Over the years I have learned that the most successful photographers working will often look to see what else is there and really work the scene to see if there is another picture behind the picture. In other words, find another picture, possibly two more pictures, while you are in the same scenario with the same subject. Don’t stop just because you think you have it.
Cinematographers have often shown that it is the shadows that are as important, if not more important than the light in creating a mood, feel, evoking an emotion or setting the scene. For decades we have had great examples in art and cinema of a strong single-directional light from a window in a beautiful portrait, a streetlamp in an old black and white movie, and many of the most well known photographs of all time.
