Tone is not contrast, but contrast is a measure of tone. Maybe? I’m slowly getting it. It definitely relates to the lightness and darkness of a scene. The two photos I chose below weren’t necessarily the two with the starkest tone, but I think the tone works in both of them. This whole shoot was shot around 6pm during what Jill says is called “The Golden Hour.” I’ll have to look more into that.
This is about as moody as that pavilion has ever looked. Tone is definitely used to set the mood of the scene. I think the two tree stumps in the foreground work to guide the eye to the trail and up to the dark pavilion. It’s framed nicely by the trees and the accidental branches at the top are actually kind of neat. I think this composition works and I’m proud of it. I didn’t like it much when I scrolled through the dailies. It seems to work better the larger it is. It’s filled with nuance. I’d like to see it even bigger.
I may only like the tone of this photo. The darkness makes it so ominous. The highlights were bright enough for me to use a super-wide aperture. Centering the rock gave it it’s proper strength and stability. It takes up most of the frame which makes it feel heavy. Wanna talk visual weight? Wanna use every photography buzz word? I think I’m getting the hang of this. So much of art is vocabulary. If you know how to talk about something you can justify and dumb artistic decision you make.
