Agree with MA's critique here.


Quote Originally Posted by reijo View Post
I have been following the posts here for quite a while and notice, especially with portraits, there is a tendency to make stuff pop out especially eyes.
Then, I started examining many paintings from the Renaissance period. In them many of the faces are shrouded in shadow making it difficult to see features well. I was told once by a good photographer to listen to artists and not photographers because the former know much more about the use of light and dark. Is this worth at least a serious discussion here?
This photo in my humble opinion is a good example. The dark eyes, the shadowed face, the darker skin create an emotion that is far superior to one that would light up the eyes.
Reijo
Damn straight it's worth some discussion. Personally, I eat this stuff up.
Where to start???

First off - let's see what the photographer is talking about...what painting(s) is he she referring to? - Let's see them or at least 1 or 2. VERY difficult to discuss this concept without seeing some examples. If that photographer is your friend ask him/her for the name of one or 2 paintings so we can show them here. If memory serves - many but not all Renaissance (a fairly broad term) indoor portraits have dark eyes - It's based on the natural lighting they were trying to emulate. Outdoors, faces are rendered naturally, again based on existing light.

IMO - your photographer friend is just talking. You can't compare the above portrait with the lighting in a renaissance painting. the goal (or one of the goals) of portraits like the one above is normally to make the subject look good. That's not the goal of most Renaissance paintings, especially the indoor ones with the dark eyes.

I will say this...If you are looking to create very dramatic portraits (for your own artistic purpose), then yes, study the lighting that they used in paintings 500 years ago before cameras were invented. If you are looking to study composition - rock on, painters were born and bred on composition and have volumes to teach photographers. But if you looking to flatter a subject (which is what most subjects want), then you'll need more modern lighting techniques or a different painting style to emulate.

JMO - tag - you're it.