About 15 years ago, I asked a good fashion-photographer-friend of mine to help me pick out a camera.  "I want to start learning photography," I said.

"What kind?" he asked. "I mean, are in you interested in landscapes?  Portraits?"

"Portraits, I guess," I responded.  "I mean, I don't want to be a professional photographer, but I'm hoping that one day, when I have a family, I'll be able to take amazing portraits like you take."

"Okay," he said.  "Let's go."

My friend went with me to a local camera shop, and the rest, as they say, is history.  And while I do a lot of different types of photographer -- still life, travel, that sort of thing -- my first love is always portraits.

My daughter, photographed April 28, 2009.

As a self-taught photographer (as I suspect may of you who are into photography probably are), I find a lot of my inspiration on the internet.  And over time, I've come to truly revere some amazing photobloggers out there, particularly for their talent in portraiture.  So today, I thought I'd share my favourites with you:

Susannah Conway (Ink on my Fingers) -- I've had the distinct pleasure of  actually meeting Susannah in person, and I have to say she's just as delightful as her photographs.  All of her shots, but particularly her portraits, have a very dreamlike, other-worldly quality to them -- and I love how she makes a point of not just focusing on faces when creating her portraits.  Beautiful work.

Farrah Braniff (Farrah Braniff Photographs) --  Another photographer I've had the honour of meeting in real life, Farrah actually makes her living here in Houston doing portraiture work, and her work is positively stunning.  Her portraits are sharp, clear and are a brilliant use of colour -- truly amazing inspiration.

Denise Andrade (Boho Girl) --  Denise makes her living photographing other artists -- and has a way of capturing the sexy bohemian in every woman at which she points her lens.  She does positively astounding work -- and it's a not-so-secret dream of mine to find myself the subject of one of her photo shoots.  One day.  One day.

How about you?  Any photographers whose work you've found online that make you want to hone up on your portraiture skills?

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas.  You can read and see more of her work at Chookooloonks.