Dark eyes

One of my favorite photos of model Shannon Purdy’s first shoot is “Dark eyes.” The dark shadows give Shannon the appearance of having black pools for eyes. Our minds naturally seek out a person’s eyes in a photo and with them being so dark it makes our viewers search for any detail that may be discovered. The contrast of Shannon’s nipples slightly darker than the blown out flesh of her body lead the viewers eyes down to the appearance of a line enclosed in shadow between her legs enticing the viewer. Things hidden in shadow or by an object make your viewer try to recreate it in their mind.

Principals of composition

Using the Rule of Thirds in the photo with Shannon looking into the negative space makes the viewer at peace with the overall composition. The rock shelf Shannon is leaning on rests both on the top and bottom thirds of the image and Shannon is nearly bisected by the right third.

Notes on this image

This photo has a somewhat sinister feel to it. The dark shadows and extreme contrast give Shannon a strange feel. If you ever met her you would know she is the exact opposite of this look. It is always interesting when you can capture someone on film in a pose or featured emotion that is opposite their personality.

I would really appreciate you signing up for my new newsletter. I will be sending out a monthly letter with information not contained on my blog. All my subscribers will receive offers on materials before they are released to the public as well as be included in giveaways for free stuff.

In this post we covered on element of composition and in the next post we will cover another one present in this photo.

Thank you and see you next time,

JW Purdy