Mini Mise-En-Scene Photography

Keep One Eye Open

I chose the prompt, “Keep one eye open”, because I knew this could more easily lean towards the mysterious and suspenseful side compared to the other prompts. When taking this picture, I took it in portrait mode and had one separate flashlight to bring focus to the main subject which created dark shadows and mystery to the background. I also made sure the lighting hit the subject in the background to emphasize the mystery/scary face that seems to be scaring the main subject in focus. I positioned the main subject in a rule of thirds shot to show the main subject in a slight over the shoulder angle to give the perspective of seeing the other person in the closet. The low-key lighting makes the room feel creepy, with just enough light to see the person in bed but not enough to clearly see everything around the person. The purpose of the low-key lighting through increased vignette and other filters, is so that attention is drawn to the person peeking from the slightly open closet door and the widened eye/expression from the main subject. The subject hidden far in the background makes the person in the bed seem vulnerable and scared. I chose to edit the image to be darker with black and white coloring, to add to the mood and make it feel like a nightmare scene where something could be lurking. I found this shot to be somewhat difficult as I had to position the camera at a certain angle to show a slight tilt and the lighting had to be dark to show the suspenseful atmosphere however light enough to show the actual subject in the closet. Editing the images’ coloring and darkness is what brought the idea or theme to the scene.