Photography
Caravaggio Boy Peeling Fruit
November 2014
The aim of this project was to recreate a Caravaggio painting, primarily focusing on the light and shadows within the image. This image was shot in RAW with a Nikon 3100 and processed using Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop CS6.
Interesting Parts
- This image was shot with a shutter speed of 1/25 of a second, ISO of 200 and an aperture of f/5.
- The model in the image had great difficulty assuming and holding the pose. As Caravaggio painted his subjects, his poses were subject to exaggeration, and not always as comfortable as they may look.
- The majority of work in this image was in the preparation: setting up the appropriate lighting, styling the model's hair, wardrobe and working with props - in this case, plums that were continually rolling off the table.
What I learned
- I learned a lot about looking for contrast in an image, as well as trying to figure out where a light source is coming from. I then created a 3-point lighting set up in the studio to recreate this lighting.
- I learned that the more work you put into taking the image, the less work it will take in post-processing to achieve a higher-quality result.
- This project helped me to learn the art of subtlety, as this image was not supposed to look as if it had been affected in post-production.
