This self portrait color photography series explores complementary red and blue lighting created with off-camera flash and color filters. By deliberately replacing neutral white light with controlled artificial color, the images shift from documentation to construction.
17.09.2022 by Sabine Fischer
Complementary colors create tension: They vibrate against each other. In this self-portrait series, I use that visual friction deliberately: red and blue push and pull, separating shape from background and turning the image into something closer to a statement than a document. Color is not decoration here. Color is structure.
Artificial light is not a correction tool here, it is a deliberate artistic decision. Flash is usually neutral and “white.” With colored filters, it becomes a sculpting tool: artificial light that can feel cinematic, unreal, or emotionally charged. Working with off-camera flash allowed me to control direction, intensity, and separation and to build a look that would be impossible with available light alone.
Beyond color and contrast, flash photography offers a crucial technical advantage: control over ISO and image noise. Because the light output is strong and precisely directed, I can keep the ISO extremely low. Lower ISO means cleaner files, richer blacks, and significantly less digital noise, even in dark, high-contrast scenes.
This work began with a learning curve: figuring out settings, reliability, and how to make external flashes behave consistently. But the constraints became productive. When tools are limited, decisions become sharper. What started as frustration turned into experimentation and experimentation turned into a visual language I want to keep expanding.
In this approach to self portrait color photography, light and color define the emotional structure of the image. These images are not about flawless skin or clean realism. They are about atmosphere, silhouette, presence and the psychological impact of controlled color. The self-portrait becomes a space to test boundaries: how far contrast can go, how much information can disappear, and how strongly light alone can carry the story.
In a setup like this, where deep shadows and saturated colors dominate the frame, noise would immediately weaken the visual impact. Flash allows me to preserve clarity and tonal depth without sacrificing intensity. Instead of fighting grain in post-production, the image begins technically clean.
Another advantage is control over motion. A short flash duration can freeze movement far more effectively than ambient light alone. Even subtle shifts, like strands of hair catching the light, remain crisp and defined. This precision gives the final image a sculpted quality that would be difficult to achieve with continuous light.
Artificial light, when controlled deliberately, is not harsh. It is exact. And that exactness becomes part of the aesthetic.
Inspired by the book “CHROMA” by Nick Fancher, I started approaching light more intentionally: not as something to “fix” a scene, but as something to invent one. This series marks the beginning of my exploration of color-filter flash in self-portrait photography and it continues to evolve with every new setup.
Anyone interested in following my work and creative processes can find me on instagram: www.instagram.com/sabinefey
CONTACT me for print requests:
www.phoenixstudios.de/contact/
I am a self portrait artist and photographer exploring color photography and controlled flash lighting as expressive tools. Since 2008, I’ve been exploring creative ways to bring various photographic ideas to life through self-portraits and artistic portraits. I experiment a lot with body painting and blacklight colors, water, different lighting techniques, shadows and light, effects using projectors, fog machines, wind machines, smoke and the manipulation of various surfaces using oil, gel, water, and different types of paint.
My self-portraits are an expression of my inner world. I process my experiences and ideas and dreams and release them into something new. Each of my images is carefully crafted, requiring several hours of shooting and post-processing. Since I primarily create self-portraits, it requires a lot of effort and creativity to bring the ideas to life.
Equipment: Nikon D850 & D750, Sigma 50mm 1.4 HSM Art & Sigma 35mm 1.4 HSM Art
