Bright and Dark

The use of bright and dark is probably the most common form of contrast in photography. It is simple to do and very efficient at creating interest. A silhouette is a form of bright and dark contrast. This technique only requires that one side of your subject’s face be much brighter than the other side. During weddings, I often have to close all the window curtains and turn off lights to make a room completely dark. Then I slowly begin to open the curtain little by little until the right amount of light illuminates my subject.

This photo of the groom was taken using this darkened-room technique (13.5). Another way to achieve a similar look without completely darkening the room is to use your off-camera flash at a high-power setting and turn on high-speed sync. This enables you to shoot the scene at a shutter speed fast enough to darken the room but still correctly expose your subject.