What can light and portraiture teach us about being made in the image of God?

By Adrian Thornton May 2024

The first chapter of the Bible is packed with doctrine. One being Christian anthropology, which seeks to understand what it means to be human. What is special about the text in Genesis is that the author sets apart humans from all of creation. On the last day of God’s creating work, God finishes with His prized possession, humanity, and uniquely creates them in His image (imago Dei in Latin).

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
- Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

Thanks to what Genesis unveils, all people are inherently valuable regardless of upbringing, social status, or gender. Everybody is “knit together [and] wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14) according to the image of their Creator. Interestingly, no other part of creation was formed with this unique blueprint.

In this blog, I will use portrait photography to shed light on the meaning of imago Dei in a world that is darkened by sin. In fact, the idea of making (and I use that word intentionally) a photograph of somebody is an act of dignity. It values the sitter as a person and desires to understand their story. However, a true portrait must account for the effects of sin because it is a very real part of our world. Fortunately, sin isn’t the gloomy end of the story for humanity. Jesus breaks into history and, like a great light source, illuminates hope and freedom. The images in this blog are of myself (not because of vanity I hope) and seek to tell this story.

They do not know where they are going,
because the darkness has blinded them.
1 John 2:11b (NIV)

Sin overshadows the image of God

Although sin can be a depressing subject to explore, it is a necessary one because it is part of our world and, sadly, embedded in the heart of every person. As a result, the image of God in all people is overshadowed by its darkness. Briefly, sin is like an evil power that was let loose into all of creation after the disobedience of Adam and Eve. It has a dehumanising effect on all people as it enslaves people into its dark desires.

In the above portrait, the light source is positioned behind the subject. The effect in this setup is called rim lighting, as the light source creates a perimeter highlight so the subject is in shadow yet still identifiable. The effects of sin on the imago Dei in humanity can be seen in this backlit portrait in several ways. 

Simple Rim Lighting Setup

First, the sitter has their back to the light source, implying a turning away from the light. Sin is fundamentally turning away from the Lord. Adam and Eve first turned away from the Lord in the garden, and as a result, sin was released into all of creation, corrupting the human heart and turning it away from its Creator. 

Second, the perimeter highlight reveals the outline of a person with their head looking down. What this communicates is that God’s image is present in all people regardless of their redemptive status. All people are made in the image of God, and although sin holds back a person’s ability to live according to that image, the image is still there nonetheless. 

Third, the face of the subject is mostly blacked out because it is in shadow. Sin lives and breeds in darkness and this image depicts someone who has been blinded by the darkness of sin and is helpless and unable to find the light. All in all, sin puts a shadow over the image of God in humanity.

In him was life, and that life was
the light of all mankind. The light
shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5 (NIV)

Jesus illuminates the image of God

All is not lost in the darkness of sin, however. In God’s perfect timing, Jesus (who is identified as the “second Adam”) arrives and defeats the power of sin with his death and resurrection. In this history-defining act, Jesus does two things related to imago Dei. First, Jesus reveals to humanity what the exact image of God looks like, which is Him. Second, he sends the Holy Spirit to heal and restore people from the wounds of sin and help them to become more like Christ, who is the image of God. Light is back and is shining on and through people, revealing the image of God in humanity, what God intended all the way back in the garden.

The lighting technique in the above image is called Rembrandt, named after 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Applied to photography, there is generally a single key light located slightly higher than the subject and to the side. What makes this lighting style effective is the three-dimensionality it brings to a portrait. In the above image, you can see that the majority of the face is in light, however, the right side of the face is in shadow. So, what does this tell us about imago Dei?

Simple Rembrandt Lighting Setup

Most notably, the sitter is facing the light. When someone makes the decision to put their faith in Jesus, they effectively are turning back to God, who is light. What was once hidden by sin is now illuminated by the glory of God. Yet the whole face isn’t lit evenly, and this is what makes Rembrandt lighting so much more compelling. There is the presence of light and shadow, or in our case, life and sin. Christians, although set free from the power of sin, still live in a sin-filled world and struggle with the wounds it has left. The above image, therefore, depicts a turning towards God from the life of sin. While the light of God is dominant, sin is still present, yet it diminishes as the light overcomes the shadow.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18,

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Being made in the image of God implies both an original design in the first Adam, and an unfinished project as we become more like the second Adam. To experience what it truly means to be human is to become more like Christ, and we do that by coming into His presence and letting Him illuminate and transform our lives. It’s in the light that the image of God is revealed.

Adrian

Scripture for further reading about imago Dei

  • In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

    And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning —the first day.

    And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning —the second day.

    And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

    Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. ” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the third day.

    And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the fourth day.

    And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning —the fifth day.

    And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

    Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

    So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

    God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

    Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. ” And it was so.

    God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the sixth day.

    The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

  • LORD, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

    You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
    Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
    When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
    what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

    You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
    You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
    all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
    the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

    LORD, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

    The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

  • Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

    Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

    The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

    Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

    Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

    The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

  • Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

    Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

    Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

    Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

    The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

All photographs and illustrations by Adrian Thornton.