This week Sofia challenges us to explore mood in photography.
What is mood?
A mental or emotional state, composure.
A verb form that depends on how its containing clause relates to the speaker’s or writer’s wish, intent, or assertion about reality. A sullen mental state; a bad mood. A disposition to do something. A prevalent atmosphere or feeling.
What does moody mean in photography?
A moody photo is one where the light and composition combine with the subject to create an image that generates an emotional response from the viewer. My dictionary says: Giving an impression of melancholy or mystery. An interesting definition – melancholy and mystery are powerful, emotional words.
Lighting your subject from the front creates a less directional look than lighting from the side or the back, and the latter two are better suited to a dark and moody style. If you’re shooting outdoors, the dim light of late evening into dusk is excellent for a dark and moody look.
Light and airy photos are bright, light, and generally feature soft, pastel-colored subjects. By contrast, “dark and moody” photos are just that: lots of dark areas, images with deep shadows, rich colors, and lots of drama.
Creating mood and atmosphere in your photography helps the viewer to connect with your images. Depending on the mood you create, it can make bring out certain emotions or memories in the viewer. It can also make your photo more tactile and realistic.
Remember that you can add emotions to your photographs by carefully choosing the color palette. A darker, colder color palette may convey fear or sadness. A brighter, warmer color palette may communicate joy, or melancholy. Add atmosphere and color to your subject matter, and you’ll see the difference.
mood also comes from the expression, not only color palette, or contrast play
Black and white photography is a great way to create moody photos, this time I chose mainly color to show the difference it creates in the mood . Well if you have followed me for a long time you know I really like portraits in B&W, in these sets I have couple in both ways, pointing it out in case you didn’t notice. They have a slightly different mood. In the last post I said I like to shoot with side light… well now I know why, mood. I always try to add mood to the equation. Hope you enjoyed the visit.
I invite you to join us this week for Sofia’s Mood challenge.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 