What's in front of you?

As a photographer and a business person I am constantly fascinated by what I see. Depending on the profession I obtain a different perspective on certain view points.

Recently the subject of photography as Art was a topic of conversation at a dinner party I attended. It was strange trying to understand the view point of the professional art dealer. To him photography as art is simply a commodity. Something to buy and sell to make money.

But it got me thinking that as a photographer that sells my photos to everyday (wonderful) people, I really need to explain why I believe in what I do.

What really put me over the top was I recently had a bride (who shall remain nameless) return an incredible wedding portrait "cause I don't like the brown tint"

Sooooo - since most brides have not spent years and year studying, review and meeting some the greatest artists of our time, I will be featuring some other peoples works as a way to broaden all our experiences. Imagine how I felt a few years ago when a mother of the bride ask me to why half the face was not lite up properly. That when she had the kids photos done at WallMart their faces were so well lite up they were almost white!!

First - the Master of Light - Rembrandt.

Rembrandt lighting in photography is a lighting technique that is sometimes used in studio portraiture.

The key in Rembrandt lighting is creating the triangle or diamond shape of light underneath the eye. One side of the face is lit well from the main light source while the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face.

The triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye. Rembrandt lighting is a combination of short and butterfly lighting-- and as such it is actually the eye closest to the camera (on the broad side of the face) that should have the triangle of light. The narrow side is illuminated. This technique may be achieved subtly or very dramatically by altering the distance between subject and lights and relative strengths of main and fill lights. It is a common photography technique.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history.^[1] His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high^[2] and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter.^[3] Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.^[4]