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 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.
Control over lighting offers the photographer control over the final image.
Often photographers work with available light — the sun, ambient light, firelight or available artificial lights. Our knowledge of varied exposure tactics offer us many options for making use of available lighting, but, there are, admittedly, times when we want to control illumination as well as subject as well as the camera and exposure settings.
Studio lighting — strobes, reflectors, diffusers and so forth — offers us that control. https://www.harding.edu/gclayton/photography/topics/010_studio_lighting.html
Three Point Lighting
A common general lighting setup involves a key light, a fill light and a backlight.
The key light provides the main illumination of the subject.
The fill light offers illumination to surfaces turned away from the keylight, providing a better ratio of light and dark tones.
The back light either illuminates the background (or backdrop), or is used on the back of the subject (hair light or rim light) — often aiming to creating rim lighting.
The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting.
Experimentation
The aim of this shoot was to experiment with different white-balance, ISO, shutter speed and studio lighting.
The final ISO, shutter speed, and white-balance to execute a well lit studio photo shoot is ISO: 800, Shutter-speed: 60, and white balance for tungsten light.
Favourite Outcomes from the Experimentation
Studio Lighting; Low Key, Chiaroscuro
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
Examples of Chiaroscuro lighting
Giovanni Baglione. Sacred and Profane Love. 1602–1603, showing dramatic compositional chiaroscuro
Peter Paul Rubens’s The Elevation of the Cross (1610–1611) is modelled with dynamic chiaroscuro.
Chiaroscuro Shoot
Favourite Outcomes for Chiaroscuro/Low Key lighting
After contacting multiple people to see who was willing to be involved in a photoshoot, I was finally able to get hold of a dog walker.
WHAT am I photographing?
During this photoshoot I was planning to capture a very regular walk , the everyday typical working day of the subject.
WHEN am I doing the photoshoot?
I chose to do this photoshoot during early/ late morning as I felt that I could get the best, most bright images during this time of day.
WHERE did I conduct this photoshoot?
In order to get the most interesting images, I visited two locations, a wooded area in Trinity and also Bouley Bay.
WHY did I conduct this photoshoot in this way?
I thought that the images I’d take during this photoshoot would be a lot more interesting as there are more than one subject in the image. There are dogs which would add an element of action to all the images.
HOW did I produce the images?
For this photoshoot, due to the bright weather conditions of the day, I used a sun hood on my camera to avoid over exposure of the images. I introduced a power complex to the images, taking the images from a low angle.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES;
TECHNICAL:
This photoshoot was quite tough in terms of exposure to capture properly. It was early morning when I went out to capture these images. I was expecting cloudy weather, with very diffused, soft natural light, yet the day was only partially cloudy therefore there would be moments when the sun was very strong and I would be forced to manually change my exposure and shutter speed settings. This in turn made a lot of the images have motion blur due to the moving of the dogs and walking to capture the images. I therefore used a sun hood in order to stop this from happening, making a lot of the images very dramatic in lighting. During this photoshoot I also had keep in front of the subjects in order to allow them to look into the camera and make eye contact. There is no real composition to any of the photos as they were captured in the middle of an action, sometimes stopping to again make eye contact with the camera. Also due to the fact that I constantly had to keep in front of the subjects, I had to walk quite a distance in front of them meaning I used a long-focus lense, this allowed me to retain the quiality of the images even when I zoomed in on the subjects. It was also useful as it was a better lense for capturing action shots. As for camera settings, I mostly used the M (manual) setting, due to the constant changing of light in the environment, being dark in the wooded area and very bright on the beach. I used a shutter speed of 1/800 as this allowed we to capture, crisp and clear images even when the dogs and the subject was moving around. I used exposures of f8 during cloudier periods of time and f16 when it was sunnier as this meant that the images weren’t over or underexposed during specific weather conditions. As for white balance, I kept it on the daylight setting as I thought this was the most effective and allowed me to capture images that are balanced.
VISUAL:
During this photoshoot, the hardest aspect was definitely having reoccurring eye contact with the subjects. Due to the chaotic nature of this photoshoot, and having to run in front of the subject to capture them, it was hard to remind the subject to look at the camera. For the image below, I asked the subjects to stay still and look at me, I felt that this was a very successful image due to the ominous and dark atmosphere it has. There is a real sense of depth in this image, as the first subject is in the foreground of the image, the second being in the miground and the trees in the background. It is in a way a parallel image is it seems like the subject in the foreground is duplicated in the midground but flipped around to make eye contact with the camera. I edited the image and made it black and white as I felt this was the most suitable for this photo and the atmosphere it has. To remain consistent I did this for all my images. This image is extremely dramatic in nature, not only coming from the dim surroundings but also the facial expression of the subject. It is quite blank, with no noticeable feeling being captured, fitting well with the overall theme of this photoshoot. The angle of the image is quite central, slightly upwards facing. This further adds to the powerful presence of the subjects in the image. Both the subjects have a neutral stance, simply standing straight, yet the combined stance of them adds to an overall alluring image. The trees situated in the background of the image, break up the even surface of the coats of the subjects, adding additional captivating elements to the portrait. The light is hitting from the top left hand corner of the image, illuminating the face of the first subject yet keeping it dark for the second subject.
CONCEPTUAL:
During this photoshoot, the main concept I was wanting to capture was lifestyle and class in Jersey. This is island is filled with natural beauty, with beaches and natural landscapes all around. The subject who makes a living, spending their days in the outdoors to me is very admirable, as it is a job unlike most in jersey. Having a notably large financial sector, most people work in jobs which forces them to be stationary, not seeing the real jersey. This ties in to a much larger issue of people becoming disconnected from nature and the outdoors. This having many adverse effects, such as poor mental and physical health. Jobs like this are often seen as low class, yet it is on the simple tasks that often play an essential role in society. Very class, poor and rich have a place in society, being the mechanism which makes it run like it does. I feel as though this photoshoot also has links to gender, and gender roles. It is often expected that women hold lower level, less roles in authority, which this photoshoot enforces slightly. Should we really be enforcing traditional gender roles? It is not always something that I am against for. Different jobs express the true nature of the genders, males being naturally more dominant and lead better, and women generally being nurturing and caring. However it may enforce this, I feel this job is admirable in the sense that it lets the subject maintain good mental and physical health through the constant exposure to nature.
CONTEXTUAL:
Both subjects in this photoshoot are my own personal family members. The woman (my mother) has a big love for animals, especially dogs. She holds a job as a nursery school teacher during the weekdays and choosing to take dogs out for walks on the weekend. She was born in Latvia, in a small town near the border of Russia in the 1970s. Her farther being a forest ranger, she grew up inside a forest, contributing to her love of nature and all things outdoors. She grew up in communist soviet state of Russia, therefore being very limited to any outside knowledge before the 1990s when the state finally collapsed and she was able to travel for the very first time to other European countries. Latvia, after being in financial collapse throughout the 2000s, made it very tough for my family to remain living it Latvia, legally moving to jersey in 2012. The other subject in the photo is my brother. Being a few years older than me, he has started his own professional career in mechanics. Growing up in a rural town, he also from a very young agr acquired love for nature, often saying that he can’t “function before having a walk”.
For my response to environmental portraiture i decided to visit the markets throughout town in order to have an open view of someones work environment. Of the images that I took, the ones I liked the most and decided to work back into/ retouch are images 9839, 9843, 9844, 9845, 9847 and 9853.
I decided to stick to light-room for the image editing for these images as I think that the images only really needed light retouching in areas such as exposure adjustments and slight changes to the saturation. I have cropped the images to better fit in line with the golden ratio however the preservation of the background was prioritized over the the rule of thirds as i believe that the background is more important for an effective environmental portrait.
Of the photo-shoot my favorite images are those taken at the fish market as i like the interaction between the workers and the relationship that is shown int the images. I like how the images show how the owners/ workers in the more humble shops/ stalls are so passionate about their jobs and I feel this creates a good sense of community which is shown in the images.
An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings.
By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.
Contact sheets:
Contact sheetContact sheet
In the images I took, I aimed to get the subjects in their natural environments, doing what they normally do. I got someone driving, someone painting, and another doing their school work. These are all usual tasks which the subjects in the pictures take on in their daily lives.
Chosen best edited images:
DrivingDoing work
I chose these images because I feel they best represent the idea of environmental portraits out of all the images I took. As you can see in the two images I chose, one is of someone driving and the other is of someone doing their work, both being tasks they do in their daily lives. The fact that they’re turned away from the camera and seem immersed in their tasks adds a bit of reality to it.
Claude Cahun was a lesbian , Jewish-French Photographer. She was born on October 25th 1894 and moved to Jersey in 1937.
Cahun is best known for her part in the surrealism movement. She worked with self-portraits, which often displayed her in various poses and places with her face, more often than not, covered up.
With her work, Cahun was very political and aimed to use her photos as a way express herself during a time when lesbians and the Jewish were prosecuted for who they were.
Clare Rae:
Clare Rae is an Australian photographer who recently took residence in Jersey for a short time. She wanted to study, take inspiration from, and respond to the work of Claude Cahun.
CCA gallery visit:
On Friday 14th September, my photography class visited an exhibition at the CCA gallery in St. Helier to look at the work of Claude Cahun and Clare Rae’s response and interpretation of her work.
I thought that the exhibition was really well layed out and it was easy to know which photographer’s work I was looking at as the two were nicely separated without making them look like separate exhibitions.
By looking at the photos in the exhibition is it easy to see where Claude Cahun has influenced Clare Rae’s work. I noticed that Rae wasn’t wearing any foot wear in her photos and upon further inspection, I noticed the same thing in Cahun’s photos. Another similarity between the different photographers is that they are both taken in similar places. Interesting structures and ares of nature are both common to each pieces of work. Both photographers use their surroundings to give a certain feel to the photos that is often calming, chaotic or miserable.
This image by Claude Cahun was one of my favorites. The image shows Cahun hiding behind a large rock with her arms sticking out through the holes in the object. To me, this shows that Cahun is, in a way, apart of the object. However, the stretched out actions of her hands suggests that Cahun is trying to reach out and escape. This could be a reference to the German Occupation of Jersey as that was similarly something that Cahun was apart of, but wanted to be free of.
This photo by Clare Rae has a very similar style to Cahun’s work as the image shows Rae with her back to the camera and her face hidden, which is a common occurrence in Cahun’s work. The dark walls of the cave give a feeling a being trapped and isolated. This was likely how Cahun felt during the Occupation due to being a Jewish lesbian. It is clear that Rae has tried to recreate this in this image.
