How do you create images that evoke emotion and tell a story?
You don’t want to clutter your images with lots of content. Sometimes, it’s the subtle nuances that can speak volumes. Some of the most powerful images in the world are those that can convey a profound feeling with a simple snap.
In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss the steps you need to take to produce moody and memorable images, ranging from the setting, lighting, emotion and much more.
#ginachallenge #pressure
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Show notes
Listener question
Question from Matt Zahn
I woke up early this morning and decided to work on single speedlight high speed sync. I used a wooden Stink Eyed Santa as my model (above). He was great. Never complained or took a break. I was playing with the Odin TTL flash receiver and trigger settings and manual camera settings for a bit before I got some looks. I don’t have a light meter yet so it was chimp it in time. How many of you can look at a scene and know almost immediately where your settings need to be with flash? How long did it take you to get to that level?
Shoutouts to the community
The dragonfly was patience, laying in the river, base of camera just above water level. And he kept chasing others away, then coming back. Very hard to keep still at that shutter speed with the water buffeting me.
Wide angle family shot, Sanctuary Cove, Qld. Speedlight and portable Softbox off to the side. This would be the pick of the shoot!
#ginachallenge #familysizenocheese I’m a week late. But. My long suffering children and their paternal grandmother who all do the victorian-no-smiling-thing down to a tee! (with my Leibowitzian backdrop-with-edges-showing-thing going on)
I love the reflected light (I seldom shoot through), but I have a home-made diffuser (a bit of silky fabric that covers the front to break up the light a wee bit more). I also sometimes close the umbrella down from its extended position a bit to make a more directional light – which I did here.
How to create moody images
Natural elements
- long exposures in the middle of the day
- dusk and dawn
- extreme weather
- rain
- fog
- smoke
- backlit
- cloud porn
Lens choice
Long lens can make your image look more intimate because they make everything appear closer than they are in real life. If you want to create an intimate portrait, use a long lens.
Wide lens makes everything look wide and spacious or bigger than it really. If you want to create a spacious or more aloof feel, go for a wider lens.
Emotion
Pose and vibe can be manufactured or real.
If I’m ever photographing a wedding or speeches, I try and focus on the person who is most likely to show emotion, e.g. the mother or father crying as they give their daughter away on her wedding day.
Or mood can be created by emotional subject matter such as … 12 year old Brazilian playing the violin at his teacher’s funeral. The teacher had helped him escape poverty and violence through music.
Looking away from camera can be far more powerful than looking at the camera.
Getting the performance: working with actors vs real people and lifestyle
Lighting
Shoot in a way that reflects your personality. How a photographer sees is unique to them.
For natural light look for:
- strong lighting styles
- morning
- dusk
- high contrast
- back lit
- side lighting
- high contrast lighting
- use a black cutter to add drama
- expose for highlights to increase contrast in an image
Flash:
- shutter speed to reduce ambient light in a photo
- modifiers to give shot a distinct look
- long exposure + flash for a surreal look.
Shooting style
- say less in your image and let the viewer fill in the blanks
- powerful images
- a lonely path with a single shoe on it
- an empty room with a lamp knocked over or curtains blowing in the wind
- minimalist
- use scale (tiny image in an imposing landscape)
Post-production techniques
- colour vs B&W
- contrast
- tone
- crop
- Lightroom
Subject matter
- Anything that will cause an emotional reaction in YOU
- Shoot things that matter to you
In my mind they are both Mafia Dons having a very serious conversation about taking down Vinnie Delsanto… but in reality they might be talking about the last episode of Real Housewives.