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Chris Knight On Creating The Dramatic Portrait

June 29, 2017 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Chris Knight is a photographer based in New York City. We sat down to talk about his upcoming book, The Dramatic Portrait.

He combines his unconditional love of art history with his conditional love of technology, topping it off with a flare for the cinematic and an uncompromising eye for detail.

Chris also has a full blown workshop via RGGEDU.com called Dramatic Portraiture & Lighting With Chris Knight.

The Dramatic Portrait - ProEDU.com Tutorial by Chris Knight

Use the code: TIFFINBOX (to get 15% off for a very limited time)

The Interview

The questions I asked Chris:

1) I love reading biographies on photographer's websites and yours stands out a bit.

Speaking of yourself you say: “He combines his unconditional love of art history with his conditional love of technology, topping it off with a flare for the cinematic and an uncompromising eye for detail.”

Where did you acquire that kind of discipline?

2) Your photographs remind me of paintings that one would see in a museum. Is that your end goal?

3) Why is drama so important to you in portraits?

4) You give light and shadow almost equal value in telling a story. Most of your photographs don't draw attention to the use of artificial light. Is that a skill that was taught to you or is it something that you have honed yourself?

5) Let's talk about your book, The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow. What prompted you to write this book and who is it for?

6) Most photography books about portraits jump right into loop lighting or Rembrandt lighting. You spend nearly 40 pages describing the history of portraiture? Why do you believe this is important?

7) You say: “The hows and whys are inextricably entangled in a successful photograph, and hitting both of those points shows mastery of the technical medium.” Can you explain that briefly?

8) What does it mean to you to have a published book? Does it open more doors for you to teach?

9) What can we expect from you next?

10) How can people find you and your work online?

The Dramatic Portrait

Buy Chris Knight's book now or buy the PROEDU.com tutorial today. For a limited time, PROEDU.com is including the book with the purchase of the tutorial.

The Dramatic Portrait, by Chris Knight

Do you prefer to buy The Dramatic Portrait on Amazon?

You can also catch Chris Knight teaching at CreativeLive in these online workshops:

Exploring Low Key Portraiture

Creating Advanced Masks

How To Work Faster In Adobe Photoshop CC

Feel free to use this affiliate link for CreativeLive when you browse through Chris Knight's courses.

The Portrait Portfolio

Here's a small sample of Chris' portrait photography. I urge you to visit his website and bookmark it. It's absolutely stunning work!

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

The Dramatic Portrait by Chris Knight

Filed Under: Books, Home Middle Right, Interviews, Lighting, Off-Camera Flash, Photography Tagged With: art history, book, Chris Knight, dramtic portrait, Lighting, museum quality photography, portraiture, posing, rgg edu, rocky nook, style, Tutorials, Workshops

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About Seshu

Seshu creates relaxed portraits of families and high school seniors in Avon, Connecticut. He also leads a successful headshot photography studio in Connecticut, helping professionals from a variety of disciplines project the very best versions of themselves. He created Tiffinbox as a way of inspiring photographers, to create better images and successful businesses. [Read More]

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