The Dramatic Portrait: Lighting as a Mood-Creator
Dramatic portraits are all about the lighting. You have to choose your lighting wisely in order to create the mood you want for a particular portrait. Moods range from dark and mysterious, to light and airy. The choice of mood will depend on what type of dramatic portrait you desire!
Choosing a dramatic style in your portrait can give a feeling of confidence, style and even power. When done right, it can really make the subject stand out and capture a certain essence of the personality.
A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, be the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was. – Philippe Halsman
Environmental portraiture or fashion is often done to evoke a sense of drama or mystery. As a photographer we can achieve this by placing your subject in low light, and casting their features into shadows. Placing light specifically where you want to accent and letting the rest of the scene fall into shadow opens up many doors for creativity.
If you are looking for an edgy and memorable image for your Calgary headshot or business portrait, think about how you can collaborate with a photographer to create something different.
