Overall the experience was good for my confidence and it put me out of my comfort zone. The anticipation of this shoot was fairly scary as I don’t feel comfortable taking pictures of people that I don’t personally know. I can know say I have huge amounts of respect for street photographers, you need to be confident in your personality and camera skills, because everything is happening so fast and to be able to take a sharp photo which is in focus takes skill. Although I did get some good final outcomes from this shoot there are many photos which were a large part of trial and error. Due to the changing of location from the bright sunny street to the dark dingy market, it made it hard for me to adjust the camera to get the right exposure, so in some of my photos it’s either too dark you can’t see detail on people faces or the light in the background is over exposed and the background becomes too bright.
In this particular photo it was under-exposed, so i had to lighten the picture in Photoshop in order for the taxi-drivers face to become clear.
This was one of my favourite photos from from the shoot because of the sharpness of the women, but yet again my exposure was faulty and the sky was over-exposed, lucky cropping easily solved the problem.
Final Piece
Although this picture was blurred, unfocused and lacked sharpness, i still liked it. I cropped it to get rid of the negative space on the floor and provide more focus towards the light and men. I liked how the blurriness of the photo represents the constant movement in the street and how everything moves like clockwork in town on the week days with everyone as work.
There are many possible techniques that can be used in a studio setup, these can be used to achieve various effects, such as minimising shadows, exaggerating shapes or highlighting certain areas of the frame.
One-point lighting:
We are used to seeing this type of lighting every day in nature, in the form of sunshine. 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. And if it’s good enough for nature, there will be times is will easily bee good enough for taking photos. As anyone can see with a walk around the park, a single source looks two dimensional or flat, and rarely hits people straight on, so it creates shadows.
This is an example of an image taken using one-point lighting.
Two-point lighting:
This lighting method is used when you want the subtleness of a single light source but you want the person/object to stand out, and appear more 3D. Its a great way to add depth to photos without going overboard. There is still quite a potential for shadowing if a person turns their head either direction, but where a little shadowing is okay, this can be an effective way to bring focus.
This is an example of an image taken using two-point lighting.
Three-point lighting:
Not everyone is happy with the shadows that two-point lighting can produce, so the obvious solution is to have two lighting points at the front with a back light to try get rid of the shadow.
This is an example of an image taken using three-point lighting.
I chose these final images because they best show the daily lives of people in St. Helier. They all seem to be getting on with their lives, they each have a place that they’re going to or a situation that they’re dealing with, and i think that aspect shows nicely in these images.
Street photography is when you capture interesting photographs of regular, everyday people outside in public. Street photography is very interesting because you are ale to capture so many different types of people, that all look unique in their own way.
To be a successful street photographer I think that you have to have an eye for detail but also an interest in different types of people, in order to notice them and be able to photograph them. I also think that it takes a lot of confidence. After experimenting with street photography myself, I realized that it is not as easy as it seems, and that’s its actually a lot harder than I though to be able to take successful images, as standing in the street taking images of people passing by requires you to be a lot bolder than you think.
There are many different approaches that you can take to street photography. Some photographers prefer to take more candid images where the people they’re photographing don’t really notice they’re there, while other photographers like Dougie Wallace and Bruce Gilden prefer to surprisingly picture people very up close with bright flashes. Each of these 2 approaches give you different outcomes:
Garry Winogrand, New York, ca. 1960.
As you can see, this outcome shows that if you take a more subtle approach to capturing people. you get a more candid outcome which makes the image look a lot more natural and realistic.
Image by Dougie Wallace, “Harrodsburg”
On the other hand, Wallace’s more loud, and surprising approach to photographing people means that in his images all the subjects react with the camera, as you can see in his image above where all the women he pictured are looking at the camera.
High key lighting is a method often used in beauty and makeup commercials and modeling. A high key look gives the subject fewer shadows and makes them look flawless and elegant. It produces an even amount of light that spreads across an entire scene. I
A high key lighting style often involves a soft key light directly above the camera — and not too close to the subject. Positioning the light directly in front of the talent creates less shadow, making the skin look softer and smoother. Usually, these lights will be large and bright. High key lighting can also produce a catch light in the subject’s eyes.
For this experimentation I purposely wanted all of my compositions to be blurry. I wanted to do this because we are all keeping a hold of the idea of not necessarily beauty but self identification. By making my portraits blurry I’m exposing the viewer to assume and suggest a lifestyle, age, occupation and confidence. This is exposing the viewer on their opinions on others around them and how quick everyone is to assume everything. We all think we have it all figured out from looking at a person but there is more to a person than meets the eye.
Examples
Justin Lincoln – self portrait ‘by the pain of fleeting joy’Ilkka Uimone for Newsweek
Remember >>>Photography is completely dependent on the availability of light.
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…
intensity of the light
direction of the light
temperature of the light and white balance
Using reflectors (silver / gold)
Using diffusers , tissue paper, coloured gels, tracing paper etc
Front / side / back lighting
High Key / low key lighting
Shadows / silhouettes
2. Studio Lighting
Using artificial lighting can offer many creative possibilities…so we will explore
size and shape of light
distance from subject to create hard / soft light
angles and direction…high, low, side lighting
filtered light
camera settings : WB / ISO / shutter speed etc
reflectors and diffusers
key lighting, fill lighting, back lighting, 3 point lighting
soft-boxes, umbrella lights, spot lights and floodlights
chiarascuro and Rembrandt lighting
high key and low key lighting techniques
backdrops and infinity curves
Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, 1665—-chiarusco as employed by the Dutch Masters
Above : An example of “bouncing” the flash to soften the effects and create a larger “fill” area…try this wherever there are white walls/ ceilings
Using Flash
Flash units offer a range of possibilities in both low and high lighting scenarios…we will explore
flash “bouncing”
fill-in flash
TTL / speedlight flash
remote / infra-red flash (studio lighting)
fast + slow synch flash
light painting c/w slow shutter speeds
Evidence of Your Learning
During this weeks we would expect all students to complete 2-3 blog posts detailing how you are experimenting with various lighting techniques eg CHIARASCURO / REMBRANDT LIGHTING
Add information / links showing how Chiarascuro has been used since the Renaissance in painting…but also how it used now in photography and film
You must describe and explain your process with each technique…add your images to your blog as you progress, print off your successful images and evaluate your process using technical vocab and analysis skills. Think carefully about the presentation of your ideas and outcomes…compare your work to relevant portrait photographers as you go eg
Annie Leibovitz, Irving Penn, Rankin, Richard Avedon, Yousef Karsh, David Bailey, Mario Testino, Steve McCurry, Jill Greenberg, Nick Knight, Tim Walker, Corrine Day, Jane Bown etc
Expected Final Outcomes this Week
Case Study and Practical Responses to Rankin or another studio photographer
1 x Final Portrait using natural light + analysis and evaluation
1 x Final Portrait using artificial light (1, 2 + 3 point lighting) + analysis and evaluation
1 x Final Portrait using flash + analysis and evaluation
Think about how you can show evidence of head shots, cropped head shots, half body, three-quarter length and full length portraits.
Show that you can employ interesting angles and viewpoints…
Make sure you ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN YOUR BLOG
Why do we use studio lighting?
What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide / solve
What is fill lighting?
What is spill lighting?
What is Chiarascuro ? Show examples + your own experiments
Bouncing the flash to soften its effects
Or use light painting techniques…
Slow Shutter speeds (1/30th sec or BULB setting)
Illuminate an area / person with a torch , study lamp, glowstick, car headlights etc…
HOMEWORK
(Refer to your tracking sheet)
You must complete a range of studio lighting experiments and present your strongest ideas on a separate blog post
Remember to select only the most successful images
You should be aiming to produce portraits that show clarity, focus and a clear understanding of a range of lighting techniques
Editing should be minimal at this point…we are looking for your camera skills here
But…be creative and experimental with your approach “in camera”…extremes, uniqueness and possibly thought provoking imagery will improve your ideas and outcomes.
Definition: ‘Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within a public place. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic.’
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
-Napoleon Hill
“Just go out and shoot! It’s great to get inspired by reading books and watching tutorials and so forth, but you need to actually go out and take pictures. Don’t be afraid to get out there.” -Valerie Jardin
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bresson was a French photographer, who was said to have pioneered the genre of street photography. He thought of photography as a way of capturing a decisive moment. Bresson’s passion of photography came at an early age where he used to capture moments of his family holidays. This small hobbit then turned into his career, where he made a massive contribution towards photography.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Emotional Response
When first viewing the photograph, we begin to grow an emotional attachment to the child located around the image. This is because it seems like their homes have been destroyed, leaving them with the remains of the homes to play with. The morbid photograph is interesting as the facial expressions on the children are not happy making us realise that something is not right, making us more emotionally attached to the image. Moreover, the children’s faces look soiled meaning that the setting is not hygienic and potentially very unsafe for them.
Technical Response
This photograph is presented in black and white, which allows the solied faces of the children to be clearly visible, it also allows the broken walls and dirty floor, to present the formal element of texture. The fact that the image is black and white also plays on the idea that the children have nothing, like we had nothing back in the day. The wall with a hole in it has been used as a frame, which is framing the background allowing the viewers eyes to clearly be guided around the photograph. The location of the children also helps to guide the eyes, as there are more kids in the foreground and less in the background, (creating a large proximity) making our eyes look at the front of the image and make there way towards the background. The formal elements of shape and space are also presented through this image, through the use of the children and the collapsed walls, trapping them. The whole frame of the photograph is in focus, however, the background is slightly less out of focus, which means there is a large depth of field. Moreover, the aperture is likely to be around F11 – F8. The shutter speed used to capture this image is likely to be quick, as there is no intended blur. Additionally to the ISO is also likely to be low as there is no noise created by the light. The lighting used in this photograph is likely to be natural, as it has been taken outside, in what could be the children’s natural environment. This image consists of some negative space, which is found at the background of the frame, this creates a sense of that these children live with nothing and are trapped with nothing, which also helps to create an emotional attachment.
Contextual Responce
This image was taken in 1933, which was a couple of years before the Spanish civil war. The children are said to be playing in a ruins, a destruction from a previous war. 1933, was one of the worst years during the Great Depression, which was a time when the economy collapsed, which also helps to provide contact towards the photograph.
Conceptual Response
Now knowing the context, I believe the concept of this image was to show the effect of wars and the Great Depression for those in poverty, the use of children makes the image more hard hitting towards viewers. The hole in the wall is trying to show the children trying to break away from there reality. It also shows how it has effected the children, leaving them with only ruins to play in.
Photoshoot Plan
I will be capturing my street photography images in town, during the early afternoon, a time which can sometimes be busy. I will be walking around the streets, looking for interesting characters. The aim is to remain a discrete as possible, so the citizens are unaware of me capturing the images. The lighting will be natural and my camera settings will also be kept simple, however, I do want a quick shutter speed as it will allow me to capture many images.
Contact Sheets
Final Outcomes
Comparison
In technical terms I feel that my work and Bresson’s work is similar, we both presented our images in black and white, I attempted to have the formal elements of shape, texture and space in my images as those a key elements to Bresson’s photograph. Moreover, I tried to create a depth of field, where the people are mostly in focus, but still having the background in focus, but not as clear at the foreground. Bresson’s photograph is very different in conceptual terms as he is trying to show the effect of war to children in poverty. My photographs concept was to show the different kinds of people found in town during a busy period.
