Learning Resources
Activity 2
Shining a Light on Karsh
Photography is all about light – in fact, the name comes from the Greek for ‘light writing’. In a more artistic sense, how a photographer uses light can greatly impact the mood or message the photograph conveys. For a sombre picture, the photographer can use less light and greater contrast. To create a more upbeat photograph, more vibrant lighting is used. Lighting can also highlight a certain area in an image, while muting another. Lighting can guide the viewer’s gaze in the direction the photographer desires.
Before the use of artificial lights, photographers had to work within the confines of natural daylight or candlelight. With the advent of artificial lights, photographers became less dependent on natural sources of light and were able to manipulate the light as a tool in the creation of their photographs. Once artificial lighting came into play, photographers began using the ‘key’ light, or main light source and ‘fill’ lights to soften the shadows created by the key light.
The photographer Yousuf Karsh used light in even more inventive ways. This image, taken from an Ottawa Little Theatre production of Mary of Scotland (1937), shows his use of ‘jazz lighting’. This technique uses lighting almost as a prop, and in this instance it adds depth to the image and perhaps foreshadows an unfortunate and violent end to Mary’s life. No longer having to rely on natural light sources meant Karsh was more in control of his photography and the way his subjects were portrayed.
Karsh in the Classroom
- Use a flashlight to see how different lights affect your image (above, behind, below, from one side or the other). Experiment with putting coloured transparencies in front of the flashlight and seeing how different colours affect the image. How does this change the message of the photograph? Cut out a pattern in a piece of heavy paper and put it in front of the flashlight. Does it change the image and/or the message?
- If a camera is available, have the students take photographs with different light – for example with or without flash and/or natural light.
- Sun print paper can also be a fun and interesting way of starting a conversation about light sensitive chemicals and the scientific side of photographs and how they are developed. It is a great starting point to understanding how photography is ‘writing with light.’
Mary of Scotland (1937)
Yousuf Karsh
Ottawa, Canada
Library and Archives Canada,
Yousuf Karsh Fonds,
e010752221
