The art of photography lives in the play between light and shadows. While composition and posing play significant roles in crafting a photograph, our use of light and shadows will ultimately define its style. You’re probably already familiar with light and airy photos, for example, which typically incorporate flat light with minimal shadows. It’s a flattering style that photographers regularly use in a variety of portraits. On the other end of the lighting spectrum, however, we find dark aesthetic pictures, which lean more heavily on shadows for dramatic effect. This style has seen a boost in popularity as more photographers have become savvy with controlling and modifying light both in-camera and in post.
To further expose you to this incredible, low-key style of photography, I’ve put together a list of photography tips for dark and moody portraits that you can apply to all kinds of portraiture, from engagements and weddings to maternity, fitness, or even landscape portraits.
Dark Aesthetic Photography Tips for Moody Pictures
- Use the Best Gear for the Job
- Shoot Raw and Expose to the Left…or Right
- Keep Your Subject Brighter than the Ambient Light
- Know When to Shoot
- Compose Your Frame
- Pose Your Subject and Direct for Expression
- Edit for Dark and Moody Pictures
Tip 1: Use the Best Gear for the Job
Shooting dark aesthetic pictures has more to do with how we use or modify light than with the particular gear we use, but each piece of gear we use can impact the final outcome of our dramatic portraits. Here are some of my gear recommendations for capturing moody photos:
Camera Body and Lenses
- Camera Body: While you can use a smartphone to capture dark aesthetic pictures, you may find it limiting in terms of maximizing the dynamic range in your shots. Even a workhorse camera like the Canon 5D Mark IV can retain only so many shadow and highlight details, which we want to keep in order to have more flexibility during post-production. Instead, if the budget allows, I recommend using a mirrorless camera like the Canon EOS R5 or EOS R6, Nikon z6 or z7, or a Sony Alpha a7 IV (or any comparable mirrorless body). Of course, I’m not suggesting that you go out and purchase a new camera body in order to try this technique. I just feel these options will give you the best results.
- Lenses: Any focal length will do for capturing dark and moody portraits, but I prefer using wide angle prime lenses in the range of 24mm to 35mm, and occasionally up to 50mm. The wider angle allows me to do two things. First, I can capture environmental portraits in a single frame, which works beautifully for dark and moody portraits. I can also use a wide angle to let the viewer feel more “in the action” when I move in closer for medium or tight shots. I mention that I prefer using prime lenses for this technique as well because I like the look of shallow depth of field.
Lighting Options for Dark Aesthetic Pictures
- Lighting: You can shoot dark aesthetic pictures in natural light so long as you know how to work your angles and exposure (which we’ll cover below), but adding a bit of light via flash can open up tons of possibilities. Again, portability is key so that you can focus more on getting your shot and less about the limitations of your location. My favorite light on the go is Profoto’s B10 flash unit. Really, though, you can use whatever on or off-camera flash system you already have.
- Light Modifiers: We have a bunch of light modifiers to choose from, but for this technique, we’ll want to focus on those that allow us to control light direction and limit light spill. If I’m using a softbox, I prefer Profoto’s 3′ RFi Softbox Octa (with the baffle) or the MagBox, both with their respective grid options. For a smaller flash unit without a softbox, look for grids, flags, and snoots to take more control of your lighting. I recommend keeping a 5-in-1 Reflector for use in all scenarios, whether using natural light or flash.
Other Accessories
- Tripod: Whenever you’re shooting in dim light, which will likely be often while using this technique, it’s a good idea to have a tripod on hand to limit camera shake that accompanies shooting at slower shutter speeds. Keep something portable with you, like a Peak Design Travel Tripod, to minimize the hassle of trekking around with extra gear. I use one on several on-location shoots, including those I do while creating content for Adorama’s YouTube channel.
Tip 2: Shoot Raw and Expose to the Left…or Right
When shooting dark aesthetic pictures, it helps to capture raw image files for – again – more flexibility in post. You simply can’t recover as many details when you’re working with a compressed file, such as a jpeg. It’s also important to understand how your camera works so that you can choose wisely between exposing to the left or right (on the histogram) to retain sufficient details. If you’re unfamiliar with this concept, it’s as simple as this:
- Expose to the Left: When we expose to the left, it means that we’re going to limit how much we underexpose our image so that we do not clip our shadows, even if it means that we might blow out some highlights. If your camera (like a Canon DSLR) only does a so-so job at retaining shadows, use this method to avoid the messy noise and colors you’ll get when lifting your underexposed shadows in post.
- Expose to the Right: When we expose to the right, we’re going to make sure that all of the highlights are preserved, even at the expense of clipping some shadows. It’s okay to do this with some Sony and Nikon mirrorless cameras because they tend to perform well when it comes to retaining shadow details, even with underexposed images.
Use Your Highlight Alert and Histogram
Whether you expose to the right or left, remember that the general goal is to retain as many details as possible in both the shadows and the highlights. However, it can be difficult to determine whether or not you’ve maximized dynamic range by looking at the back of your camera. For that reason, I recommend turning on your histogram and highlight alert and referring to them throughout the shoot.
Tip 3: Keep Your Subject Brighter than the Ambient Light
Dramatic imagery depends largely (although not entirely) on our use of shadows, but more specifically, how we use shadows in relation to our subject. Capturing dark aesthetic pictures works best when we keep our featured subject significantly brighter than the ambient environment. This holds true whether we’re shooting with natural light or using flash to capture dramatic imagery.
Control Your Background
You can make simple adjustments to control how bright or dark the ambient light is in your background. First, you can change the distance between your subject and the light source. The farther away your subject is from the light, the more you’ll need to power up the light or boost your ISO to expose for your subject. If you choose to increase your ISO, however, the overall ambient exposure will increase as well. In the video below, in which we use a DIY strip box to create dramatic portraits, you can see this principle in action. Check it out.
Tip 4: Know When to Shoot
There’s a good chance that you’ll associate dark aesthetic pictures with night photography. In reality, we can create dark and moody portraits at all times of the day. That said, shooting in low light plays a significant role in creating this type of photography. As a result, certain times of day may work better for capturing moody photos, especially depending on whether or not you plan to use natural light or flash. If you plan to use natural light, capturing your subject closer to sunrise or sunset (also known as golden hour) will allow you to take advantage of natural light direction and the resulting shadows for more dramatic portraits. When using natural light during this time of day, you can get distinctly different looks based on how you position yourself and your subjects in relation to the sun.
Golden Hour Flat Light
In the image above, the sun is low and to my back, projecting a soft, flat light on the couple. It’s a flattering look, but it’s not what we’re going for in terms of creating moody portraits.
This time (see the image above), I’ve repositioned myself and the couple so that the sun is off to the side, and it makes all the difference. I also placed the male subject in the shadows while placing the female subject more directly in the sunlight. After capturing this shot using only natural light, I made some adjustments to the exposure in post, dodging the highlights with a brush and using a radial burn to get the final image. See my tips on post-production below. If you are shooting indoors or at night and using flash, then it really doesn’t matter when you shoot, so long as you can create the right balance between ambient light and flash (or in some cases, natural light) to suit your purposes.
Tip 5: Compose Your Frame
While light direction will largely determine the direction in which you can shoot, especially when using natural light, it’s still important to carefully consider your composition for dark aesthetic pictures. Of course, you can always use auto masking tools in Lightroom to dodge and burn according to your tastes if the light direction and background you want don’t work as well for getting it “right” in-camera. If you’re going for an epic environmental portrait, you’ll want to consider basic compositional tools like the rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, and more to create an impactful image. The same holds true for medium angle and close up shots, but the wider out you are, the more elements you’ll have to consider in your composition.
As a general rule, try to capture all three angles (wide, medium, and tight), and don’t limit your shots to just capturing your subjects. Photograph the location and elements of that location as well to help establish a fuller story. This sequence or variety of images can then be placed together to create a cohesive album spread or wall art collage.
Tip 6: Pose Your Subject and Direct for Expression
Dramatic looking photos do not have to be dark, necessarily, but they do rely on your use of shadows as well as a couple other factors, not the least of which is how you pose your subject(s). In fact, your subject’s expression can make or break your dark aesthetic pictures. Dramatic photos often call for more serious expressions (not sad, but serious), like you’d find in an editorial spread for a fashion magazine. The poses tend to be more dynamic as well, although this will vary based on your unique vision.
Tip 7: Edit for Dark and Moody Pictures
While it helps to get as close to the final image as possible in-camera, you can do plenty in post to get the look you’re after. Your approach to editing will vary, of course, based on your raw files as well as your intentions. In the video below, you’ll find concrete examples for both natural and dramatic editing styles, and you’ll learn how to create each kind using the same image.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy this look at seven photography tips for dark aesthetic pictures. If you mainly specialize in shooting bright and airy portraits, I hope you’ll give this technique a try and see if there’s room in your sessions to fit in enough of these pictures to create a storytelling sequence. For more tips on shooting dramatic portraits anywhere, check out our “Garage Portrait Challenge,” out now on Adorama’s YouTube channel. You’ll see just how easy it is to go from taking standard walk-up shots to dark aesthetic pictures in just about any situation, even using nothing but your phone.
