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PHOTOGRAPHERS: LEARN LIGHTING AND COMPOSITION BY STUDYING PAINTING

Inspiration

PHOTOGRAPHERS: LEARN LIGHTING AND COMPOSITION BY STUDYING PAINTING

July 18, 2018  |  by Bill Dobbins
By Bill Dobbins www.billdobbinsphotography.com
rembrandt
Rembrandt made use of the technique of chiaroscuro – which according to Wikipedia “is an oil painting technique, developed during the Renaissance, that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect.” | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
Painters have traditionally developed their skills by studying and often copying the works of the old masters.  This helped them learn about aspects of their craft like composition, color, perspective, and light. Photographers can benefit from doing the same thing.  Sure, we are always looking at images by other photographers – and studying pictures shot by the great shooters of the past (if we know what’s good for us).  But photographs are limited by the technology that created them, even in the digital age.  Paintings are only restricted by the imagination and creativity of the artist.  With literally thousands of years of art to draw on, there is almost no limit to the inspiration that is available. Let me give an example.  I was at the Prado in Madrid.  I entered a long, rectangular gallery and next to the door there hung a Rembrandt.  It was the kind of painting you expect from that artist – a warm, glowing image emerging from a dark background.  I walked through the gallery and at the other end turned and looked back.  There were paintings all along both walls but that Rembrandt seemed to glow like a backlit transparency.
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In his painting “The Girl With The Pearl Earring” by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer c. 1665 showed his subject lit by soft window light. Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
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This publicity photo from the movie The Girl With The Pearl Earring released by Lions Gate Films and used to promote the film shows actress Scarlett Johansson lit to look like the Vermeer painting. Image: Pathe
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To promote and advertise the movie, this image of Scarlett Johansson was made a lot brighter and given more contrast. Good for high impact in a poster but not as close to what Vermeer intended.  Ad posters tend to be more dramatic and eye-catching, with less subtlety. | Image: Pathe
I was struck by this and started walking slowly back toward the painting, trying to figure out how Rembrandt has achieved that remarkable effect.  I studied the painting further and later on quite deliberately tried to recreate the same kind of lighting in my studio photos – a warm, saturated figure emerging from a contrasting dark background. It occurred to me that this approach to learning better photography could benefit from studying all sorts of paintings.  For example, look at the way the window light falls on the figure in Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring. What a flattering lighting set up for shooting portraits!  Or the way the light falls upon the face in the world’s most famous painting The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci.  A warm defused light on the face and a background sufficiently diffused so as not to distract.
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The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci – the world’s most famous painting. I suspect it looked somewhat more colorful and contrasty when first painted in the very early 1500s but painting fade over time, even when restored. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
Interested in shooting still lives?  That is a favorite motif of painters and there are thousands of examples available to use for inspiration.  You’ll find a variety of objects, dishes and glasses, fruit and other food and even a skull painting by Georgia O'Keeffe – who also painting flowers for those photographers who are interested in that kind of subject matter.
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A landscape by Thomas Cole – a great art director sketch to inspire a photograph. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
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One type of subject Georgia OKeefe was known for was her paintings of flowers. Lots of photographers enjoy shooting flowers and should check out her art. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
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A still life by Georgia Okeeffe, painted after she moved from New York City to live in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Over time her paintings tended to become more abstract, seeking out the essential elements in a scene rather than a lot of detail. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6 
Part of how you can improve your photography is by educating your eye as much as possible.  That includes not only looking at all sorts of photos, of all types from all different eras but going to museums, galleries or searching online to see what kind of images painters have created over the centuries and seeing what you can learn about their use of color, of contrast, of perspective and composition.
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American Gothic by Grant Wood. The environmental portrait was not invented by photographers. This painting reveals a huge amount about the personalities and lifestyle of the subjects. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
whistler mother
Whistler’s Mother by James WhistlerJames Whistler, another environmental portrait.  Portraits can become even more effective showing the model’s environment or lifestyle. | Image Source: https://bit.ly/2L4UeO6
************************************************ Bill Dobbins is a pro photographer located in  Los Angeles. He is a veteran photographer and videographer who has exhibited his fine art in two museums and a number of galleries and who has published eight books, including two fine art photo books:
The Women: Photographs of The Top Female Bodybuilders (Artisan) Modern Amazons (Tashen)
WEBSITES
BILL DOBBINS PHOTOGRAPHY www.billdobbinsphotography.com
BILL DOBBINS ART www.billdobbinsart.com
FEMALE PHYSIQUE SITES www.billdobbins.com
EMAIL: billdobbinsphoto@gmail.com
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This is a photograph that draws every heavily on effects often found in landscape paintings. Credit: Bill Dobbins
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Painters can create any world they can imagine.  To shoot photos that include or feature a landscape, a photographer has to actually go to that landscape – although in the digital age some can make use of Photoshop and compositing. This is me and model Kerstin Schulze shooting in Death Valley, CA.
July 18, 2018

About the Author

Bill Dobbins

Bill Dobbins

Bill Dobbins THE BODY PHOTOGAPHER became well known for his male and female physique photos - images of the aesthetic, athletic body. Using the same distinctive personal style, characterized by strong graphics and a classic look in both color and BW, Bill Dobbins has also developed a body of work featuring fashion, beauty and glamor photos In a world in which so many images create a level of "noise" that makes it hard for advertisers to be noticed, Bill's work cuts right through the confusion and grabs the eye. Bill has created two art photos books: The Women: Photographs of the Top Female Bodybuilders (Artisan) and Modern Amazons (Taschen) and his fine art work has appeared in two museums and several galleries. WEBSITES BILL DOBBINS PHOTOGRAPHY www.billdobbinsphotography.com BILL DOBBINS ART www.billdobbinsart.com THE FEMALE PHYSIQUE WEBZINE/GALLERY www.billdobbins.com EMAIL: billdobbinsphoto@gmail.com

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