These are my final edited images from another photo shoot in the studio. The main purpose of this shoot was to experiment with different lighting techniques/colours.
This is two photos edited together. The original was two different people staring at each other, but I decided to take another darker photo of myself and edit it into the previous one. This give a bright/dark good/bad side effect.
This photo used two-point lighting. A spotlight with a green tint to the left, as well as a ring light positioned directly in front of the camera. The ring light isn’t visible as the camera was placed in the middle of the ring light. This results in a brighter image, but still keeps the colour lighting.
In both this, and the following photo I have used only one light source, this lights the model in the centre evenly with one colour, it also gives a big clear shadow to one side.
In this photo I used two-point lighting. There was a softbox placed to the right side at a slight angle, and a spotlight with a purple cover placed on the other side. This creates a warm and colourful effect.
The same lighting was used for this photo as the previous one. Only in this photo the camera is positioned nearer the purple tinted spotlight, which gives it a bigger overall impact on the face.
The art of destruction: Exploring manipulated studio portraits with Rankin and his collaborators.
Who is Rankin?
“Rankin made his name in publishing, founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992. It provided a platform for emerging stylists, designers, photographers and writers. The magazine went on to forge a distinctive mark in the arts and publishing spheres, and developed a cult status forming and moulding trends. It is responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in fashion to the foreground. Today, Dazed Media is a leading online fashion and cultural brand.
As both a photographer and director, Rankin has created landmark advertising and editorial campaigns. His body of work features some of the biggest and most celebrated publications, brands and charities, including Nike, L’Oreal, Dove, Pantene, Diageo, and Woman’s Aid. He has shot covers for the likes of Elle, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone and Wonderland.”
What the project is about:
Words from his website –
“This short project formed part of a unit of work entitled Photographic Techniques & Applications with my Year 10 class and took the form of a Controlled Assessment. To celebrate Youth Music’s 10th Birthday, celebrated photographer Rankin asked 70 musicians and visual artists to ‘destroy’ their own portraits. The participants included Joe Strummer, Ian Brown, Marianne Faithfull, Andre 3000, Michael Stipe and Kylie Minogue as well as bands like Pete and the Pirates, The Enemy and The View. For example, Florence Welch drew over her portrait with a metallic pen, inspired by her school days of decorating photos from magazines and Debbie Harry burnt, masked out, painted and stitched-up her picture to make a series of six ‘destroyed’ portraits. Damien Hirst painted over the portrait of Joe Strummer. Asked about this approach he said,“I tried to keep it about him as a person. I kept looking at the thing on the hand, where it said ‘Joe’. Joe Strummer was a great guy who I met, who was much more of a hero in real life. You don’t meet many people like that,”
I was keen to encourage my students to create proficient studio portraits, considering a range of technical issues, before destroying them, thinking about the particular strategies they might use to add other layers of meaning.”
The most basic and important form of light is natural light, generally referring to any light created by sunlight.
Photo by Filipe Costa
In other instances, ambient light (meaning the available light in an environment) can be considered as natural because it isn’t directly influenced by the photographer’s lighting equipment. This usually indicates natural lighting from outside that lights up a room through a window.
BENEFITS OF NATURAL LIGHT:
Natural light is a part of nature. It’s always around even if it’s a cloudy afternoon natural light is always readily available. There’s no equipment you have to buy or set up in order to do an outdoor photo shoot. Artificial light, on the other hand, takes time to set up and can cost the photographer a lot of money should a bulb break or burn out. If you are just beginning your career as a photographer, you are going to want to save money where you can.
NATURAL LIGHT IS EVERYWHERE
Natural light allows the photographer to have fun with locations without movie equipment everywhere. You can use reflectors if you chose, but they aren’t necessary if you don’t want them. Everywhere you go there is always going to be some form of natural light, so photographers don’t have to confine themselves to a studio.
NATURAL LIGHT IS CONSTANT
When you work in a studio, you have to spend time adjusting the lights to match the pose of your subject. Natural light doesn’t have to be adjusted; you will just need to find locations with the best lighting. Of course, the sun is going to set throughout the day so you have to plan around that. However, the setting sun is going to give a chance to create different atmospheres for the photos–depending on what the client wants.
NATURAL LIGHT CREATES ADDS AN AIRY QUALITY
When natural light comes through doors and windows, it can create an airy, romantic feeling to the picture the photographer takes. This effect isn’t as easy to achieve when artificial lights are used.
CLIENTS OFTEN PREFER NATURAL LIGHT
Clients will always have their own ideas of what lighting works best for them, and sometimes they’re right. Wedding photography, for example, is often done outside because natural light is really going to bring out the natural beauty of the bride and the groom. You’re also going to be able to get amazing shots during the final hours of daytime because those rays will really bring out the natural tones in someone’s skin.
Natural light is everywhere so any location can become a photographer’s studio. It’s a free light source so you will never have to worry about buying new bulbs. Natural light will bring out the natural beauty of the subjects, and they will fall in love with your photography. So, for your next photo shoot don’t be afraid to step outside the studio and see what nature has to offer.
Artificial Lighting
What is it?
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight.
There are four common types of artificial light sources used for photography today
Incandescent
Fluorescent
LED
Studio strobe
The challenges of using natural light are quite similar to those faced when shooting in artificial light. You must still understand how various light sources act upon a subject and how to produce the desired effect. Different sources of light can produce soft or hard light when shooting in a studio, but in this case, the photographer has direct control over elements such as hardness, distance, intensity, and angle. Furthermore, artificial light from different sources yields different color heat signatures. For instance, halogen bulbs are colder and produce a light that is blue in color, while tungsten bulbs, being hotter, produce light with a reddish hue.
Keep in mind that when you use different sources of artificial light, these must produce the same color heat signature. The only exception to this is if you’re shooting in black and white.
Photo by M.G.N. – Marcel
When it comes down to controlling and manipulating light, there are many options within photography, whether you’re dealing with artificial, natural, soft, or hard light. It comes down to understanding how images are affected by different lighting conditions, setting up the desired lighting environment, adjusting your camera settings (e.g., the white balance), and post-processing your picture in programs such as Gimp or Photoshop.
Definitions:
Intensity of the light – Light intensity refers to the strength or amount of light produced by a specific lamp source. It is the measure of the wavelength-weighted power emitted by a light source.
Direction of the light – Direction of light affects shadow placement and where darker/lighter spots are.
Temperature of the light and white balance –
The color of an object is affected by the lighting conditions under which it is viewed. Our eyes and our brain compensate for different types of light—that’s why a white object appears white to us whether it’s viewed in sunlight, under overcast skies or indoors under incandescent or fluorescent light. But digital cameras need help to emulate this process, to compensate for different types of lighting and render a white object white.
Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media such as theatre, video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. By using three separate positions, the photographer can illuminate the shot’s subject (such as a person) however desired, while also controlling (or eliminating entirely) the shading and shadows produced by direct lighting.
A portrait with three-point lighting: a 300 watt key light, a 150 watt back light, and fill light from a bounce board.
My own aim, action plan and technical features:
The aim for my 3 point lighting shoot was to use 3 different lights to capture a selection of images that demonstrate I can use the technique correctly whilst also trying to create images that are clear, in focus, and presentable. The lights were placed in 3 positions for some, with one in-front, one to the side and one on he other side. In a lot of the other photos there are a light in-front and behind the model and then a light slightly to the left. The technical features of these images included a wider aperture to allow a lot of light into the lens with a quicker shutter speed to keep the images harp incase the models move.
Contact Sheet:
Final Image Outcome:
Visual elements of this image include:
Visual elements of this image include a very simplistic array of colours which mainly consist of whites and yellows. The tone is fairly light and the texture, very smooth. There is a fair depth of field due to the shadows on and around the model which also creates a 3D object effect.
Here is the final image that I made. The solution to the moving tripod, I feel was successful as you cannot see anything that is not aligned without looking very closely at some parts. Other than the editing that it took to make the images of myself appear there was little else done, this was done because I got the exposure correct in camera and knew that if i changed it for one I would have to change it in the exact same way in the exact same amount for each layer, also leaving it with some parts slightly over exposed and some areas with a bit too much shadow means that the image is more realistic and life like and the exposure isn’t so far to one side that an area draws way too much attention and distracts from the whole image.
In most cases we can make use of natural or available / ambient light…but we must be aware of different kinds of natural light and learn how to exploit it thoughtfully and creatively.
uses of:
intensity of the light – creates brighter exposures and means that the shadows will be harder.
direction of the light – changing light direction will define the direction of the shadows, as well as create different moods and adds depth to the picture.
temperature of the light and white balance – makes an image warmer (orange) or cooler (blue) to convey different atmosphere.
Using reflectors (silver / gold) – redirects existing light to help the photographer manipulate light.
Using diffusers , tissue paper, colored gels, tracing paper etc – determines the intensity of light in your image as well as the intensity of the shadows.
Front / side / back lighting – frontal lighting will illuminate everything in your image, side lighting means that only one side of your image will be illuminated (this adds atmosphere and depth to the picture), back lighting can be used to make a subject a silhouette as your subject will be obscuring the light.
High Key / low key lighting – high key lighting has a low contrast, very few shadows, high exposure and soft front light. Low key lighting uses high contrast, hard and direct lighting,
Shadows / silhouettes – to show depth or create an atmosphere within the image.
I have been mainly experimenting with artificial lighting during the portrait unit, and have decided to further develop of using natural lighting from the first photo shoot I conducted.
For this photo shoot I decided to conducted outside when the sun had began to come out after a down pour of rain. It was slightly windy as well. I used a silver and a gold reflector to reflect the sunlight onto darker areas of my model, getting rid of the contrast in tones. Due to different areas being lighter and darker my white balance I used varied. I mainly has it on sunny or cloudy. My ISO was low as it stayed of 400 so that no noise was presented on my final images. Moreover, the shutter speed varied again to how lit up the area was. Within this photo shoot I experimented with using different depths of field to have my model in focus and the background slightly out of focus. I also mainly captured head shots of my model, but occasionally took a full body portrait of the modal.
Case Study
Unknown Photographers Work
When I first look at this image my eyes are immediately drawn to the woman who is smiling and staring straight down at the lens of the camera. They then move around the slightly blurred out background which shows that she is exploring some woodlands. Putting the two together I can understand that she is enjoying what she is doing. This is also supported by her straight body posture. The artificial lighting, the sun, is warm which also creates a happy tone towards the image. This photograph shown above has many technical elements which I believe makes it a good photograph. As mentioned before the girl is in focus and the background is out of focus, which means that a narrow depth of field has been created. The shutter speed must have been quick as the image is perfectly focused. This also means that the aperture is likely to be around f/5.6. Moreover, no noise is found within the image meaning that the ISO used is also likely to be low. The lighting is found behind the modal, as that is where the sun is at that time, which means no shadow of the modal is created. However, shadows of the background can be found on the grass. This helps makes the model stand out from the background. In addition, the photograph is presented in black and white which shows us all the color and allows the viewer to appreciate the scenery. From this case study, I have learnt that a good outdoor portrait should be in color, but I may experiment in black and white, it would be nice to use a narrow depth of field and the facial expressions and posture of the model is important.
Contact Sheets
Edits
Within these edits I just adjusted the levels and curves to ensure the photographs where sharp. I believe that these images have been one of the most successful photographs that I have taken so far as they clearly show good camera control, due to the different techniques I have used. In the three edits you are able to see a narrow depth of field as the modal is in focus leaving the background slightly blurred. This ensures that the viewers attention will be focused on. Moreover, the photographs clearly show no intended noise and clearly shows the correct white balance, shutter speed and aperture
“I myself have always stood in the awe of the camera. I recognize it for the instrument it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel.”
Irving Penn
Irving Penn (1917-2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits and still lifes. Penn’s career included work at Vogue Magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Issey Miyake and Clinique. His work has been exhibited internationally and continues to inform the art of photography.
Irving Penn’s iconic covers for Vogue Magazine showcased the clean lines and tapered waists of Postwar Paris and New York, and transformed the aesthetic of the fashion industry. Penn removed everything from the shot but the clothing and the model. His dramatically lit figures are essentially living, breathing sculptures. Inspired by Surrealism, Modern dance, and film noir, his images register as provocative visual statements, not just commercial photographs. With a firm grasp on the geometry of the body, the psychology of consumerism, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of art, Penn lifted fashion photography into the realm of high art.
In the 1970s, the world still viewed commercial photography and art as two separate fields. By making high quality prints from some of his earliest photographs, Penn helped audiences see that the tonal richness and variation of his photographs could be just as subtle as a Goya or a Rembrandt etching.
Penn was the first artist to fully recognize the potential for blending elements of fashion photography with portraiture. More than just live mannequins for the clothes, Penn’s models became psychologically complex, if still otherworldly, individuals.
Irving Penn | The Queen of Freckles
Above is a famous photograph taken by Penn titled The Queen of Freckles. It showcases his technique of using a plain white background behind his subject to put all the focus on the model. The model in this picture has long eyelashes and thick lips, as well as an ornate ring on her finger. She fits with the style of most of his fashion photographs which is class and elegance. Penn used the freckles to his advantage, and instead of covering them up, he made them stand out. Penn created a new style of photography and redefined the image of beauty with this photograph, as ‘imperfections’ like freckles were often covered up in this time. The subject of this photograph is in the centre and takes up almost the entire frame. Our eyes are drawn to her eyes which are framed with thick lashes. The model is looking straight at the camera. This photograph represents beauty and that it has more than one definition.
Below shows one example of Penn’s ‘Corner Portraits’ where he would put celebrities or his models into tight corners and awkward poses that revealed unfamiliar elements of their personalities to the camera. This was a favourite setup of Penn’s in the 1940s, he would often put them at a very tight angle, sometimes alone, sometimes with a prop (like Capote’s chair). The lighting is very simple, the walls are a light colour, which act as a bit of a fill, bouncing light into some of the shadow areas and increasing the range of tones in the final image.
Irving Penn | Truman Capote | 1948
Personal Responses To Irving Penn
Set Up
Above shows the set-up that I used and started with for this shoot. I used one of the smaller lights with the soft box over it to diffuse some of the light. I also used some of the lights that came above from the lighting rig and down onto her from above. This set up worked for me as it allowed enough light to fill the area and also allowed me to move the smaller lights to where I needed them to light her.
Contact Sheet of Shoot
Above shows my contact sheet from the shoot in the studio. It shows the range of positions I placed Ellie in to either conceal her face with fabric or clothes or reveal it and pronounce it with her hands. Unfortunately not all of the photographs produced became as clear and sharp as I wanted however there were a couple of successful ones which I went forward to edit into black and white as a response to Irving Penn.
Best Responses Edited into Black and White
Own Response
Above is a direct response to Irving Penn’s photograph ‘Queen of Freckles’ however here I feel I am particularly interested in Ellie’s eyes instead of something like freckles, her eyes for me are a feature that stand out as they are large open and wide which is why I always had her lock eyes with the camera.
Own Response
Here above again I am trying to make the focus to Ellie’s eyes by having her hide her face behind the flower and having it sit just below her eyes to try and emphasis them in a different almost ‘conceal and reveal’ kind of way.
Own Response
This is a more subtle kind of ‘conceal and reveal’. Unlike the other photographs I wasn’t specifically trying to focus in on her eyes or anything specific however I still had her look directly at the camera.
Own Response
Below shows an experiment that I produced with the flower being the only part of the photograph in colour which is something I think was good to experiment with not necessarily in response to Irving Penn but as a quick experiment that I could maybe explore more in portraits.
I conducted a photo shoot to explore all the different types of lighting within studio photography. The types of lighting I looked at was:
One Point Lighting
Two Point Lighting
Three Point Lighting
Ring Lighting
Warm/Cold Lighting
Intensity of the Light
Lighting Rig (On Ceiling)
All these lighting techniques have been explained in previous blog posts.
Set Up
My main light source had a diffuse on it making it a soft light, this was angles slightly to the right of my models face, making a chiaroscuro effect. I then added an additional light which was angles to the left of my model, this evenly lit up my model. Finally I used another light at the back. This was raised on a tripod and was facing directly down onto the model, making the model stand out from the background. Due to this it started to create an element of 3D in my photographs. I then played around with turning some of these lights off, but keeping them in the same place, to see what effect I could create. Moreover, I experimented with ring lighting. This is a singular light which is shaped as a circle, the light is usually quite cold and harsh. You are also able to see the ring of the light in the models eye. When using this light, I made sure it was my only light source. I positioned it to face directly at my model’s face. I then placed my camera through the gap in the middle to capture the model. With this lighting I experimented with the different background colors and the different types of white balance. Additionally, using this lighting I looked at taking macro photographs of my models eye, where you are able to see the ring. Finally, the last lighting set up I used where the ceiling lighting rig. I experimented by using the different lights and their positioning. With some of these photographs I also used the soft box light to make my model more lit up.
Another technique I looked at while trying to capture these photographs was, high key and low key. In my first set of photo shoots in the studio I mainly focused on low key where there is a lot of shadows and contrast found in the image. This time around I looked at high key photographs, where the images are much lighter and too some extent are over exposed. To capture these images I used harsh cold lighting and adjusted my white balance to make the images seem over exposed. Furthermore, I tended to stick with a white background in order to add to the effect of a high key image. When I come to edit these photographs my intention is to use the levels and curves to make these photographs seem brighter than they actually are which will also help to present these images as high key photographs.
Contact Sheets
Edits
These edits are the best outcomes from using ring lighting. Due to previous photo shoots conducted, the other techniques of lighting can be found in there outcomes. When it came to editing I simply adjusted the levels and curves to ensure that my images where sharp.
This macro photograph is of the ring light reflecting into my models eye. I decided to capture this as I believed that it was interesting and peculiar to look at. Due to the image being macro it allows the viewer to see all the detail of the facial features, from the eyebrows to the veins in the eye. This helps to present the formal element of line and texture.
In this final outcome I tried to use the inside of the ring light to frame my model. This has helped to make the model the main focus point of the image. Moreover, I used wind to move around the models hair which has allowed movement and an element of 3D to be found in this image.
Textures in Photoshop can be used to create different compositions by adding noise or colour or to enhance the purpose of an image.
It can be achieved by adding a texture or other image over the top of your final image, decreasing the opacity to blend the two or more layers together, creating the illusion that the image was made that way.
Mood Board:
The addition of textures to the appropriate compositions can enhance the power or effect of the image. It can also emphasise the message or story behind the photo by adding a second layer of visual “context” to the photo, giving further meaning or background to the ideas or concepts being presented.
This is two photos edited together. The original was two different people staring at each other, but I decided to take another darker photo of myself and edit it into the previous one. This give a bright/dark good/bad side effect.
This photo used two-point lighting. A spotlight with a green tint to the left, as well as a ring light positioned directly in front of the camera. The ring light isn’t visible as the camera was placed in the middle of the ring light. This results in a brighter image, but still keeps the colour lighting.
In both this, and the following photo I have used only one light source, this lights the model in the centre evenly with one colour, it also gives a big clear shadow to one side.
In this photo I used two-point lighting. There was a softbox placed to the right side at a slight angle, and a spotlight with a purple cover placed on the other side. This creates a warm and colourful effect.
The same lighting was used for this photo as the previous one. Only in this photo the camera is positioned nearer the purple tinted spotlight, which gives it a bigger overall impact on the face.
