Create shadow art

Control the light to bring out the geometric shapes of everyday objects through skilful shadow transformation

The light conditions can either make or break your photography. Used in a controlled way, it can make familiar and everyday objects appear in a completely new light – literally! This theme was particularly pronounced in the Golden Twenties when the ‘New Vision’ movement emerged. Before then, photography had been used to capture reality as accurately as possible, but as photographers began to use the medium more creatively, they pioneered new ways of creating images with a focus on light, shadows and shapes.

At that time, the invention of colour photography was still some way off so the resulting photographs from this era were mainly black and white. But although digital photography has changed significantly, with many more options, converting to black and white is still one of the most effective solutions for this photographic endeavour.