are just as worthy as those that made the cut.
Portrait Salon, founded in 2011 by Carole Evans and James O. Jenkins, was a response to the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, one of the most prestigious photo competitions in the world. The Prize choses only 60 out of the thousands of images sent in to be featured in the National Portrait Gallery. The Salon combs the entries and features 70 of the submissions that didn’t make the cut in their own exhibit and publication.
“The concept behind Portrait Salon is to provide more photographers with exposure and opportunity, and to question the place of the Taylor Wessing Prize as a reflection of contemporary portraiture,” Jenkins told The Washington Post. The Salon begins on November 6, and will tour throughout Great Britain, but you can see some of the stunning entries here. In the meantime, we took a look at some of the images the Portrait Salon selected last year—those gorgeous losers who ended up being winners in their own right. Check out what how stunningly beautiful rejection can be.
