Capturing Mood

by | Aug 2, 2012 | Brenda Tharp's Photo Blog, Insights, Photo Blog, photography, The Blog | 4 comments

mood/mo͞od/

 1. a temporary state of mind or feeling.

 

I get quite a few people asking how they can create a mood in their photography. Interesting question, really.

 

It’s not an easy thing to define in words – or to illustrate, but we all ‘get it’ somehow. We often feel something when we look at a picture. Maybe what we feel is a bit different from what the photographer intended, but then other times we feel what they felt. With animals, people and some travel photography, it’s gesture, and expression that can set the mood – or tone, of a photograph.

Waiting.

 In this bear image from Lake Clark Nat’l Park, the bear was patiently waiting for a sign of salmon to be in the stream. It just decided to plop down on a very thin gravel bar and watch. The feeling is one of relaxation, or perhaps watchfulness…but sometimes the story behind the photo defines the mood!

 

In landscapes, it’s often the atmospheric conditions and the light that sets the tone.  The contrast of light here created something we feel when we view this image from Zabriskie Point in Death Valley by my partner Jed Manwaring. It’s not easy to describe, but we feel something.

 

With this woman walking in Morocco – something about the black robes, and the way the robe billows out, too, suggests she’s in a hurry – and to where? For me, it has a feeling of mystery to it.

 

Just something to think about in your own photography. What constitutes mood for you?

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

4 Comments

  1. john isaac
    john isaac on August 7, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Right on Brenda….
    Love the images..
    John

    • Brenda
      Brenda on August 8, 2012 at 4:28 pm

      thanks, John! Great to hear from you.

  2. Jan Winther
    Jan Winther on August 2, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    Conveying mood or emotion in a landscape can be tricky as you say. Still its my favorite type of photography. I tend to shoot water falls mostly, because I can control the shutter easily and create movement, or peace as I call it to the image. I find it much harder to shoot landscapes with out water for some reason, and when I do, I tend to go close and tight to the subject. I realized that I never really thought about this, well until i read your post. It was actually eyeopening. Thanks.

    • Brenda
      Brenda on August 2, 2012 at 10:57 pm

      You’re very welcome, Jan. That’s what my post was intended to do – to get us thinking about our photography – and I really appreciate the comments you posted. I love photographing water, too, because I can create a mood by the way I slow it down or freeze it with shutter speeds. Slow = peace, tranquility, etc. to me as well.