Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh was an infamous American-Canadian photographer of the 20th century best known for his iconic images of world leaders such as Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein. In an age which color photography were yet to be discovered, Karsh used simply black and white images to show personality of his subjects through positioning of a light source in designated environments.

The most famous component of Yousuf Karsh’s portraits is the dramatic use of lighting and shadows to create high contrast and focused spotlights on places of interest, illuminating parts which he desires to draw attention to. His lighting also adds texture and depth to the subjects, especially of their body features such as hands. In the third image above, I am fascinated by how the fingertips and outline of the hair of the model are illuminated, which is visually appealing and adds interest to his overall upper body rather than face only. Karsh’s overall composition creates a perfect balance between the background, sometimes of negative space, and the main subject. Through this, he lets his photographs convey the perfect emotion he desires,

Something I am inspired about is how Karsh includes texture to his backgrounds, a component which doesn’t necessarily conflict with the foreground but adds depth and meaning to the photograph. On the other hand, Karsh commonly uses smoke as an element to speak one’s mind, which represents a neglected and secluded state of an individual. Going back to my first set, this is similar to what I have done in practices. As inspiration, I will try using candlelights and its faint smoke to reach similar effects later on.

Another component of his images is how Karsh allows light and dark to blend together naturally rather than abruptly, having a transition between the 2 which is more candid and storytelling. This soft transition was created by manipulating the distance between the light source and subject, with longer distances typically making softer edges between the light and shadow. It is also achieved by including multiple secondary light sources positioned at different angles and of different sharpness. The first photo above uses a light source at a low angle shining at his hands and cloths, while a stronger light source above captures his forehead to be significantly brighter. Throughout my set, I will make attempts to blend in different colors together, such as the blend previously between red and white, to form similar effect, and will also use multiple screens for sources of light to add this further depth and natural blend in.

Karsh’s portraiture doesn’t simply include a model’s head as a reference, but also includes parts of the upper body, which may pose to be extremely useful when conveying mood through gestures and body positioning. He adjusts the chin and head tilt which dramatically alters facial structure and can represent different states of emotion. As an example, the chin tilt upwards in the second photo represents deep thought and reflection of the model, while the stern look of the fourth photo captures more confidence and stronger motivation in its subject to accomplish something. In my set of photographs, I will try to use such positioning in conducting emotion as well, possibly a higher tilt and gaze to show hopelessness and fatigue after a long day.

Lindsay Adler

Lindsay Adler is an American fashion photographer known for her unique use of lighting and color. Based in New York City, she photographs models and people from diverse backgrounds and personalities to convey emotion deep inside one’s heart. Her clean, bold graphic style using saturated colors captures strength within her subjects, their elegance and journey in life portrayed through expressions and body positioning throughout the composition.

I would wish to follow her outline of using highly saturated colors to create emphasis on contrasts and intensity of tone. She often uses clamshell lighting, which soften the colors and is position centered to the subject’s face. Her backlighting, side-lighting, and low angled shots typically use 45 degreed setups, showing both emphasis on bone and skin texture, portraying elegancy. By using the rules of thirds and center compositions, colors and positioned to shine only on particular parts of the model’s body, creating these boundaries of color tones which draw attention of viewers. Even with up to 5 light tones on the subject simultaneously, Adler’s image continues to appear candid and natural, for which she captures regular human behavior and moments which we all experience, the key to creating connection between the portrait and the audience.

Additionally, the texture portrayed throughout her portraits is also fascinatingly smooth, a “porcelain skin” effect which I would wish to learn from in my portraits. She does so by using fill lighting, often with a reflector, which bounces light back into the shadows which would normally be covered up, such as underarms and chin, emphasizing highlights while softening the skin tone, making it seem smooth and elegant. The effect can also be done through post-processing, using color correction as well as dodging and burning to add intensity to some parts while softening others, showing a balanced final product.

Similarly to Yousuf Karsh, the posing logic of Lindsay Adler creates triangle compositions between the face and shoulders, while the camera positioning hides flaws and unnecessary shadows/lighting by moving it closer to the subject or portraying a lower angled shot. The hands of the subject are typically not seen or placed naturally on the subject’s legs, which doesn’t overly complicate the composition and hide facial expressions, making the portrait’s meaning and visual effect more direct and immediate to the audience. I would wish to capture some photos featuring merely the eyes of my subject, which can provoke multiple different emotions based on their gaze.

Lastly, the eye contact is what adds strength and a sense of power of the images of Adler. Their stern gazes looking at the camera lenses portray their power, confidence, and dominance. Considering my set as searching for an opposite effect, I will continue to divert my subject’s gaze away from the camera lenses to achieve the opposite-show hopelessness, anxiety, and fear.

 

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