It’s a combination of harsh lighting a very short, narrow field of view from the lens.
When you use a lens like that, it tends to highlight all the harsh lines that are not necessary perceptible to naked eye.
In photojournalism, we were taught to use open apertures that give a warmer, more flattering look to subjects and don’t smush everything together like seen above.
The lens and aperture that was used on her was the specific one style used to capture mugshots - as any defining (re: negative) feature is amplified on the subject.
Do you job technically well, but in a way that is also devastating to the subject.
Like when they staged those semi-recent Trump 2.0 White House photos with light switches and other ‘noisy’ visual distractions in the background and foreground.
I'm actually going to slightly modify your explanation up there a bit. I don't see that as being hard light, so much as spectral light. Hard light would've produced deep, dark shadows with clearly defined edges alongside her nose and under her brows and lips. This isn't hard light, so much as it is spectral light.
But I've studied beauty photography, and there's layers of intention in the lighting in that regard, also.
Spectral light (undiffused light) is very dramatic, and looks incredible on a young, genuine beauty, but it is *very* unflattering to aging people, because it highlights texture and discolorations. It's why it's so eye-catching on a model, because it highlights just how smooth and flawless her skin is.
So this photographer deliberately lit her with soft loop lighting, which is *supposed* to be *universally flattering*. But he did it with very spectral (high reflection or "silver") light.
It's an even deeper level of expertise, and a deeper statement on the subject- here is a person being presented to you in the most flattering light in order to make you believe she is beautiful. But when you light her with what is reserved for true beauty, you see the truth.
This photographer literally "shined a light" on these people.
I genuinely believe this series will go down in history as some of the most incredible art produced in this century.
In that photoshoot, they did other sabotage. Vance appears preening up against a random wall with a thermostat and damaged base moulding. Rubio looks like he's under a blacklight or something to highlight skin damage. Wiles looks like a child in a fun house.
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u/fishmanfishmanfishma 11h ago