What I would do differently when taking street photography images is change the settings for the camera focus to AI Servo, this would allow me to get sharper and less blurry images of moving people. I would also go to areas in St Helier like king street which are usually busy and full of people. This would allow me to capture more images.
When using the studio to take portraits there are 4 types of light you can use; red-head (soft/harsh light), ring light, spot light and flash light. I experimented with all types of lighting and came to a conclusion that I prefer flash lighting and lighting formed by red-head lights.
CHIAROSCURO – USING HARSH & SOFT LIGHT
Chiaroscuro is an Italian term for ‘light-dark’ Artists who are well-known for the use of chiaroscuro are Leonardo De Vinci, who gave vivid impression of three-dimensional figures. The effect started off in paintings and photographers slowly got inspired by the effect and brought it to photography. The ‘Mona Lisa’ is a prime example of the chiaroscuro effect.
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When experimenting with the chiaroscuro affect, I mainly had to focus on the contrast of light and dark, these types of photo give off a sense of volume and boldness through the photo. The image tends to have one side of the face lighten up by a studio light, which tends to be harsh to the face, which then causes the other half of the face to hide in shadow. Here are a few examples of chiaroscuro portraits.
MY RESPONSE
EVALUATION
To get this style of photo I shined a soft light, to the side of the girls face and I used a black background so the chiaroscuro effect would be more defined and bold. I took these photos using a manual setting, I had the shutter speed at 1/200, this is so the camera wouldn’t take in all the light that was available and I had the ISO on 100 so the camera wasn’t too sensitive too light, otherwise my images would’ve been over exposed and too white. I feel that using a stronger more harsh light shows the chiaroscuro effect more. The strong light creates a bold shadow on the other half of the face making you focus in on the side that is lit up and in center focus on the image.
RING LIGHITING
Ring lighting allowed me to really focus on the detail of facial features. I could sit the camera in the middle of the ring, which allowed me to get stability so my photo wouldn’t be blurry and I could get the persons face in the center of the image.
The ring light could be adjusted by a dimmer, making a stronger or weaker light. I prefers the stronger light as it made a more powerful image. When photographing using the ring light, I again used manual focus, had my ISO on 100 so the camera wouldn’t be to sensitive to the bright light and my shutter speed on 1/400, this allowed me to get a sharp image that wasn’t over exposed due to the lighting. Here are a few results of using ring lighting;
EVALUATION
This type of lighting is one of my preferred because it highlights the area you want to focus on. The strong lighting creates a soft tone on the skin. With the white background it makes the subjects pop and become the center of focus. Ring lighting can be used in many different ways, to get your concept across to the viewers, these images where just experimental for the next time I shoot with a concept. The images have a sharp focus to them, that is clear for viewers to understand what is in the image.
FLASH LIGHTING
Flash lightening tends to be used when photographers take school photos, or family portraits.
This light is covered by a cover to make the flash softer on the skin when the image is taken. A device is put on top of your camera and then is connected to the light, which controls the flash, so that when you press down the capture button it sets of a flash so that the subject is captured in a sharp light. Some of the images I produce with this lighting are; 
EVALUATION
This lighting allows you to capture your image how you want it. It creates a soft tone throughout the image and with the white background it makes the images look sharp and fresh. This type of lighting is my favorite.
FINAL IMAGES
These images are my favorites out over the 3 shoots I have done in the studio using different types of lighting. With experimenting with the different types of lighting and how to adjust my camera to the different lighting I feel I can now apply it to when I am photographing in the studio again but next time having a concept behind my images can make them more connectable to the viewers.
Chiaroscuro:
While 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.
Chiaroscuro is achieved by using one point lighting to illuminate one side of the face while the rest of the face and background remain in shadow. It creates bold images which are often composed in black and white to further enhance the effect. It allows for a strong sense of form with very little exposure of the subject’s full appearance. This can be used to emphasise elegance or tone of a figure, as well as beauty and structure of the face. This is why chiaroscuro is often used to create aesthetic images as opposed to more thought provoking or meaningful photos.
Mood Board:
My Response:
Best Images:
When lighting a studio setup, dramatic lighting is important. Create dramatic lighting by producing a lot of contrast. This means that dark areas are just as important as light areas. Dramatic lighting requires a number of light sources placed in a way to create very light and very dark areas. The most basic studio lighting arrangement uses a key light (1), a fill light (2), and a back light (3). This is the most common lighting arrangement for standalone characters and objects in the studio. A three-point setup will give good results right away and is an excellent starting point for creating special effects. Spotlights are useful because you can control their direction and hot spot to give the scene drama. http://docs.mcneel.com.s3.amazonaws.com/flamingo/nxt/help/en-us/lighting/studio_lighting_basics.htm
Key light: The key light is the dominant light in the scene. It sets the mood, provides direction, shows dimension and texture, and creates the darkest shadows. Fill light: The fill light is placed just above the lens on the opposite side from the key light. Its purpose is to reduce contrast and bring out detail in the shadows by simulating light reflected off nearby objects. The key light and fill light may be of equal intensity for a low-contrast result, but the key light is usually brighter and harder than the fill light. The fill light should not introduce any more dark shadows into the scene. Back light: The backlight effect is subtle but can define the edges of objects in the scene and add depth by preventing objects from blending into the background. Backlights are usually placed behind and above the object and are pointed toward the camera. The effectiveness of backlights depends in part on the reflectivity of the surfaces they are lighting. http://docs.mcneel.com.s3.amazonaws.com/flamingo/nxt/help/en-us/lighting/studio_lighting_basics.htm
In my first studio lighting shoot I am going to try to create both contrast by having one half of the face with the light, and the other half with a shadow. I am also going to experiment with filters and using two lights on either side of the face. I will also experiment with shooting onperson, two people and then three people to see how the light works with numerous people. There are two lights that I am going to switch between my images, a light with a soft box and a redhead light. With the red head light I also placed coloured filters over to experiment with.
As you can see I experimented with soft light, hard light, colour filters and multiple people. I also experimented with different white balances, creating a warm tone in some images. The shadowing of the soft box creates a contrast across the face betwen light and dark. It adds mystery and depth to the image. I stood fairly close to the models while taking the images however I also wanted to include the black background in the image because I feel it makes the models stand out more.
I chose to manipulate these images because they were the most focused and aesthetically pleasing images. I feel that the curly haired model Aimee has very photogenic eyes which make the image more interesting.
I manipulated all of these images using adobe lightroom. I adjusted general settings such as contrast, highlights, shadows, exposure, vibrance, saturation and clarity. However, with some images I also experimented with presets. For example, my image of my friend Aimee in black and white was applied with the black and white filter "punch". I then slightly adjusted the exposure, highlights and contrast.
Overall I did like the outcome of my images. Once again I need to perfect my focusing skillsbecause some of my images are still slightly blurry. I also need to experiment with different lighting techniques such as using two lights at once. I would also like to experiment more with composing my images to make it look more interesting and maybe using male models aswell so I can compare and see if I have to take my images any differently.
In photography light coming in from the outside can be used as an alternative to artificial lighting when capturing an image. This is known as ‘window lighting’.
There is several ways in which you can photograph a person using window lighting.
RED: Not usable.
YELLOW: Maybe/Needs editing.
GREEN: Usable image.
To capture this photo I had the subject face slightly away from the source of light. This made one side of his face more illuminated than the other. The photo also has soft lighting as it was cloudy outside, which means that the shadows on the subject’s face are not very harsh and dark.
WORK STRATEGY:
WHO – for this photo shoot, I selected two models for my shoot which I thought would be suitable to photograph, people who are quite photogenic in nature.
WHAT – the main objective of this photo shoot was to experience the studio and the way in which it is most suitable to work in, using different types of lighting, backdrops and gel filters.
WHEN – the images were taken during school time, regardless of the time of day, artificial lighting lit the photo shoot.
WHERE -the images were captured in the school studio, specially designed for taking photographs.
WHY – to understand the most suitable ways in which to photograph people, and how to set up equipment specially designed for a studio environment. To also work with models and instruct them on their positioning.
HOW – I used my regular DSLR camera for this photo shoot, using the artificial lighting provided.
SUCCESSFUL IMAGES: 
MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAGE ANALYSIS:
TECHNICAL:
In terms of exposure, in order to capture this image the exposure of my camera had to be set very high, to ISO 3200, the highest setting on the camera. The red gel filter which we placed on the light source highly darkened the surrounding studio, contributing to the high ISO used. The f stop was also set quite high at f/5.6 in order to let as much light as possible into the camera. In order to achieve clean and crisp images, the shutter speed was set to 1/200. I also urged the models to have as little movement as possible to avoid motion blur. To add to the crisp nature of the image, we used the white infinity screen to provide a blank canvas for the models to pose on. This accentuated the model and lightened up the image, making the red more prominent.
VISUAL:
Chiaroscuro lighting is an artistic term dating back to the Renaissance that is noted by the contrast between dark and light. It is often times used in a bold manner so that it has a noticeable and dramatic effect on the entire composition of a work. It was one of the main aspects we wanted to capture in the photographs. The red gel filter applied over the top of the light source means that there is a chiaroscuro effect that includes color adding to the dramatic effect of the image. The dark surroundings and overall red tone in the images gives a creepy aura and a feeling of mystery and tension. The one faulty aspect of this image is the exposure. It was challenging to to not underexpose the image, making it dark and hard to distinguish the model, or overexpose it, making the highlights too strong and prominent. In order to retain the outline of the model, i chose to slightly overexpose the image. Rather than only capturing the face of the model, I attempted doing a full body shot. I angled the camera from a low angle to create power play between the camera and the model. This gives her a sense of importance and a grand stance. Irregularities in the gel filter placed on the light means that parts of the image are darker than others. Although undesired, it gave a nice effect, differentiating the tones in the background, The model is making clear eye contact with the camera which connects the viewer and the photo.
CONCEPTUAL:
The main concept of these images was to experiment with various items in the studio and to get used to the environment. It allowed us to use various backgrounds such as the black curtain and infinity screen, both creating different effects when used in images. When the black curtain is used, it adds darkness and mystery to the images, as it means that only the models are illuminated. When the white infinity screen is used, all the attention is drawn to the models, such as the face or clothing.
CONTEXTUAL:
Since the early years of the 20th century the business functions of a photographic studio have increasingly been called a “photographic agency,” leaving the term “photographic studio” to refer almost exclusively to the workspace.
The history of photographic studios and photography dates back to 19th century with the first camera. The earliest photographic studios made use of painters’ lighting techniques to create photographic portraits. During that era the nothing was better than the sunlight with open window as the primary source of light of painters. Photographic studios started using flashes in 1840. However, not everyone could afford it as they were quite expensive and dangerous. These flashes were also known as ‘hot lights’ and could have exploded. By 1860s they were in common use in professional studios. ‘Tungsten Lights’ or ‘Hot Lights’ were still in use. In around 70s even smaller studios got access to flash lights or strobes.
CONTACT SHEETS:
When doing this photo shoot, we experimented with various features in the studio, using both the black curtain and infinity screen. We also captured various angles of the models, from close-ups to full body shots. At points we also used two point lighting, using the soft box and red heads in conjunction to light the images. Halfway through i switched out the models in order to capture the varying characters of the people.
Unedited
Edited
These are my final images, I would have liked to have more but because I was shooting on film and the focus is completely manual an that I had the aperture as low as I could, the depth of field was less forgiving. Both of these lead to some images not being focused correctly and then not being composed in the way that I wanted them to be.
For the editing of my photos I used photoshop to raise the exposure levels on the photos and raise the contrast levels I also brightened the shadows, the reason that I did this is because I was using a 200iso roll of film this meant that I was limited with the amount of exposure that I could input without slowing down the shutter speed dramatically as I didn’t have a tripod or a mono-pod.
