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Create dramatic portraits with a homemade Gobo like this photographer

Dec 20, 2021 by Alex Baker Leave a Comment

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What makes a portrait dramatic? If you search the internet you’ll get quite a few answers, ranging from the practical to the abstract. Suggestions such as creating a mood, dark backgrounds and using fog or smoke all feature. As does using a characterful subject, often dressing the part. While these things certainly do contribute to a dramatic moody feel in an image, fundamentally for me, it’s all about the lighting. And that’s exactly what Slovenia-based photographer David Keinne harnessed to achieve this stunning low key portrait.

David took this image during a Creative lighting workshop he was running. He says that he has worked with this particular model many times, and is always inspired by him. If you look at David’s Instagram feed you’ll spot this rather handsome older man several times over, always playing a different character. David says that each time he shoots him, it is like photographing a different person.

The set-up is actually incredibly simple – just two lights were used to make this image. A Godox Ad600 was used as a key light on the model, with a second one lighting the background behind him. A white reflector was placed on the right-hand side of the subject for fill. David used his FujiFilm XT4 camera with a 35mm f/2.0 lens and shot tethered, with a shutter speed of 1/100 and aperture f/2.8.

Now for the interesting part. To achieve the really dramatic light falling so narrowly on the man’s face, David used his own homemade Gobo or cookie (cucoloris). He used black foam board and simply cut out circles of different sizes with a craft knife to achieve the effect. The gobo was then placed between the key light and the subject.

David says that he loves to play around with lighting and find new techniques and challenges. I think this image is wonderful, and really evokes a feeling of narrative and story around this gentleman. It makes us want to know more about his history and who he might be, there is a definite sense of mystery surrounding him. For me, that is very much the definition of a dramatic portrait. Here is the final image once again.

You can see more of David’s fantastic work on his Instagram feed.

What do you think makes a dramatic portrait?

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Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: cookie, dramatic, gobo, portrait photography

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

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Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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