What Is Surreal Photography: 12 Examples

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Newbie Photography, Newbie Shutterbugs 

By Taya Ivanova 

Surreal photography challenges its admirers to change their perspectives, question their values, and create something unforgettable. This unique genre has inspired many photographers to recreate their wildest dreams.
When surrealism was still young, photographers created their own worlds using darkroom tricks and optical illusions. Today, we can create our own peculiar worlds using real-life objects (e.g. Oleg Oprisco), editing programs (e.g. Rosie Hardy), or both.
Below, you’ll find 12 prime examples of surreal photography. The images, which are as diverse as their creators, are testimonies to the value of surrealism.
No matter how simple, complicated, or unusual the surreal photography is, it has the power to influence anyone who takes the time to observe it. 

Underwater Portrait

Velizar Ivanov’s work is both haunting and graceful. His portfolio is filled with surreal underwater photos, portraits, and heartwarming photos of family members.
To take this photo, Velizar asked his daughter to swim in an aquarium while he took photos through the front glass. This resulted in surreal, well-lit portraits. His daughter’s calm expression, outfit, and floating hair all create a dreamlike atmosphere, reminiscent of something you’d see on the cover of a fantasy book.

Velizar Ivanov

Underwater Landscape

This real and unedited view was perfectly photographed by Alexandra Rose. The angle, composition, and monotonous colours all work together to create an underwater photography masterpiece. The most haunting thing about this image is the formation of the fish; together, they look like a very large tail devouring a scuba diver.
Surreal photography often features people and things submerged in water. Given the mysterious and unpredictable nature of water itself, this makes sense. Photographers like Brooke Shaden often use this technique to express fragility, change, and hope.

Alexandra Rose

Food & Drink

Simple colour correction transformed a food photograph into a surreal work of art. Elijah O’Donell cleverly desaturated almost every cherry and slightly increased the contrast to create an even more dramatic feel. The result is striking surreal photography whose story completely depends on your perspective. Is the cherry a reflection of loneliness, pride, or desperation?
Surreal photography allows room for the ambiguous, the strange, and the mind-boggling. Oftentimes, this leads to a lot of fascinating conversations with no definite answers. Sometimes, a simple editing tool is all it takes to create such discussions.

Glamour

Closeups, discos, and aliens. These three words might come to mind when you look at this photo by Jill Heyer, who created a series of sparkling surreal photographs inspired by blacklight photography.
“We suggested that we could use the colors as sparkles to create a stunning galaxy feel. That is the outcome. We plan to do another series following real star signs on faces and bodies.”
With the help of glow-in-the-dark makeup, Jill created a series of unconventional beauty shots. Though the model‘s features are visible, her eyes are as dark as the background. The combination of obscure colors and almost inhuman features are what make this photo an ideal example of surreal photography.

Spontaneous Surreal Photography

Like Alexandra’s underwater photograph, this surreal photography image wasn’t manipulated. Since we can’t see everything, we’re not sure what is going on. Was the subject modeling or playing? Where was this taken? These questions exist only because of that tent, which was strategically placed in front of the camera. Only Earl can answer them, but he wisely chooses not to. After all, guessing is much more fun than getting the real answers. (Sometimes.)
Maybe, if the tent-like material weren’t in the way, this photo would reveal a joyful child playing outdoors. By placing a barrier between the model and camera, Earl was able to create something spontaneous and surreal: a haunting figure slowly vanishing into thin air.
This is something we can all use in our own surreal photography. If you have a semi-transparent material, place it in front of a light source and experiment with various models. Your results will all have a hint of surrealism in them.

Landscape

Emile Seguin’s photograph may be very simple, but it compels viewers to stare and wonder about the model, location, and style. This minimalistic approach to surreal photography isn’t as easy as it looks. Emile probably invested hours of editing work into this shot.
Bare landscapes like this are almost impossible to find in today’s world, which is why this photo stands out. Remove what the human eye is used to, and you’ll get results that will astound everyone. Removing mountains, buildings, and any other signs of life were Emile’s way of expressing isolation and an adventurous spirit.

“I usually go on this lake with my kayak and my jet ski. This was my first time walking on it. Weird but very satisfying feeling.” – Emile Seguin

Photo Manipulation

This post-apocalyptic surreal photography masterpiece by Hans Eiskonen is undeniably eerie. The details — rising smoke, snow, a cloudy sky, and other details — all speak of abandonment. However, the bus seems to be the only haunted subject in Hans’s universe. Other objects, like the street lamp, suggest remaining signs of life. Why is the bus rotting in a place full of people? We can only guess.
By expertly introducing unfamiliar concepts, surreal photography turns the world upside down. This is probably why dystopian worlds are so popular. We respond to this unfamiliarity with nothing but curiosity and admiration.
Hans isn’t the only photographer who relies on extreme photo manipulation to create such detailed photos. A large percentage of photographers — Rosie Hardy, Alex Stoddard, Kyle Thompson — do this to experiment with surrealism’s limitless possibilities.

Conceptual Surreal Photography

When you look at this photo, what do you see? A frustrated student trying to prepare for an exam, a girl getting lost in her own fictional world, or something completely different?
Surreal photography has various sub-genres, like conceptual surrealism, which focuses on multiple themes using multiple objects. Photos made for this genre are filled with striking details. Unlike Emile Seguin’s work, they’re far from simple. (This doesn’t mean that Emile’s work is inferior to this genre, or that conceptual surrealism is too complicated. In surreal photography, there’s enough room for both types.)
Laci Slezak’s portrait is filled with multiple themes and lots of detailed subjects. Since the model’s face is barely visible, it’s hard to tell what she’s trying to express. While this is something that would be seen as confusing in classic portraits, it’s lovingly embraced in surreal photography.

Laci Slezak

Closeup Surreal Photography Portraits

If it weren’t for the angle and concept, this photo would just be a striking portrait. However, Mickael Cresset chose to zoom in, conceal his model’s face with water, and shoot from an angle that emphasised the reflection’s movements. For these reasons, he’s a fantastic example of a surreal photographer.
Moving objects play an important role in surreal photography. Take, for example, the mesmerising beauty of long-exposure photography. Though we know what the subjects are, we can’t get enough of seeing them in silent motion. You can easily merge long-exposures with surrealism to create unique photographs.

Mickael Cresset

Conceptual Self-Portrait

As you may have noticed, surreal photography is often filled with subjects that you wouldn’t see in your everyday life. In this photograph by Natalya Letunova, a girl is silently observing three hot air balloons. Had they not been there, this photo would look much simpler.
The addition of unusual elements plays an important part in surreal photography. You don’t always need expert editing skills to add interesting objects to your simple portraits. All you need is a big imagination and the willingness to learn.

Natalya Letunova

Architecture

More often than not, surreal photography features unusually large objects. Oliwier Gesla did this using vibrant sculptures of insects, skyscrapers, and a cloudy sky. Though it looks like a manipulated photo, it’s actually real:
“I took this photo on my way to the Eureka Sky deck which I didn’t even end up going to because the price was a bit hefty. During this day in Melbourne, I only took about 10-15 photos but I can easily say that this one is one of the all-time favorite photos that I’ve ever taken.”
What stands out the most in this photograph are the insects, which glow in comparison to their surroundings. While the story is ambiguous, the aesthetic appeal is very clear. Oliwier chose to slightly de-saturate everything but the sculptures, creating a striking composition that could only appear in our dreams.

Oliwier Gesla

Still Life

You don’t always need sculptures, abandoned buses, or levitating books to create impressive surreal photography. Saffu’s photo of a floating umbrella proves that simple objects can be fascinating, too.
Most of Saffu’s gallery is full of stunning travel photos of the Maldives. The photo below, an experiment with surrealism, is one of his most popular images. This proves just how well people respond to surreal photography and how little you need to make something unforgettable.

Saffu

Since the 1920s, surrealism has been astounding people all over the world. Back then, only a select few could experiment with it. Now, anyone with a camera can recreate their wildest dreams. This opportunity has allowed millions of artists to express their deepest fears, emotions, and secrets without saying them aloud. For this reason, surreal photography isn’t going anywhere.
The most beautiful thing about surreal photography is its openness to all kinds of artists. The photos above prove that no amount of minimalism, complexity, or strangeness can stop you from contributing to surrealism. If you have a dream, you have every right to turn it into a masterpiece. Why not start now?

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Best Techniques for Creating Dramatic Lighting in Portraits

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Newbie Photography

By Hillary Grigonis

By Dora Jokkel 

Light creates a mood in an image. But with dramatic lighting, photography jumps off the page.

Dramatic lighting makes the image stand out by creating contrast, interest, and mood. It will also help you shoot attention-grabbing photography.

Here’s our list of dramatic lighting tips you can start using today!

 

What Makes a Light Dramatic?

Dramatic light has three main features.

• Hard light. This means a little transition between the bright and dark areas of the photo. The highlight areas transition into the shadow areas, with a little gradient between them.
• Focused or patterned light. A picture where every pixel is lit isn’t very emotional. An image with dramatic lighting has light focused on one area of the photo, but it’s not focused on the other parts. You can focus the light source on one small area or you can create a pattern in the photograph.
• Full of contrast. Powerful photos tend to have both bright and dark areas. Think about dramatic black and white images! But even in color, the image contains both dark and light tones.

It’s crucial that you understand each element of dramatic light. It can help you build in the perfect amount of drama into the shot. Whether it’s a portrait or a landscape image.

Creating Hard Light

Hard light has a little transition between highlight and shadow. The abrupt change tends to feel more dramatic than soft light. Soft light has a gradual transition.

Hard light is created from small or distant light sources. Or, in some cases, from both. So finding hard light is as simple as going outside on a sunny day.

Note, though, that clouds can soften brilliance. And you will also experience soft light during the golden hour.

You can also recreate these conditions indoors. A window with the sun directly outside will also create hard light. If the sun is on a different side of the building, window light is soft.

Creating hard light is also quite simple. Most artificial light sources are small – strobe lights, continuous lights, and flash heads are tiny and create hard light.

Without a modifier, the light from those sources will be hard and it will spill everywhere. This is why learning how to create focused or patterned light is also important.

Creating Focused and Patterned Light

An unmodified flash creates hard light. But the light from a flash will also spill out over the entire scene without adjustments.

Creating light that’s only on a small area of the image adds more drama to a photograph. Using a lighting modifier can help create a focused or patterned light.

A grid, snoot, or barn doors will focus the widespread of the light from a strobe or flash. It will create a narrow beam of brightness that’s closer to a spotlight.

You can use each of them to prevent the light from hitting the background and creating more contrast. Or you can use it to draw attention to a specific part of the image.

While each accessory can focus the light, they are used in a different way. If you want to create light with a limited spread, but still want some softness, consider trying a beauty dish modifier.

Grid

A grid looks much like the name suggests. It’s a grid or honeycomb pattern that you place directly over the light. The pattern restricts the light, creating a narrower beam.

Grids are measured in degrees. A 10-degree grid will create a much tighter spot of light while a 40-degree grid will have a wider spread.

Place and then position the light. Make sure you get the right position since that restricted beam leaves less room for error.

Snoot

A snoot is a collapsible cylinder. It’s placed over the light to create an even smaller circle of light.

Think of a snoot as a spotlight effect. They are available in different sizes based on the size of the opening for the light.

Barn Door

Barn doors work to create a narrower beam of light, too. But they are more customizable than grids and snoots. This light modifier places four ‘doors’ on each side of the light. You can open or close them to adjust the shape and size of the light.

With all four doors closed, the light is narrow like a snoot. But you can also close just two doors for a thin strip of light. Or you can adjust each one individually to add more variety.

The zoom setting on your flash can also play a role in how the light spreads. A higher zoom, like 105mm, creates a narrower spread of light than a lower setting, like 24mm.

In portrait photography, creating patterned light is done by placing the key light so that it creates a specific pattern on the face.

But, that’s not the only way to create patterned light.

You can also find patterned light in natural conditions. Look for the pattern created by the light and shadows in the scene around you. See the shadows created by the goalposts in the football image above.

Hard sunlight streaming through window blinds also creates an interesting pattern that can lead to great photos.

Photographers can also mimic the effect by creating a DIY cardboard cutout or adding gaffers tape over a softbox. There are unlimited possibilities for creating a custom shape with DIY photography.

Creating Contrast

Contrast refers to the difference between the darkest and lightest areas of the image. You can use hard light and a modifier to prevent the light from also hitting the background. This helps to create contrast.

But there are also additional ways to create contrast in a photo.

First, skip the fill light. Filling in the shadows creates less contrast and less drama.

You can also deepen the shadows by using a negative fill. Placing a black reflector on the shadow side of a portrait will increase the shadows. That’s what the black side in the 5-in-one reflectors are for.

This technique is like using a reflector. Instead of adding a fill light, you use the black side to make sure no additional light is spilling into those shadows.

You can also increase contrast in post-processing. Brightening the highlights and darkening the shadows will create more contrast. It tends to work better than only using the contrast slider.

Using the HSL panel to lighten specific colors can also create a bit more contrast. Dodging and burning is another technique you can try.

Experimenting With the Position of Your Light Source

To create a sense of drama for your portrait photography, you also have to consider the position of your light. You can be creative and experiment as you like or you can choose popular portrait lighting techniques that help you achieve that dramatic effect.

Split lighting is a popular method to create emotional portraits. If you choose this technique, one half of your subject’s face is lit. The other half is left in the dark. This method highlights the details of the face and the texture of the skin. To learn how to set up this technique, read our article about split lighting.

Rembrandt lighting is another effective method for adding a sense of drama to your portraits. With this type of lighting, the subject has an iconic small triangle of light on one of their cheeks and the rest of the same cheek is in shadow.

This method is a bit more difficult to achieve but the results are worth the efforts. Check out our complete guide for this set up here.

If you have more experience with different lighting settings, you can also get creative and try to place your lights in different ways. Play around with their positions until you get the result you aim for.

Creating dramatic light involves mixing hard, focused or patterned light with contrast. Dramatic images should have at least one of those elements.