Stefano Gardel Uses the Power of Mood to tell a Visual Tale of “Dystopia”

All images from Stefano Gardel. Used with Creative Commons permission.

Among the hallmarks of a good photograph is a strong narrative and the ability to make the viewer feel. Among the striking bodies of work we’ve seen that effectively do this is Stefano Gardel’s moody series titled Dystopia. There are no special effects, no tricks, and no staged scenes in his photos, but the execution shows a strong and persuasive idea.

The word “dystopia” has become associated mostly with stories of miserable and degraded cities portrayed in the movies. But photography is just as capable and powerful in painting a picture of such a grim scenario or subject matter. It often relies on the power of mood.

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Processing Dark and Moody Black and White Portraiture (Premium)

Processing dark and moody portraits starts with how you shoot the images. If you do not start with a file that has been shot with an eye to process it this way than you may run into trouble. So if you happened to miss it, please make sure and take a look at part one of this series so that you understand how to get your images to a point where these processing steps will work as intended and make sense.

To begin, dark and moody portraits, at least in the sense that we are talking about here, are designed for the highlights to draw your attention to the subject in a specific way. Be that the curves, wrinkles, eyes, whatever piece of your subject you want to highlight.

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Concert Photography: Nailing the Autofocus in Dark Venues

Getting the photos you really care about at a concert can be an ordeal if you’re in a dark venue. Just naturally, most concerts are in dark venues and the lighting there can make it difficult for a camera’s sensor to be able to focus due to it changing so quickly. Years ago, many photographers used to use the zone focusing method, and that’s still an option if you want. However, if you don’t want to manually focus your lens, then try these tips to ensure that you’ve always got the image perfectly captured.

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Maren Elize Klemp Uses Photography To Raise Mental Health Awareness

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All images by Maren Elize Klemp. Used with permission.

Photographer Maren Elize Klemp is a fine art photographer based in Oslo, Norway. She specializes in self portraiture, black and white photography and vintage photographic equipment that infuses her images with a timeless dimension. The purpose: raising awareness of mental health. To do this, lots of her work delves into the darker side of the mind and feature characters is darkness and isolation.

In fact, Maren has always been drawn to dark art.

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