Monthly Archives: November 2017

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AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Homework Assignment

Week 11 | Tableau and Constructed Portraits | Get Creative!

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You will now have 2 weeks to explore a range of ideas and techniques that demonstrate a creative understanding of identity and self portrait…

D e a d l i n e   =    F r i d a y    1 st   D e c e m b e r ( your 3 strongest images will be sent off for printing and then we will mount / frame your work)

How to order your prints :

  1. choose your images
  2. copy the jpegs into M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTING AS Nov 2017
  3. Label the files with your name

Example Of Portrait Blog from last year…

You must provide ample evidence of the following…

  • a mind-map that shows your ideas and influences
  • a mood-board to show your visual influences
  • a definition and examples of tableau, self-portrait and identity in photography
  • a case study that shows your understanding of an influential photographer, including analysis and interpretation of a key image
  • a range of photo-shoots to underpin your mini-project, inspired by your chosen photographer
  • a selection of the most successful photos from your initial photoshoot(s) including SELF PORTRAITS
  • formal analysis of your strongest image
  • a range of editing and presentation techniques
  • a final image ( or group of 2 , 3)
  • an evaluation of your entire process, including screen shots and comparisons to the work of others…

HOMEWORK = 1-3 photo-shoots (50-150 images per shoot)

Themes you could choose from…

  • gender identity
  • cultural identity
  • social identity
  • geographical identity
  • lack of / loss of identity

 

 

Make sure you refer to the powerpoint we have used in class to discuss a range of artists and their approaches to identity / self-portrait…

Then…

research and explore ways to present your work and create a blog post that articulates this clearly…

  • A5 / A4 / A3 PRINTS (colour or b/w)
  • in mountcard
  • on foamboard
  • structurally / 3-d
  • other ?…think about composition, groupings and “clusters” of images

Keywords to use for this unit…

  • perception
  • viewpoint (POV)
  • genre
  • context
  • composite image
  • collage
  • montage
  • signs
  • symbols
  • metaphors
  • codes
  • juxtaposition

You may want to explore personal possessions or personal spaces like in this link…

PERSONAL POSSESSIONS

 

Photoshop Tip of the Week

Using the dodge and burn tools to adjust exposure…

 

photoshop-burn-tool

Burn = darken (check your exposure % and size of brush!)

Dodge = Lighten  (check your exposure % and size of brush!)

 

Demonstrate a range of editing, manipulating, enhancing and presentation techniques.

You can explore Adobe Photoshop , Adobe Bridge and also Lightroom (extra class on Tuesday 21st LUNCHTIME)

You can explore manual editing techniques….like this

scan objects in photography

You should  experiment with a range of presentation ideas.

You should exploit a range of editing apps and Instagram filters.

W e  w a n t   y o u   to   s h o w   y o u r

                     c r e a t i v i t y…

Photoshop Key Skills | 1 x blog post per skill
  • Double exposures / opacity control / Look at Adam Goldberg)
  • Blending options and overlays, textures, frames
  • Cut and paste (Look at Hannah Hoch) and Free Transform (Ctrl T) to create composite images (Photomontage) inspired by “Dada-ism”
  • Layer Via Copy (Ctrl J)  (see Christopher Relander) and Paste Special commands ( Selection Tools + Layer Mask to reveal)
  • Joiner portraits (see David Hockney)
  • Juxtaposing portraits (see John Stezaker and Joachim Schmid)
  • Blurring techniques (motion, lens, gaussian etc)

Remember >>> Use your own photographs <<<

Soon you should have 3-5  carefully edited responses…clearly displayed as “Personal Responses” (AO4) and these will be printed for you ready to display.

EXTENSION

  1. Choose 1-3 examples from “CREATIVE IDEAS” on the side bar.
  2. Create your own version of the examples using the same technique as described and as used by your choice of artist
  3. Add to a new blog post with comparison and evaluation
History and Theory

Studio Lighting

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Why do we use studio lighting?

We use studio lighting when we want to control illumination, the subject as well as the camera and exposure settings.
Studio lighting  (strobes, reflectors, diffusers etc.)  offers us that control.

Image result for picture of photography studio

Shooting Mode:

Manual mode is often preferred once an initial exposure is established. If you’re shooting your camera in Manual Mode, and your flash in manual mode, you’ll also adjust flash intensities and then apertures. If your images are dark, you increase the intensity of your flash and/or use a smaller (higher) aperture. If your test images are overexposed, you decrease the intensity of your flash and/or use a larger (lower) aperture.

Image result for lighting in photography techniques

One Point Lighting

In many occasions, a single source of light creates a very natural, sometimes dramatic look that will draw people’s attention to the single lighted person or surface- a single source looks two dimensional or flat, and rarely hits people straight on, so it creates shadows.

Two point Lighting

When you want the subtleness of a single light source but want your people to stand out in 3D, two-point lighting can be a great way to add dimensionality without going overboard on your lighting.

Three point Lighting

The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image.

  • The Key Light – This is the main light used on your subject. (The purpose of the key light is to put the light on the subject. You can place it anywhere you want, but a common placement is about 45 degrees to either side of the camera, and about 45 degrees up from the subject.)
  • The Fill Light – The purpose of this light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark. (The purpose of the fill light is simply to fill in the shadows caused by the key light. One thing to be cautious about — the fill light should not create a second shadow. If you see two shadows, that means the fill light is too powerful and needs to be reduced.)
  • The Back Light – This is used to separate the subject from the background.
What is Chiarascuro ?

Chiarascuro is an oil painting technique, developed during the Renaissance, that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect (it is a method of painting which imparts a sense of very directional light falling on the subject.) Artists known for developing the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt.

Some examples:

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Studio Lighting Photo Shoot

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Why do we use studio lighting?

We use studio lighting because it gives us more freedom to control the conditions that the subject is in. For example we can adjust the angle, brightness and color of the lights so that we can have the settings we desire to have the picture taken in.

What is 3 point lighting?
Three point lighting is split into three different points: Key lights, fill lights and back lights.

Key lights: Usually the main and strongest light, with the most influence in the shoot, and is placed on one side of the camera so that the other has some shadow.

Fill lights: The secondary light that is placed on the other side of the camera from the key light, to fill in some of the shadows using softer lighting.

Back lights: This is placed behind the subject to provide some lighting from the back, with its purpose to provide definition and some highlights in the picture, which helps separate the subject from the backdrop.

In this shoot I used the artificial lighting provided by the spotlights, to create a dramatic, almost black background, whilst using a red film to cast a reddish shadow onto the subjects face. I tried to position the subject's face using the rule of thirds, so that the eye was drawn to the face almost immediately, whilst blending in some of the subject's clothes into the darkness to create a smooth visually pleasing image.

This was my response:

Final pictures:
I chose this image because I loved how the subject emerged from the darkness through the slow faint gradient of the red. This I found created a more dramatic effect to the overall image taken.What I liked about this image was how not all of the subjects profile was shown, as there is a clear contrast between the light and dark side of the face. This created a more abstract effect where the body seemingly is materializing from the darkness.I found that the clear definition between certain points of the subjects face, such as the neck and forehead allowed from a most striking and dramatic look from the individual. What I really liked about this image was the use of the main light only being used. By doing so it created a circular spotlight illuminating only the top half of the subject's body, whilst making an imposing and strong contrasted image.The use of the shadow in this image allows for a strong contrast created by the singular spotlight, to which the slight gradient around the edges makes the overall image more sinister.
AO1 Develop Ideas, Coursework

Studio Lighting – Chiaroscuro

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Why do we use studio lighting?

Studio lighting offers a more sophisticated level of control. You can adjust the light in numerous ways to produce infinite outcomes.

What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide>

The numbers refer to the amount of light sources at the scene of the shoot. Photographs taken with only 1 light will be a lot darker and ominous than the other. Images with 1 light tend to show only half of the subject’s face; this is because the intensity of the shadows allows the part of the face that isn’t illuminated to blend in with the darkness. 2 point lighting, however, is brighter than 1 and this allows the shadows to be a lot softer and more of the face to be revealed. 3 point lighting is much brighter than the other two, the subject is fully illuminated and shadows are not visible; the point of this is to erase any creases and create a whiter canvas.

What is fill lighting?/ What is Spill Lighting?

It is any source of illumination that lightens (fills in) areas of shadow created by other lights. Most often,fill light is used to lighten the shadows created by the main light. Spill light, however,  is the light that illuminates surfaces beyond the property line. An example would be the light on a bedroom wall coming through the window.

What is Chiaroscuro ?

 it is an Italian artistic term used to describe the dramatic effect of contrasting areas of light and dark in an artwork, particularly paintings. It comes from the combination of the Italian words for “light” and “dark.” It also applies to a far wider array of dramatic lighting effects, particularly in movies; anything dark and moody with great slashes of shadow.

The images above portray chiaroscuro and showcase its main aspects. The lighting used is classed as ‘lowkey’ meaning that most images are creates in a ‘low’ light environment.

Source

AO3 Record Ideas

Studio Lighting Shoot/Response To Rankin

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Contact sheet 


Best Images 


Overall Final images 

  Best Image with Flash 

In this image I used two different types of lighting, I used the red-head light to create the slightly warmer tones that you can see in the backdrop of the image, as well as the flash from my camera which has slightly cooler tones which when put together balance each other out.I took this image with an average shutter speed so that I could capture the light from the flash but to also to capture some of the darker tones in the image. One thing that I do that could be improved in the image would be if i would of used a back light to create  a 3-point lighting set up as by not using that set up a shadows has been cased behind the model which effects the overall quality of the image I feel.

Best image using artificial lighting 

To create this image I used artificial lighting, I used a single light on the right-hand side of the image, to cast a shadow over half of the models face so one side would be darker/in the shadows and the other illuminated with the orange light from the gel, which had been placed over the light to create a dramatic atmosphere. To set up the shoot for this image  I had the spotlight further forward so that the white backdrop wasn’t heavily featured  in the image, I also wanted the model to have an object to interact with but that would also look natural when being used, which I why I decided to a tabletop I also wanted the reflected of the model to reflected on to the top of the table which I think that has been achieved.I used a slightly slower shutter speed to allow more light into the image, but not so sow that the image became blurry, I also used a low ISO so lessen the grain within the image.

Coursework

What is Chiarascuo ?

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What is Chiaroscuro ?– This is an Italian word which means ‘light-dark’. Artists who have used the technique include  Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio. Leonardo employed it to give a vivid impression of the three-dimensional of his figures, while Caravaggio used such contrasts for the sake of drama.

Image result for chiaroscuro lighting

Chiaroscuro in Photography – The term chiaroscuro originates from the Renaissance period and is often associated with painting or drawing, it has evolved into the photographic world and now often simply means strong and bold contrasts between light and dark areas in a photograph.

My Response To Chiaroscuro

 

 

 

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas

Studio Lighting Techniques

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Why Do We Use Studio Lighting?

We use studio lighting because it enables the photographer to create a controlled environment to capture the exact photograph that you want. Studio lighting allows you to completely control how hard/soft the light is, the intensity of it and the direction of which it is coming from. It is easy to adapt the studio lights to create the best shot possible by highlighting certain parts of the subjects face and reflecting light in different directions.

Image result for studio lighting

What is the Difference Between 1-2-3 Point Lighting?

Three point lighting is a method used in studio photography in which uses three separate positions for light sources so that the photographer can illuminate the subject in the exact way that he/she wants to. The first light is a key light, which is usually the strongest light and sets the lighting of the scene. The second light is the fill light which helps to fill the shadows that the key light casts to prevent a distracting contrast. The last light is called a back light and is used to create separation and contour. the back light helps to illuminate the model from the back for example, the models hair being lit up.

Image result for 3 point lighting

What is Fill Lighting?

Fill light is any source of illumination that lightens or fills in areas of shadow created by other lights. Most of the time, fill light is used to lighten the shadows created by the key light. Below is an example of which shows how fill lighting creates an effect.

Image result for fill lighting

What is Spill Lighting?

Spill lighting is the light that falls where it was not intended to fall. This creates a distracting effect within images which can really negatively effect your pictures. Image result for what is spill lighting photography

What is Chiaroscuro? 

Chiaroscuro is a lighting technique that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model 3D forms with a dramatic effect.  This technique creates a great deal of drama and mystery which i think is a great way to portray feelings and stories.

Image result for what is chiaroscuro photography

Analysis, AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Extension, History and Theory, Knowledge and Understanding, Threshold Concepts, Uncategorized

Photoshop Burn And Dodge Tools

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What is the burn and dodge tool?

The burn and dodge tool allow you to either darken or lighten an image of your choice. This can be used to create dramatic effect within an image, and so can use it to lighten dark areas or darken parts you want to stand out the most. This is used in portraiture due to how it can be used to make certain features stand out above the rest, such as making one side of the face darker.

The image below shows the effects of dodge and burn to a grey surface:
 

I wanted to apply this to an image of mine to see the effects that could be made. These were my steps:

1) Navigate to the selection bar on the left, and pick the burn tool. 

2) Select a suitable size for the brush to match the face, and go over the parts of the face I want to darken once. 

3) Go back to the bar on the left and select the dodge tool instead, from there I lightened the parts of the image I wanted to have a clear contrast from the darkness.