Shadows as part of the subject.
In the past year, I’ve written a couple of posts on the importance of using shadows to create drama in our imagery, and as a result, leave the viewer with a memorable experience.
In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I’m always stressing the use of shadows in their photos. Shadows are our best friend, and the sooner my fellow photographers embrace them the sooner their photos will go what I always refer to as “up a notch”. I’ll occasionally be writing some additional posts about the use of different kinds of shadows, starting with this one.
This first post has to do with the type of shadow that’s the center of interest and it can often tell a story on its own. In the above photo, the shadows are from a group of photographers that were taking one of my workshops. We were down next to the Charles River at sunset and there were several young kids that were climbing up the wall of rocks. As I walked up to them, I immediately noticed their shadows on the ground and the fact that they led my eye to the kid climbing on the wall.
To me, the story is obvious as it clearly shows the shadows as the center of interest, and they also become directional lines leading the viewer to the kid.
Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and check my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoots some shadows with me sometime.
JoeB
