Fascinating Identical Twins Portraits ~ By Martin Schoeller for National Geographic

They have the same piercing eyes. The same color hair. One may be shy, while the other loves meeting new people. Discovering why identical twins differ—despite having the same DNA—could reveal a great deal about all of us. [via NationalGeographic]

Photographs by Martin Schoeller


*click on images for a larger view*

Martin Schoeller

Close Up by Photographer Martin Schoeller

Update: September 26th 2011

I was asked by Martin Scoeller's agent to take down the images from this post. Sorry folks. I did give him credit and was only trying to exhibit the works of a photographer I admire and introduce this series to an audience that may not be aware of his work. Too bad because this was one of the more popular posts on my humble blog. I am pretty sure this post would have inspired people to buy his book.

To see his Close-Up photographs please check out his work at this link here.

"The greatest challenge in taking these images lies in the attempt to arrest the subtle moment that flickers between expressions, movements of which the subject is unaware. Like most portrait photographers, I aim to record the instant the subject is not thinking about being photographed"  Martin Schoeller

"A photographic close-up is perhaps the purest form of portraiture, creating a confrontation between the viewer and the subject that daily interaction makes impossible, or at least impolite. In a close-up, the impact stems solely from the static subject’s expression or apparent lack thereof, so the viewer is challenged to read a face without the benefit of the environmental cues we naturally use to form our interpersonal reactions." ~ Martin Schoeller