Yousuf Karsh

Since I've become so knowledgeable in the darkroom ;) I can easily talk about Karsh's techniques used in this image of Helen Keller.

He has emphasized Helen's hands and face with lighting. Even from across the room at the Art Gallery, they stand out. I think he had to have dodged those areas out from the overall exposure, and even more dodging for the left side of her face to make it glow. And given the halo I see over her left shoulder, I bet he also dodged out her body a bit, but not for as long as he did the hands and face. He probably used some magenta for contrast but maybe also some yellow to decrease the contrast of her shirtt. I think that the wall behind her was probably quite light and he gave it a long exposure to make it so dark.

Compositionally he really used lighting to make this portrait stand out. Especially given that Helen Keller is blind and deaf, giving her hands and eyes such importance in the image really epitomizes who she was and what she was about. I think it's a very strong, dramatic image.I was definitely drawn to it.