52 Clicks | Week 21 | Chiaroscuro

The fun thing about any photography project is learning new things and challenging ourselves. That's how we learn, right? And isn't that the goal? Last week in our Project 52 we introduced a term that is brand new to most of us: chiaroscuro. It's a word that is even hard to pronounce (a Google search gave me differing pronunciation so it still remains a mystery to me), so it seems big and scary. But the interesting part is that once people discovered what it meant, they realized they've already been doing this technique all along. They just never had a name for it.

So what does this intimidating term mean? Literally it translates to bright-dark. And to break it down in simple terms, it's just an artistic technique that emphasizes the high contrast between lights and darks with the goal of creating a three-dimensional image. Google it to learn the art history behind it if you'd like! 

In the meantime, scroll to see how the p52 participants used the technique. I bet after seeing these examples you'll realize it's something you've been doing all along, too.

If you'd like a weekly challenge like this, it's not too late to hop in the group!

xoxo,
Angie Mahlke