“Tom Hunter is Professor of Photography Research at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, graduated from the London College of Printing in 1994 with his work ‘The Ghetto’, which is now on permanent display at the Museum of London.
He studied for his MA at the Royal College of Art, where, in 1996, he was awarded the Photography Prize by Fuji Film for his series ‘Travelers’.
In 1998 ‘Woman Reading a Possession Order’ from his series ‘Persons Unknown’, won the John Kobal Photographic Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery.
In 1999 Tom’s series of the ‘Holly Street’ estate was exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery, London, while in 2000 his ‘Life and Death in Hackney’ series, went on show at the White Cube Gallery and the Manchester City Art Gallery.
In 2006 Tom became the only artist to have a solo photography show at the National Gallery for his series ‘Living in Hell and Other Stories’, which talked about Hackney and its relationship to its local paper.
His works are in many collections around the world including; MOMA in New York, Tate Britain, The V&A and the National Gallery in London, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Smithsonian in Washington and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2010 he was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.”
– Words taken from Tom Hunter’s Website.
I have also come to learn that Tom Hunter lived abroad for a period of life. He was part of a group of people with the generic name “New Age Travelers”. In a series of photographs he captured images of the essence of the life he lived whilst travelling round Europe in motor homes with other people like himself, some families, some old married couples. He also captured images of the people he traveled with in a tableaux vivant stylist way which he has now published on his website, in books of his and in galleries across the UK.
Window light is an excellent, free light source. It can achieve the same effects as much bigger, more expensive lighting equipment. A large window is essentially a huge softbox. It will diffuse light into the room and around the subject you place in front of it.
If you see the window as a softbox, everything that you know about a softbox will be relevant to this lighting.
First of all, the larger the window, the softer the light. A large window provides a wider angle from which the light falls on to your face. It produces less shadows. This is very important to remember if you’re trying to take photos with hard shadows.
There are many ways in which a window is better than a softbox. They come in all shapes and sizes. They’re everywhere. They’re free to use. And they’re easy to experiment with.
The downsides are that the light is dependent upon the weather and time of day. You also have to move the model or subject, rather than just the light source (the window).
The soft nature of window light makes it very flattering for portrait photography. The shadows that appear on the face are very natural and don’t accentuate any features.
If there were any features that you would want to hide, you’d want to make the light harder. You do this by standing farther from the window, or using a smaller window.
A window is a great way to get an expensive look for free – how you use your window is up to you.
Move the subject closer to you with the majority of the window light behind them. The lighting on the face will become softer as the left side of the face starts to even out with the right.
Turn this the other way and the right side of the face will even out with the left, making for a more evenly lit subject.
It’s important to experiment and see which you like the most and whether it suits whatever you’re shooting.
Obviously there are more uses for window lighting than just models: still life, animals, etc.
When the subject is facing a window, you will end up with a very soft, yet rather flat, image with fewer shadows.
Yes, this will light the subject but it won’t look all that interesting compared to some of the other possible effects.
It’s also important to note any other light available in the room. You don’t want any of the lights to be on or you’ll struggle to set the right white balance; there is more than one light source.
When the window is behind the subject, you get the same sort of results as when you shoot into the sun: the camera will probably try to expose for the window, unless you’re using spot metering, causing a silhouette.
When you have the camera set to spot metering, you can overexpose the background to blow out the light, while exposing for the subject in the foreground. This can produce a very cool effect and it’s about the only interesting white/light background that I like to use.
experimenting with window lighting:
in this portrait the iso was on 400, it was taken under an artificial yellow light with a black card behind the person in the portrait. The shooting settings was on manual like the focus settings. the person in the portrait was not positions in the center he was a bit to the right of the light so that half of his face is in shadow and the other half is lighten.
in this photo it was on high shutter speed, and was focused using manual focus. the photo was taken at a 45 degree angle to create movement in the portrait. the background was chosen on purpose, its an abstract painting that was made by one of the art students, it creates a lot of color in the background. the light was natural coming the window on the left of the photo but it was distributed and soft because the sunlight went through the clouds which diffused the light. but as you can see there is still some light on the right of the photo, that light was created using a light reflector board that was positioned from the bottom by the other student to reflect some of the window on the right side of the face.
this portrait was taken from the bottom looking upwardish on the face. it was taken using low shutter speed and manual focus that made the photo not focused to create texture in the portrait. the light was coming from ceiling windows on top of the school, the windows are actually the background of the portrait. and light on the front of the face was created by reflecting the background light through reflectors positioned under the camera.
in conclusion all portraits that are made with window lighting have a special affect on them. and a lot can be experimented using window lighting (direct sunlight, diffused sunlight, using reflectors….) and not all portraits have to be focused. and last but not least you have to always have your person in the portrait have direct eye contact with the cameras lens.
Tableau is french for “living picture”, meaning a picture is staged to give it a sort of snapshot effect. The image usually contains two or more models interacting with each other or props and their environment and are usually stationary and silent. props may be used as well if relevant to the context.
Paul M Smith
Paul M Smith is a UK Based tableau photographer who is most well known for his portrayal of the image of typical, working class “lads” in the 1990s. His work explores the ideas of the image of young juvenile males and their friendships and working class lives
Here are some examples of his work
These two particular images all include Smith as every character in the image. This effect was achieved by utilizing multiple images and photo editing software to give a multiple exposure effect. Essentially multiple photos are taken of the same character in different outfits in different positions and then layered over the top of each other.
Some of Smith’s most prolific work is in collaboration with Take That! star Robbie Williams. Smith was tasked with creating album art based around William’s love of football. The set features images associated with playing and watching football and helps perfectly paint the picture of the working class in the late 90s.
This is my favourite photo by Bruce Gilden; mainly because of the genuine expressions on the women’s faces. The photo also captures textures and motion really well. It being black and white helps focus attention on the facial expressions instead of the background.This is a photo of what Bruce Gilden looks like.
Bruce Gilden is a street photographer who is most known for his up-close photographs of people. He was born in Brooklyn in 1946 and has received many awards including the ‘European publishers award for photography’. The main reason for him starting photography is the film ‘blowup’. Being influenced by this movie, he went and bought his first camera and started attending night school photography classes.
He doesn’t try to be discrete at all when taking photos. He prefers to approach people and take photos of their initial reaction. He also aims to take photos of people who either stand out, or people he can portray as different.
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. He was also one of the founding members of Magnum Photos in 1947.
This idea of capturing the decisive moment can definitely be seen in this photo; if the photo was taken a fraction of a second later the person in the foreground would have stepped in the standing water, which would have caused ripples and ruined the clarity of the reflection on the water.
These two photographers are very different but they have one thing in common, they both focus on the decisive moment. For Henri Carter that is the whole frame (like described in the photo above), and for Bruce Gilden it’s the moment people react to him taking a photo of them.
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 try out different lighting techniques. Fill lighting, 2 point lighting, 3 point lighting and even four point lighting.
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 different effects that studio lighting provides and the subtle differences between them.
HOW – I used my regular DSLR camera for this photo shoot, using the artificial lighting provided.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHTING:
TWO – POINT – LIGHTING:
A two point lighting set up can produce highlights in the eyes and some shadow. The secondary source of light is used to eliminate shadows that are created by the key light, it will soften contrasts and make more of the subject visible by enhancing the illumination of the face from the key light.
THREE – POINT – LIGHTING:
Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media such as theater, 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 photo using three point lighting
FILL – LIGHTING:
In television, film, stage, or photographic lighting, a fill light may be used to reduce the contrast of a scene to match the dynamic range of the recording media and record the same amount of detail typically seen by eye in average lighting and considered normal.
CHIAROSCURO LIGHTING:
Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which means light and dark and basically refers to the high contrast light/dark style used in Renaissance painting and later in cinema.
an example of chiaroscuro lighting from a previous photo shoot.
REMBRANDT LIGHTING:
Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used in studio portrait photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector, or two lights, and is popular because it is capable of producing images which appear both natural and compelling with a minimum of equipment.
RING LIGHTING:
A ring light is a handy multi-use tool for all types of shoots, from a sharp music video to a portrait of a ladybug. They provide uniform light coming straight from the camera’s point of view, which is great for even light, and helps eliminate shadows.
We used a dim ring light in order to create this image.
REFLECTORS:
In flat lighting, a reflector can add interest or drama to the shot. Some photographers use reflectors as hair lights outdoors. Many reflectors have a black side that can be used to block out light instead of to reflect it. Reflectors are also great for bouncing a flash when there’s nothing around to bounce off of.
CONTACT SHEETS:
One of the main issues that came up during this photo shoot was overexpose. When using 3 point lighting, the ISO of the camera has to be set very low in order to avoid overexposure. The red heads and soft box provides light which is very powerful.
Street photography is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Most 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 an object of environment where the image projects a decidedly human character.
MOOD BOARD..
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bresson was a French photographer, who thought of photography as a way of capturing a decisive moment. Bresson’s passion of photography came at an early age when he used to capture moments of his family holidays. Due to this small hobby developing he has made it into a career and has also made a large contribution towards photography.
Emotional response
The children in this image draw us in a cause us to develop an emotional attachment to them due to it looking like their homes have been destroyed because of the wreckage behind them. The facial expressions on the children also draw us in due to there expressions not being happy which leads us to wonder what else is wrong and realise that something isn’t right.
Technical response
This edited black and white image shows the destruction in the image in more detail (eg. the detail of the hole in the wall), as well as the children’s moody faces. The hole in the wall sort of acts like a frame and is a large subject of the image. The children being outside this wall as well as in it ( the boy on the right hand side) suggests that they don’t have much to play with which is shown by the boy of the right hand side smiling while climbing the unsafe wall. The formal elements of this image is shown through the use of the children in the location. The whole pictures is in focus, however the background is slightly less out of focus which gives the image a large depth of field. There was a quick shutter speed used due to the non existent blurring, as well as the image being taken in natural lighting in the children’s natural environment.
Conceptual Response
Not looking at the context before hand- I think that this image was taken to show children who have to live in poverty due to countries being at war. And the hold in the wall acts as the subject matter of the image as the hole shows how war has effected the children.
Contextual Response
This image was taken in 1933 right before the Spanish civil war which is sad due to the children playing in the last wars wreckage and now they will have to experience another war.
Planning my photo shoot
I will be capturing my ‘ Street Photography’ images in town during the late afternoon. I will be walking around looking for interesting characteristics. The lighting will be natural and i will keep my camera setting on a manual focus due to wanting to have a quick shutter speed so i can take many images. I plan to be very discrete so i can capture people unaware and just doing the tasks they would normally carry out. I will also do this same plan in the passenger seat of a car.
Contact sheets
Best outcomes
Technical analysis
In this street photography experiment, i used a Canon EOS 1300 D and the image was taken in Manual Focus. Using Manual focus allowed me to change the white balance to cloudy as this image was taken in natural light, as well as being able to change the shutter speed to 1/250 and experiment with the zoom lens.
Visual analysis
Visually we can see that the man seems to be waiting for something as he has his hands in his pockets. He also seems a little annoyed that he see’s a camera pointing at him which we can tell by his frowned 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.
