Connecting Essay

This is a photograph taken by my chosen photographer of Nadav Kander where he has used gel lighting in order to gain the glow of red light which is seen on the right side of the composition. The fact that the colour of the light is red, connotations of evil and danger can be interpreted which go hand in hand with the glaring pose/facial expression, ultimately creating a very sinister effect. The hand is positioned just below the eye with the fingers extending to either side which drags the attention to the eye, amplifying its emotion.The subject is placed on a white background which allows him to stand out as he contrasts due to him being black, this also outlines and defines the shape of the subject very well.

 I created a very dark photograph with a red glow coming from the right side of the frame. This caused the right side of the subject's face to be enlighted by the light and the left side to be completely dark and blend in with the background. The fact that you can only see half of the model's face produces such an edgy sinister feel as it seems that the subject is lurking in the darkness. The colour red also has connotations of danger and blood which further this horror impression. There are still dark shadow areas on the right side of the subjects face which portray the structure of the facial features. I have created a sense of texture by sharpening the collar of the clothing, enhancing the shadows which shows its form.

These two images can be connected through the use of the same technique of gel lighting in order to gain the same effect. They both have coloured lighting entering from the right side of the composition which a contrasting shadow created on the left side of the subjects face. This is more so visible in the first image as the ratio of shadow to coloured light on the subjects face is in favour of the shadows. Also in both cases the same colour (red) has been used and also have been used to create similar connotations and outcomes. The both provide a sense of danger, containing sinister elements through the poses and facial expressions. My photograph also has a sense of mystery due to the fact that the background is black and he begins to merge into the background and only can be seen where the red light hits his face. Also the compositions and positioning of the subject's are slightly different. Nadav's subject is positioned to be facing towards the right side of the composition with his hand over his face. Whereas my model is placed front on to the camera looking directly into the camera lens. Another difference would be the colours of the background, Nadav allows the subject to be clearly seen whereas I chose to enhance the sinister theme making him to mysterious and threatening.