In 1921, Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach published his methodology of evaluating patients with inkblots. For this week’s Shooting Challenge , you will create photographic versions of his famous test.

The Challenge

Recreate the classic inkblot in a photo. In other words, half the frame should mirror the alternative half. And like our awesome lead shot by Nick Page that inspired this challenge (post-processed here), IT HAS TO BE IN BLACK AND WHITE, with a WHITE BACKGROUND and BLACK ” INKBLOT” that’s your subject. Can you employ Photoshop? Yes, to both convert the photos to B&W and to mirror your subject appropriately. But through aggressive lighting, you should shoot the subject in enough shadow and the backdrop in enough highlight to create a black and white effect before desaturation.

The Method

You don’t must use a studio-style lighting setup, with a well-lit white wall, paper or cloth serving as the backdrop. You need to always photograph something outside against an overcast sky.

But when you haven’t played along with your own studio setup, now isn’t a nasty time.

eHow has an easy tutorial on creating a white backdrop at home. But as Joe Pavelsek showed us in his Rorschach silhouette submission , a straightforward white shopping bag taped over a window can work wonders.

Oh, and I suppose you want to always invert a pure black backdrop to seem white. That’s exactly what I did with the lead shot.

The Rules – READ THESE

1. Submissions should be your individual.
2. Photos must be taken AFTER the challenge was announced.
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, technique and story behind shot.
4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com, not me.
5. Include 800px wide image (200KB or less) AND a 2560×1600 sized in email. (The 800px image is the single judged, so be happy to crop/alter the larger image for wallpaper-sized dimensions.)
6. One submission per person.
7. Use the right SUBJECT line to your email (more info on that below)

Send your best photo by Monday, October 18th at 8AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with ” Rorschach” inside the subject line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameRorschach.jpg (800px wide) and FirstnameLastnameRorschachWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) naming conventions. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) inside the body of the email along side a story of the shot in a couple of sentences. And don’t skip this story part because it’s often probably the most enjoyable part for us all beyond the shot itself!

If you’re keen on Shooting Challenges, you may as well like my new photography site: Life, Panoramic. I’d love to post your photos.

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This post is tagged: hermann rorschach, lighting setup, overcast sky, style lighting, swiss psychologist, white background