The Italian Term Chiaroscuro, meaning light and dark, is used throughout renaissance paintings and and continues in modern photography today.  One of the most notable artists to come out of the renaissance was Giorgione, an Italian painter, who focused on using Chiaroscuro and Rembrandt lighting, inspired the likes of Jusepe de Ribera, who used more contrasting colours and kept more of their subject’s face covered in shadow.

The use of this technique is still being replicated today, with Photographers such as Ralph Gibson using a very high contrast between the subject and their shadows. Gibson uses lighting and shadows to create create an artificial atmosphere in which the photograph has much more depth.

For my images i wanted to use a similar style of photography as this picture from Gibson’s ‘Infanta’ series. I wanted to create a clear line between light and dark in the photo, and try to recreate the dramatic feeling given off by the lighting used in this image.

As you can see from my contact sheet below, I also wanted to play around with lighting the subjects with fill lights as well as front facing flash and light bouncing. While this technique worked to some extent, i feel as though my lower key photographs looked much nicer and more professional.

 

 

Contact Sheet:

 

Final Images/Edits:

Fill Lighting:

Edited in: Lightroom

 

Chiaroscuro Lighting:

Edited in: Lightroom