Personal Style & Vision

Chiaroscuro Portraiture: Why I’m Letting the Dark Do More of the Work

I’m 15 days into a self-portrait side project, and today’s frame is the first one that feels less like an experiment and more like a commitment.

Not “moody.” Not “dark because it looks cool.”

This is light as a blade—and shadow as the thing that finishes the sentence.

Day 15: the image that finally chose a side

This portrait is the clearest proof so far that I’m not just “playing with lighting.” I’m building a visual language.

Here’s what the photo is doing (and why it’s working):

  • It’s real chiaroscuro. The blacks aren’t accidental. They’re confident.
  • The lit eye is the anchor. That catchlight and sharpness around the eye/upper cheek gives the viewer something to hold onto—so the darkness doesn’t become empty.
  • Texture is doing the storytelling. Forehead lines, skin, beard—everything the light touches feels physical and honest.
  • Negative space is part of the composition. The huge field of black isn’t “unused space.” It’s pressure. It’s mood. It’s restraint.

I’ve been writing a lot lately about style showing up when repetition gets serious—when you stop shopping for a look and start earning one. This frame feels like that.

Chiaroscuro is not a preset

Chiaroscuro is often described as dramatic light and deep shadow, but that definition is too soft.

What I’m chasing is intentional withholding—the decision to reveal only what matters, and let the rest fall away. It’s a tradition you can trace back through painters like Rembrandt and Caravaggio, but what matters to me is how it translates into photography:

  • One dominant light source
  • A composition built to protect shadow
  • A subject that feels carved, not evenly lit

This is the opposite of modern “make it readable” lighting. It’s choosing mystery on purpose.

What the lighting is saying

If I’m naming today’s look honestly: this reads closer to split lighting than classic “Rembrandt triangle” lighting.

  • The lit side is decisive.
  • The shadow side is nearly total.

That’s why the portrait feels stark and confrontational (in a good way). It’s not candle-soft. It’s more like a statement.

And I love that, because it matches what I’ve been trying to do across my work: stop being vague. Make a choice.

Exposure and tonal control: the file holds up

This is the part that surprised me when I looked closely:

  • Highlights are protected (no blown forehead/cheek that breaks the illusion).
  • Shadows are crushed on purpose, and it works for the emotional intent.

One practical note for later—especially if I print this kind of work: when blacks are this deep, the shadow side can turn into one solid mass on paper unless I hold a whisper of separation in a few key places (jawline, orbital shape, edge of head). Not “lifting shadows.” Just separating form from nothing.

That’s the difference between “dark” and “dimensional.”

Micro-refinements that keep the brutality but improve the hold

I don’t want to “fix” this image into something polite. I want to keep it severe. But there are two tiny adjustments I’d make (and repeat going forward):

  1. Dodge the shadow eye socket slightly
    Not to reveal the eye—just to suggest the orbital shape. A hint of structure makes the portrait feel more human without weakening the darkness.
  2. Burn distractions above the forehead / hairline
    Any tiny bright specks up top pull the eye away from the eye. In this style, the brightest value should almost always live in the eye/cheek zone.

Optional third: if the beard highlight competes with the eye, burn the hottest beard patch a touch so the eye stays the unquestioned anchor.

Why this matters to my broader direction

This project started as reps—something to keep me moving, learning, and producing even when conditions weren’t perfect.

But 15 days in, I can feel it shifting: this isn’t practice anymore. It’s direction.

It also connects cleanly to a few threads that already define my work:

  • The idea that systems beat inspiration
  • The belief that you make photographs with intent, not “take” them
  • The way I’ve been using self-portraits as a learning lab
  • My obsession with contrast as a tool for meaning (especially in black and white)

Today’s portrait is the clearest “this is me” frame of the series so far.

The next step: stop photographing myself and bring this to real people

I’m leaning toward adopting this chiaroscuro look as the foundation for my portraiture work—and the real test is whether it holds up with real subjects.

Not in a studio fantasy. In the real world. In Toronto. With real faces, real time pressure, real environments.

A short “one-light” recipe I can actually repeat

This is the discipline version—built for consistency:

  • One dominant light (anything that behaves like a single source)
  • Control spill (dark room, dark background, negative fill)
  • Expose for the highlights (protect the lit cheek/forehead/eye)
  • Let the shadow side fall—don’t apologize for it

That’s it. Four decisions. Repeat until it becomes instinct.

It’s the same underlying mindset I’ve been absorbing from Ansel Adams—make the photograph with intention, then finish it with craft.

Closing: I don’t want a look, I want a signature

Day 15 of this project gave me something I can build on.

This image doesn’t feel like a lighting trick. It feels like a voice: one light, deep shadow, and the confidence to leave half the story untold.

Next: I take this out of the self-portrait lab and into real conversations with real people—and I find out if this style is just a phase… or the start of my portrait signature.