Contre Jour Lighting is another term used in photography for the art of taking images against the light, creating silhouettes. This technique creates an air of anonymity, and can sometimes be used in journalism to protect someones identity. The human condition means that we are curious to find out more, even obsessed by wanting to see more, and this type of lighting allows the photographer to mask certain traits of their subject, forcing the viewer to make assumptions about their work.
In the book Manchester Looking for the light through the Pouring Rain, Kevin Cummings uses this type of lighting extensively throughout, using the dark, poor weather typical of Manchester to create moody, expressive and mysterious images using silhouettes to their best advantage where light is scarce. The resulting works depict the personality of the subjects perhaps by a quiff of their hair, such as on the cover of Morrisey, or the grit and grime in the images of the underpass and the mums with prams.
No comments:
Post a Comment