Master Study: Renaissance Techniques In Photography

Are you all ready for an art history lesson? Great! Because it's refreshing to contemplate art and sit down to a good Master Study every once in a while. The greatest master artists who ever were came out of the Renaissance with many breakthrough methods of portraying life in their paintings.

I delightfully realized lately that I had been incorporating Renaissance art techniques in my photography, and I hadn't a clue I'd been doing so! Therefore, I have to reflect upon it and why it works so well. This article  reflects on the Master techniques of chiaroscuro, foreshortening, sfumato and contrapposto.

CHIAROSCURO

This technique is one which, in Italian, literally means "light/dark". It's a technique utilized most famously by Rembrandt, in whose paintings very dramatic moods can be achieved by allowing certain subjects to be in light, and other areas to be obscured in darkness. The artist can be kind of a tease with this technique, choosing what to show you in light, and what secret crazy things - up to your own imagination! - might be happening in the darkness.

At left shows a groomsman waiting for the wedding to begin. Modern photography allows me to achieve a chiaroscuro effect by affecting contrasts, highlighting the bright significant area (his face) and darkening the background lesser significant areas. If this had been a Rembrandt, maybe some gargoyles or creepy angels could have been playing around in the dark corners. Who knows what they're up to!

FORESHORTENING

This technique most famously used by Botticelli in "Mourning Over the Dead Christ" is a consideration of perspective, which allows the artist to enhance subjects by portraying foreground items closer and larger to the viewer than background items.

One of my engagement couples. While they are both significant in the composition, what is more significantly being portrayed is particularly her engagement ring. Foreshortening also works wonders for those iffy about having their photo taken due to body size. Shot from above looking down, everyone looks slimmer in photos because the body is more distant and becomes minimized. Regardless if subjects are larger or not, from-above shots always flatter (and never produce the double chin effect!).

SFUMATO

This is my favorite, not only because it's a fun word to [try to] say, but because the technique always lends a surrealistic dreamy quality. Most famously exemplified in Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", the sfumato technique basically blurs areas of the painting into indefinite regions, or creates a misty atmosphere around subjects. Learning about art history back in the day, I was most impressed by usage of sfumato in religious paintings which implied Godly qualities emanating from Christ, affecting the very nature of His atmosphere. How remarkable is that? I'm sure you'd love to "affect your own atmosphere" in your bridal portrait.

Digital photo editing is wonderful when it comes to replicating sfumato. By means of blurring certain corner and background details to look misty and dreamlike, often the subjects come to stand out in fabulous ways that make them appear to "pop" off the page. Love it.

CONTRAPPOSTO

Contrapposto is not so much a painting technique as it is a compositional one. It is a way of positioning a human subject to balance his weight in a pleasing and harmonious manner which makes his purpose dynamic. Most famous is Michelangelo's "David", doesn't he look ever so awesome?

My sister's husband will be alight to know he's my example alongside "David" for contrapposto composure. I love this shot. Additionally, the fun story behind this image is that these two actually wanted to pose this way specifically to mimic the posing of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the staircase shot from Roman Holiday. Nothing more refreshing than creative photo subjects :) .

Here's to Master Artists and their timeless artistic techniques which still are fabulously being used even in our digital art world today.