The use of lighting is a studio is important because it is an environment that the photographer can control, this means that the photographer can get the desired effect.
This is broad lighting and is when the photographer wants to illuminate only one side of the subjects face and sometimes they will use a reflector panel to give some light to the other side but the main focus is on the side with the most light hitting it.
Here is an example:
In this photo the photographer has placed the light source to the left of the subject and then has no reflector to his right.
My Response:
I put my subject into the centre of the frame and then put a light with a diffuser to my right and then had no reflector.
John Rankin Waddell (born 1966), also known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer and director. Rankin is best known as the founder of Dazed and Confusedmagazine (along with Jefferson Hack), and for his photography of models including Kate Moss and Heidi Klum, celebrities such as Madonna and David Bowie and his portrait of Elizabeth II. His work has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire.
Rankin visited South Africa in 2010 with BBC to make a documentary titled, South Africa in Pictures. In the same year, Nike and Bono’s R.E.D commissioned Rankin to shoot for Nike’s global campaign to fight and spread awareness against HIV/AIDS. The campaign was called, Lace Up Save Lives.
In 2011 Rankin started the biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, Hunger and launched Rankin Film to produce and direct his own commercial and editorial film work.
Rankin |
Practical Responses to Rankin
Contact Sheet of Shoot
One Point Lighting:
Studio Lighting | 7772Studio Lighting | 7759
These photographs are examples of 1-point lighting as one soft light was used to light the subject. I feel these work well as studio lighting examples. due to the lighting and the positions the subjects are in.
Chiaroscuro, in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures.
The term chiaroscuro originated during the Renaissance as drawing on coloured paper, where the artist worked from the paper’s base tone toward light using white gouache, and toward dark using ink, bodycolour or watercolour.
Below is an example of chiaroscuro being used in early renaissance paintings.
“The Adoration of the Child” by Gerard van Honthorst
Chiaroscuro also is used in cinematography to indicate extreme low key and high-contrast lighting to create distinct areas of light and darkness in films, especially in black and white films. Classic examples are The Cabient Of Dr Caligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922), and Metropolis (1927).
For example, in Metropolis, chiaroscuro lighting is used to create contrast between light and dark mise-en-scene and figures. The effect of this is primarily to highlight the differences between the capitalist elite and the workers.
In photography, chiaroscuro can be achieved with the use of “Rembrandt Lighting”. In more highly developed photographic processes, this technique also may be termed “ambient/natural lighting”, although when done so for the effect, the look is artificial and not generally documentary in nature.
Rembrandt Lighting:
Rembrandt lightingis 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. Rembrandt lighting is characterized by an illuminated triangle under the eye of the subject on the less illuminated side of the face.
Below are two examples of our own experiments with Rembrandt lighting and chiaroscuro. Together we worked in a team to create these images, one taking the photographs and focusing the camera, one modelling for the portrait and the other changing the lights and altering them to get the effect wanted and needed.
We started with the lights in front facing at an angle to the left of the model however found that this caused too much light to fall upon the right side of the face, to alter this we moved the light right the way around her body to the back almost behind her and this enabled us to be able to keep the right side of her face in the shadows creating tones and contrasts that come with rembrandt lighting.
I feel these photographs work well for this style of lighting as they have the dark and light contrasts needed for this style of portraits and I feel the shadows and the light areas work well together and don’t clash or fight each other.
Rembrandt Lighting | 7698Rembrandt Lighting | 7699
Experiments with Colour
Rembrandt Lighting | 7717Rembrandt Lighting | 7710
This blog post is about the photo shoot i carried out in the streets of town in St. Helier Jersey. The focus of this shoot was portrait photography and i was aiming to capture a natural essence of everyday life in the town through the view of the camera without having staged or positioned photos.
Definition of street photography:
Street Photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. 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. Therefore here it is worthy to note that the kind of street photography our project is focused on is portraits. I chose to go for a more candid approach to collecting these photos and therefore as we are collecting portraits, all my finished pieces contain people in them.
Difficulties:
One difficult aspect of this portrait shoot was the fact that some public members may not like their picture being taken. Therefore i used this theme of being unnoticed in a lot of the photos i took with a minimal amount of disruption to the public that i could use for example not having flash turned on or using the zoom to collect close up features instead of getting in peoples faces, or way.
Contact sheet with best images:
Here is a contact sheet with my best images from the portrait shoot.
My favourite image edit:
I edited this image because i find its the most focused and intricate portrait I collected of a person. It shows an elder gentleman with a cap on walking by and is effective because of its simplicity and the unusual angle it was taken from. It has a look of double exposure however, its is just the levels of color turned up and down
For my next attempt at street photography, I decided to take photos in town at a Christmas celebration. I thought this would produced some good outcomes as there would be a lot of people compared to my last attempt, and I therefore thought that I could find a wider variety of more interesting people to photograph. Since there would be more people, I thought that I could blend in a little more and maybe be able to capture some more candid images of people. However, I also took portrait style images of people where they were looking straight into the camera. I also tried to find interesting backgrounds that would makes my images look more attractive.
Contact sheets
Best images
Analysing
Context
This is an image that I took of a Christmas parade dancer while she was in conversation with one of her friends.
Visual
Visually I think that this image is very successful. I like how the subject was captured in the centre of the frame, and how I manged to capture her laughing as it gives the image a positive atmosphere. I also like how there is a lot of lighting due to her costume, as it makes the image look more interesting and colourful which would captivate an audience.
Technical
As this image was taken at night in the dark, my ISO was set to 1600 and my shutter speed was set at 1/60. These settings helps me to get this image perfectly exposed. I also used flash to capture this photograph to fill in any shadowing that would’ve happened due to the uneven street lighting.
Concept
I think that the happy expression and positive atmosphere along with the Christmas nature of the photo shoot, represents how this time of year is truly abut happiness and not about being materialistic.
Context
This is an image that I took of a child on the Christmas parade train, as he he leaned out of it to try and catch the foam “snowflakes” coming out of the top of the train.
Visual
One element I like in this image is the foam snowflakes. As some bits were falling very close to my lens, they ended up not being in focus as my priority was to capture the child’s expression. I like how this looks as I think that it adds more detail to the image without taking attention away from it.
Concept
I think this image shows how people should appreciate small details in life. While I took this image there was a lot going on, 100s of people crowding around us, confetti being set of, a choir singing yet the child chose to focus on the snow.
Technical
Context
This is an photograph I took of a lady just after the Christmas lights had turned on. She caught my attention as she was dressed in a bright red jacket, and was wearing a lot of fur. I caught this image the moment she turned back to look at the lights on the tree
Visual
Visually, I think this image is very successful. It it well exposed and it is sharp making it good quality. The use of my flash meant that she wasn’t wash out by all the background light. The angle I captured this image from was also very successful as I got the whole of her face in the photograph.
Concept
I think that the way she is so intensely staring at the tree and the lighting is really interesting as it may make people wonder what the woman was thinking while she was looking.
Technical
For this image my shutter speed was set 1/60 and my ISO was set on 6400, as it was very dark outside and I needed as much exposure without machining the image look noisy. For this image I also used flash so that the woman in the image was evenly lit, as there were many lighting decorations everywhere that caused uneven lighting.
also known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer and director.
Rankin focuses on close up head-shots of the subject, using a variety of facial expressions and props to create an interesting and intriguing image.
Rankin makes use of both grey-scale and colored photography, and through using a studio as the setting for most of his portraits, the background of the image is often left a bold white, which draws maximum attention to the subject in the foreground.
Here are some examples of this works:
here our some of the images we took as we were inspired by Rankin:
My favourite Pictures out of these are:
I like this image above as it is very simple and compared to Rankin’s work it seemed to very well with it, for example we decided to add the crown to see the effect it would have with the light I think this turned out very well, also I like the position of the face making half dark and the other half in the light. this was one idea that Rankin had , I thought it came out very well as we wanted to.
I like this Image above the light has caught her hair and has made it look like it was golden and a different colour, also the light on the face is again half and half, this was ambition to experiment with the light. I thought it was very simple again and and the sharpness of the photo is very significant due to this being one of our expectations.
These outcomes I think have come out really good, as they have come out very similar to Rankin’s work, I think that these are very simplistic.
Using artificial lighting can create very unique photographs. The light also allows you to experiment with..
Size and shape of light
Distance from subject ( creating hard/ soft light)
Angles and direction
Filtered light
Reflectors and diffuses
Key lighting, full lighting, back lighting, 3 point lighting
Soft- boxes, umbrella lights, spot lights and floodlights
Chiaroscuro and Rembrandt lighting
Example of studio lighting..
not my images
Why studio lighting is used
By using studio lighting we are able to have full control with the lighting unlike you would with natural lighting which ensures were going to get a better final outcome.When doing studio photography the artificial lighting that is used is very important. Using artificial lighting allows the focal point of the image to be a lot clearer. It is also very important due to it adding temperature to the photo making the image seem more cheerful/ sad depending on the type of temperature used. During studio photography there are four different types of lighting which are used, as well as three ways these lighting can be used.
Types of studio lighting
Flat light- When you have your light source facing directly at the front of your subject, meaning your subject is well lit and you are unable to see any shadow along their face.
Split light- A type of side lighting as it hits your subject from the side, leaving half of the subject being lit and the other half in shadow.
Back light- Light that comes from the back and behind your subject to create semi-silhouettes which let the light be in the frame a little which creates a contrast.
Flash light- Flash units offer a range of possibilities in both low and high lighting scenarios. The types of flash we will explore will be..
Ways these lights can be presented
One point lighting– A single one point lighting looks two dimensional or flat, this rarely hits people straight on, so it creates shadowing.
Two point lighting- Two point lighting is good to use when you want people to stand out in 3D as it adds dimensionality. There is potential for shadowing if the model turns their head in a opposite direction.
Three point lighting- The three point lighting technique is a standard method used in visual media such as videos. It is simple but versatile system which forms the basics. If you have 2 lights, one is the key and the other is either the fill or the back light.
Exploring studio photographers
John Rankin
John Rankin is a well known British photographer who takes images of celebrities in a studio. His work appeared in his own magazine which he used to promote his images as well as appearing in Vogue.
This is an image which was apart of Rankin’s destroy series. This was when he would take images of celebrities in the costume and the makeup they wanted with a desire to capture celebrities emotions and personalities through the costumes etc.. Once he did the photo shoot he would let the model draw on the image in order to express their personality.
When first looking at this image, i am drawn into the drawn on large mouth as well as the models eyes being so stern when looking directly into the camera lense which could mean the models emotional state could be very stern and she may be shocked about something. The use of the plain black background supports this idea of feeling stern as the black represents blankness like she doesn’t know what to do. The body pained black as well could also be considered that something is trapping her due to her blending in with everything around her.
The lighting used to take this image seems to be a one point lighting which has been set up directly in front of the model due to there being no other lighting shown in the photo except for on her face. The ISO used to take this image is likely to very low due to there being no noice within the image, as well as the shutter speed being fast as it is compleatly in focus. There is a large depth of field used in this image due to the models face being the only part of the image which is fully viable which also suggests the model does not want to be seen. In this example of Rankin’s work we can see that the original lips have been copied and extra 3 times adding a sense of confusion to the image as the tongue in the middle of the teeth could also suggest she is trying to think of an evil plan. This could be due to some emotional trauma. This photograph is presents in colour which eliminates the tonal regions and contrasts in the image.
Plan
In this photo shoot that i will be conducting, i will use the inside of the schools photography studio as my location. I am going to mostly be using a black background, however there will also sometimes be white. The lighting will mainly be used by the soft box. For my camera setting is will be in a manual focus with my shutter speed on 1/100 and my ISO being around 400. I will also use the ‘ tungsten’ white balance. When taking my images i will be looking at the different lighting techniques which were mentioned earlier on. The editing of the images at the end will be very simple.
Contact sheets
When doing this photo shoot i used the ‘ Chiaroscuro lighting’ technique where there was a light on one point of the models face and the other side being left dark.
Best outcomes
I think this image is one of my best outcomes due to the clear shadowing on the left hand side of the models face which shows there is a Chiaroscuro lighting technique being used.
I also think this is one of my best outcomes, again due to the darker shadowing on the left hand side of the models faces. I also really like how there is a small blue effect all over the image due to a transparent blue sheet which was placed over the only light source by an assistant.
Lighting is an important aspect of studio photography, as it allows for certain parts of the subject to be emphasized, and other parts softened. Lighting can also impact how an audience responds to an image, as harsh, cold colored lighting can give an image a sense of seriousness and professionalism, whereas softer, warmer colored lighting can make an image seem more friendly and relatable.
Natural lighting is often used in photographs that are taken in public places and nature, however is a photographer wants a very specific photograph that requires all aspects of the image to be controlled, then studio lighting can be useful to produce the effect that the photographer wants without having to wait for natural lighting the change.
1,2 and 3 point lighting:
Photographs can be taken using a variety of different lights, which are all used to produce different types of lighting in an image, the lights typically used in studio photography are called the key light, the filler light and the back light.
1 point: 1 point lighting typically uses just the key light. The key light is the main light used in studio photography, and is used to light the part of the subject that needs to be the brightest. It is usually used to illuminate the face of the subject in portraiture photography, and is the most important light used out of the 3. 1 point lighting usually places the key light to the side of the subject, so that one side of the face is illuminated, and a shadow is cast over the other side, thus giving the subject more depth, and creating a chiaroscuro effect on the subject.
This image is an example of how a photographer has used a key light to create a chiaroscuro effect on the subject. The light illuminates only 1/2 of the subject, while the other 1/2 remains in darkness. Using 1 point lighting in this scenario helps to emphasis the contrast between the light and dark areas more effectively.
2 point: 2 point lighting makes use of both the key light and the filler light. The key light is still used to illuminate the most important part of the subject, whereas the filler light is used to fill in the shadows that are produced by the key light, and to soften them. Softening the shadows created but the subject in a photograph can help draw maximum attention to the subject themselves, and the illusion of the photograph is kept, as the viewer isn’t drawn to the fact that lights were used to create the effects they see.
This image makes use of 2 point lighting, which helps to illuminate the entire face of the subject. The image does not have a shadow present in the background, which is most likely due to the inclusion of a filler light used to soften it out.
3 point: 3 point lighting uses the key light, the filler light and the back light. The filler and key lights still work the same, and the back-light is added behind the subject, to create a glowing effect around the online of them. Back-light can be used to separate the subject from the background, and to create a sense of perspective and depth in the image.
Here, 3 point lighting has been used to illuminate the outline of the subject, as well as to illuminate the subjects face evenly. The back light helps to separate the subject from the background, the fill light softens the shadows produced by the subject, and the key light illuminates the face of the subject effectively.
The number of lights used to create the lighting for an image greatly impacts the final outcome of the image, and so its important that a photographer experiments with all lights in order to find the correct combination for their photograph.
Fill Lighting:
Fill lighting is a light that is used in a studio to fill in the shadows caused by other lights, and to soften or remove them from a photograph.
Fill lighting in portraiture usually allows for the subject and the background to become more clearly distinct (without the distraction of a shadow blending the 2 together slightly) and so the final produce appears to have more depth, despite the image being 2D.
Professional examples of photographers using fill lighting can be seen below:
This photograph makes use of the fill light, as the positioning of the subject means that the background makes up a relatively large portion of the photograph, and so distinguishing between the subject and the background is important.This image shows the difference between using fill light and key light, or just using fill light or key light. Using both makes the subjects face appear brighter, more alert and softer than just using one of the lights
Fill lighting is another example of how different lights can be used together to manipulate the overall lighting for a photograph.
Spill Light:
Spill light refers to the light that illuminates surfaces beyond the area that is intended on being illuminated, It is light that, for example, illuminates a part of the background that does not need to be illuminated. Spill light is usually something that photographers want to avoid, because it can draw attention away from the main subject of a photograph, and can make an image seem more flat and unfocused.
Below is an example of spill light and how it can effect an image:
The image above shows an example of how excess light can become spill light. If the light is focused on a specific point, the majority of the light will focus on that point, however some of the light will “spill” out, and illuminate the parts of the background that do not need to be illuminated. Spill light can be controlled more by focusing the light on a smaller area, as the spill light will not be as significant.
Chiaroscuro:
Chiaroscuro in photography refers to the contrasting areas of extreme dark and extreme light that can be presented on a subject. In portraiture, this usually occurs on the face of the subject, and can be very effective if paired with a black and white color scheme.
Chiaroscuro can give the subject of the image more depth, and can help to make the subject seem more 3D and real, regardless of the image itself actually being flat. Examples where chiaroscuro has been used by professional photographers can be seen below.
In some instances, incorporating color into a photograph that uses chiaroscuro can be even more effective than using grey scale. the above image is an example of this instance, as the contrasting colors between the skin tones of the subject, paired with the extreme light and dark of the chiaroscuro effect, allows for the photograph to draw maximum attention from the viewer.Chiaroscuro is often most striking and eye catching when paired with a grey scale image, as the areas of contrast are emphasized much more. The above image is an example of the contrast that can be created between the 2 portions of a subjects face when this effect is used.Images that use chiaroscuro can also really emphasis the use of the dark spaces in the image, for example the above image uses shadow to conceal the identity of the subject, and leaves only a few features exposed to light in order to see the outline of some of the subjects features. This is an effective technique, as it incorporates a sense of mystery into the image.
Chiaroscuro makes use of the contrasting tones created using different lighting techniques to exaggerate the light and dark portions of a subjects face. Typically a key light would be pointed at the subject from an angle, so that a harsh light illuminated 1/2 of the subject, while the other 1/2 remains in the shadow caused by the lack of light.
An example of where I have used chiaroscuro in my own photography can be seen below:
This image was created using a key light directed to the left side of the subjects face, and the other side of the subjects face received no light, and so the contrast between the light and dark portions of the face can be clearly seen.
John Rankin Waddell is a British portrait and fashion photographer. He often works with celebrities and well known figures, using portraits to emphasize certain qualities of the subject, which are then used in adverts, billboards and other promotional material.
A lot of Rankin’s photography focuses on close up head-shots of the subject, using a variety of facial expressions and props to create an interesting and intriguing image. Rankin makes use of both grey-scale and colored photography, and through using a studio as the setting for most of his portraits, the background of the image is often left a bold white, which draws maximum attention to the subject in the foreground.
Examples of Rankin’s portraiture work can be seen below:
Rankin’s work often experiments with color and tone, using grey-scale to accentuate certain areas of the face, whereas in other photographs bold and eye-catching colors are used to draw more attention to the shapes and features of the subject.
In response to my study into Rankin, I have produced a series of portrait images that were taking in a studio, to mimic the work of Rankin himself, the following images are what I have produced.
My favourite image edit:
Best images
