When deciding upon a theme for my portfolio I wanted to do something that would appear mysterious and intriguing to the viewer.  After completing a photography lighting course, I found myself drawn to the Split Style of lighting patterns, which I find very effective in evoking a ‘mysterious’ mood, so chose to use this lighting technique in my portfolio.  I feel the Split Style of lighting is a very bold type of lighting which can evoke many different and powerful feelings in people, such as fear, anger, and anguish.  For those unfamiliar with the reference to the ‘Split Style’ of lighting, this occurs when the lights are shining in such a way so half of the model’s face is blacked out and the other half is visible, providing a half and half effect- by hiding half of the face, the viewer is left to imagine what the model is hiding physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, and why. The challenge I faced with this portfolio was deciding which poses I wanted to use for the model and chose to do some very basic poses mixed with more interesting and expressive poses.  I decided to go with basic poses because these images are then left up to the viewers’ interpretation, each viewer can decide what the photo means and represents to them. The more unique poses were challenging. I wanted to remain somewhat neutral with them, much like the basic poses, but I also wanted to have poses which would illicit a more cryptic, curious reaction.

Portfolio link below: