Lighting: soft, hard

Soft-A portrait lit with soft light is generally lit with a large light source, like a big soft box or even a large window light. This large light source wraps the subject in light and provides a very flattering and beautiful light as a result of it filling in any unsightly lines and creases on the subjects face.

Hard-This characteristic is perfect for showcasing edgy features like a sharp jawline or muscular definition. More often than not, hard light is more commonly associated with male talent, but hard light can also be used with female talent to express feelings of mystery or intense facial features.

Some my own examples of soft and dark lighting.

Dark tones-

Here we added gel colours on the lens to create that darker tone onto the image, we had a back light with another colour to reflect as highlight on the face this helped us to see the models features but still keep the darker tones. The background is black to help maintain the dark shade onto the face otherwise the model would stand out a lot more again a lighter and soft background.

Light Tones-

Here we didn’t use any gels but simply added some different coloured backgrounds behind the model which added a bright colour onto the models face. As you can tell the middle photo with the black background looks quite dark whereas the brighter backgrounds add that soft features. The models face is quite lit up and all facial features are shown clearly.

This lighting technique is definitely my favourite, I think the high contrast is really interesting to highlight certain features of the models.

Below is how I set up my lighting, a lot of the time this style peaked through in other shoots making it quite easy to have a wide range of shots to choose from. I think while I’m editing I will change a lot of them to black and white as it’s a great way to show off contrasting and tonal lighting. I also used a reflector in some shots to try different ideas and executions of photos.

For this technique, Chiaroscuro, in particular I moved the lighting sources quite a bit trying to get different shadows, I also used a black backdrop which isn’t featured in the above photo.

For this shot I wanted to change it into black and white to use the shadow well. I started by using the adjustments brush to fix the over exposed part, by fixing this it corrects the rest of the shot. I had the settings on the brush as a small brush size with heavy feathering to blend the two parts of the shot together. I then moved the saturation adjuster all the way down to change the shot to black and white. This editing works well for Chiaroscuro lighting as it empathises the dramatic two tone shot.

For this one again I changed the shot to black and white as it enhances the lighting set up which looks at tone within a shot. Black and white is a great way to create a tonal photo as it is only two main colours and the rest is different versions of the colour highlighting the darker patches, less exposed and the highlights which contrast well in Chiaroscuro lighting.

Final Favourite Shots

For this technique to work I made sure the light source was in the right place. The photo below is the set up I used.

I sorted through my photos by adding lines through the worst shots and green circles around the best. I will now go onto to do some minimal editing to improve the images that have green circles on. I looked for certain aspects within the shots like the triangle under the eye for the technique of Rembrandt lighting and then looked at the models facial expression and pose. By sorting photos this way it gives me a clear idea of how many good shots I have to work with.

Small adjustments to the lighting has helped bring out the golden colour in the models hair, it also helped bring out the models face as before it was rather shadowed by a fairly dull, grey shadow making the model appear washed out.

Again I used small lighting adjustments to pull out the brighter more golden colours in the photo. This is enhanced by the Rembrandt lighting technique under her left eye.

Henry Mullins, a photographer in the circle of the first photography studio in Europe.

Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848, setting up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square. Initially he was in partnership with a Mr Millward, about whom very little is known. By the following year he was working alone and he continued to work out of the same studio for another 26 years.

For a brief period in the 1860s he also worked in London, but judging by the collection of his photographs, he found plenty of willing sitters in the island prepared to pay half a guinea (promoted as “one half of that in London”) to have their portrait taken by him.

Cartes de visite

His speciality was cartes de visite and the photographic archive of La Société contains a massive collection of these. Their online archive contains 9600 images, but the majority of these are sets of up to 16 photographs taken at a single sitting. In those times even 10s 6d was a substantial sum to pay to have one’s photograph taken, and included among his subjects are many of the island’s affluent and influential people.

He was also popular with officers of the Royal Militia Island of Jersey, for whom it was very popular to have portraits taken, as well as of their wives and children, for the more senior and more affluent officers. The pictures of these officers show clearly the fashion for long hair, whiskers and beards in the mid-1800s. Indeed, so similar is their appearance and so stylised the portraits, it is very hard to detect much difference between a large number of officers of the same rank and social standing.

Diamond Cameo , a technique used under licence by Henry Mullins.

Philip Baudains

Diamond Cameo photography is four small oval portraits which were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond, each portrait being of the same person photographed in a different position.

 albumen print

 Albumen prints were the most common type of photographic print made during the nineteenth century. They are characterized by a smooth, shiny surface, which is the result of a coating of egg whites.

Who is Henry Mullins?

Henry Mullins started working in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848. He set up a studio known as “the Royal Saloon”, at 7 Royal Square. He was initially in a partnership with Mr Millward, but a year later he was working alone, he continued to do so for 26 years in the same studio. His photographs are now held by La Societe Jersiaise, and he found many people willing to have their photos taken.

Cartes de visite

His speciality was Cartes de visite, La Societe Jersiaise holds 9600 of these images, but the majority are 16 photographs taken in a single sitting. “The carte de visite was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero” The size of a carte de visite is 54.0 × 89 mm normally mounted on a card sized 64 × 100 mm. In Mullins case he mounted his carted de visite into an album.

Albumen Print

Cartes de visite photographs were taken as a albumen print, this was published in January 1847 by, Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard. It used the albumen found in egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper and became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the start of the 20th century. During the mid 19th century, the carte de visite became one of the more popular uses for the albumen print.

Henry Mullins Work

Image Analysis

Henry Mullins photographs portray something like a passport photo, no shadows, uniform lighting, light grey/cream background, eyes are open and clearly visible, with no flash reflections, facial expression are neutral (neither frowning nor smiling), with the mouth closed, photos show both edges of the face clearly, photos show a full front view of face and shoulders, squared to the camera, the face and shoulder image must be centred in the photo; the subject must not be looking over one shoulder (portrait style), or tilting their head to one side or backwards or forwards, there is no hair across the eyes, photos with shadows on the face are unacceptable.

Henry Mullins uses different poses within his photos, such as looking directly ahead, to the right, to the left, up and down. This creates framing which almost changes the look of the models face, allowing for different interpretation and eye contact with the camera, or a side angle pose.

My responses

I took inspiration from Henry Mullins’ photos by using his poses, by taking photos from left, right or central angles, to portray all different sides of the face to show how a person can come across different depending on the angle you view them from, which also touches on the perception of the human eye, how everyone views everyone differently depending on their perception.

Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848, setting up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square.

Between 1850-73 Henry Mullins made over 9000 carte de visite portraits of Jersey’s ruling elite and wealthy upper classes.

It’s not known when he was deceased, however he spent over 20 years in Jersey and produced 4 albums with 2 and half thousand in each album, he also put the most important people at the at pof the albums eg, people in chareg of state cham,bers and piut togther a social higharchoty with it going own to fame nd i mportamnce in his albums.

Cartes de visite

His speciality was cartes de visite and the photographic archive of La Société contains a massive collection of these. Their on line archive contains 9600 images, but the majority of these are sets of up to 16 photographs taken at a single sitting. In those times even 10s 6d was a substantial sum to pay to have one’s photograph taken, and included among his subjects are many of the island’s affluent and influential people.

He was also popular with officers of the Royal Militia Island of Jersey, for whom it was very popular to have portraits taken, as well as of their wives and children, for the more senior and more affluent officers. The pictures of these officers show clearly the fashion for long hair, whiskers and beards in the mid-1800s. Indeed, so similar is their appearance and so stylised the portraits, it is very hard to detect much difference between a large number of officers of the same rank and social standing.

An advertisement in the Jersey Times of 5 June 1849 states that “Portraits are taken in groups of two or three, or the single figure, or bust, and of various sizes, even small enough for a ring, the charge for which is reduced to one half of that in London.

Here is some of his grids that he took.

ALBUMEN PRINT

Invented in 1850, and commonly used in the late nineteenth century, the albumen print is a type of photographic print made from paper coated with albumen (egg white).

The albumen print became popular because it produced a rich sharp image. The process involves coating a sheet of paper with albumen (egg white), making the paper’s surface glossy and smooth. It is then coated in a solution of silver nitrate. The albumen and the silver nitrate form light-sensitive silver salts on the paper. When a glass negative is placed directly on the paper and exposed to light, it forms an image on the paper.

Here are some more recent images of his.

This technique is called diamond cameo, licenced by Henry Mullins. Some cameo carvers are well known and signed cameos are valuable. Hardstone cameos are more highly valued than the softer Shell cameos.

Diamond Cameo photograph was registered by F.R. Window of London in 1864. Four small oval portraits were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond, each portrait being of the same person photographed in a different position.

Their on line archive contains 9600 images, but the majority of these are sets of up to 16 photographs taken at a single sitting.

JUXTAPOSITION

Juxtaposition is placing two images together to show contrast or similarities.

Here is some of my examples’ of headshots, as well as an examples of diamond cameo.

Rembrandt lighting is a technique utilizing one light and one reflector or two separate lights. It’s a popular technique because it creates images that look both dramatic yet natural. It’s predominantly characterized by a lit-up triangle underneath the subject’s eye on the less illuminated area of the face 

for the photos bellow I used three point Rembrandt lighting with one light behind one light to the right side and a light reflector to the left, this creates a lighter effect than traditional Rembrandt lighting

i like these photos because i think it demonstrates the signature triangle on the left cheek while still achieving a soft overall atmosphere to the photos

here is my editing process when trying to create a high quality photo and I believe I achieved this for the most part creating the traditional triangle shape on the left cheek.

my pictures bellow are using traditional Rembrandt lighting at its most basic, Rembrandt lighting consists of a single light source placed on a 45 degree offset from the subject, about 5 feet away. Positioned roughly two feet higher than eye level, the light source is angled slightly downward and hits the side of the face that is farthest away from the camera.

the photos above are what I believe to be the best i have of this photo style, I believe Rembrandt lighting is not what I am strongest in but I think I have managed to achieve the desired effect in a good amount of my photos specifically the ones listed above.

above is my editing process when creating these images, i edited the photos not to change the images but to enhance the key features of this photography style .

Henry Mullins is one of the most prolific photographers represented in the Société Jersiase photo-archive. He has produced over 9,000 portraits of islanders in jersey channel island from 1852 to 1873 at a time when the population was around 55,000. The records of his work comes from his albums, in which he placed his clients in a social hierarchy which basically means he categorized them depending on their class. The arrangement of Mullins’ portraits of ‘who’s who’ in 19th century Jersey are highly politicised.

Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and then shortly moved to Jersey in July 1848, where he set up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square. In his studio he would photograph Jersey political elite (The Bailiff, Lt Governor, Jurats, Deputies etc), mercantile families (Robin, Janvrin, Hemery, Nicolle and more) military officers and professional classes (advocates, bankers, clergy, doctors etc).

Mood board:

Diamond Cameo: The Patent Diamond Cameo photograph was registered by F.R. Window of London in 1864. It is basically four small oval portraits ,usually 1″ x ³/₄“, were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond. Each portrait of the subject are headshot photographed in a different position.

What is Loop lighting?

Loop lighting is a lighting that creates circular shadow on the subject’s face right just under which should look like a loop hence the name. Photographers can achieve this by placing the key light at an 45 degree angle to one side of the subject and then raising the key light just above the subjects eye line. 

Mood board:

Set up for Loop lighting

Own experiment of Loop lighting:

Experiment 1:

Editing process: for this picture, I desaturated the picture to -100 so that the picture would go black and white. I did this to create diversity and because I also liked how the picture looked in black and white.

Before (left) and After (right):

Experiment 2:

Editing process: For this picture I didn’t change it. I left the picture as it was because i thought that it looked great with colour and I also think that editing it would destroy that loop lighting that is evident in the picture.

Experiment 3:

Editing process: For this picture I desaturated the picture to -100 so that the picture would be black and white as I though that it would enhance that loop lighting that was slightly missing when the picture was in colour.

Before (left) and After (right):

Presentation of outcomes

Evaluation and critique:

Diamond Cameo is where four small oval portraits (1″ x ³/₄“) were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond, each portrait being of the same person photographed in a different position.

The carte de visite was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero. It was usually an albumen print from a collodion negative on thin paper glued onto a thicker paper card. The size of a carte de visite is 54.0 mm × 89 mm mounted on a card sized 64 mm × 100 mm. 

Henry Mullins:

Henry Mullins was the first professional photographer to come to Jersey and establish a portraiture business in the very early days of photography

Henry Mullins is one of the most prolific photographers represented in the Societe Jersiase Photo-Archive, producing over 9,000 portraits of islanders from 1852 to 1873 at a time when the population was around 55,000. The record we have of his work comes through his albums, in which he placed his clients in a social hierarchy. The arrangement of Mullins’ portraits of ‘who’s who’ in 19th century Jersey are highly politicised.

Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848, setting up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square. Here he would photograph Jersey political elite (The Bailiff, Lt Governor, Jurats, Deputies etc), mercantile families (Robin, Janvrin, Hemery, Nicolle ect.) military officers and professional classes (advocates, bankers, clergy, doctors etc). Initially he was in partnership with a Mr Millward, about whom very little is known. By the following year he was working alone and he continued to work out of the same studio for another 26 years.

Diamond Cameo Photoshoot:

For this photoshoot, I went into the studio and took headshots of students. I ensured that I captured them from direct angles eg front on and side on so I can then use these to create a diamond cameo. I experimented with using a dark background and light background I took a variety of portrait and landscape photos.

Once I had my images, I then picked 4 that I wanted to use on my diamond cameo. I edited these on Lightroom, adjusting the exposure, composure, whites etc. I then opened a new blank page on photoshop then pressed file the open in order to pick on of the 4 images from my file. Once I had opened the image I wanted to use, I clicked on the elliptical Marquee Tool and created an oval shape around the face of the subject. I then dragged down the tab and using the select tool, dragged the cut out onto the blank page. I then used ctrl t in order to move and adjust the size of the images. I repeated these steps until I had 4 images in a diamond shape.

Finally, to finish off this first attempt, I added a drop shadow to each of the images to make them stand out compared to the white background. Here is my first attempt at creating a diamond cameo.

I then decided I wanted to experiment more with this first attempt and chose to make the images black and white. In order to do this, I went onto image, adjustments then pressed black and white.

Next, I made the images have a sepia colour in order to give the impression of it being old as seen in Henry Mullins’ images. I did this by going onto image, adjustments, photo filter then chose the sepia colour and raised this to 62%.

I then decided to colour the blank background in order to make it more interesting to look at. I decided to use a beige like colour in order to match with the old theme I was going with. In order to colour the background, I used the paint bucket tool and then experimented with different colours until I was left with an image I was satisfied with.

Lastly, I experimented with adding a pattern over my images. I did this by going onto each of my layers then right clicking and pressing blending options. I then went down to pattern overlay and chose a brown grassy pattern as I felt this matched the sepia tone I had previously. I then changed the opacity of it to be 24% so you can still see the person behind it. I also decided to make the background a bit less colourful as otherwise it felt too similar to the images and looked cluttered.

Overall, I like how this first attempt and my different experimentations of it came out. I feel I successfully managed to create a diamond cameo and a vintage tone as seen in Henry Mullin’s work, which is what I was trying to achieve. Next, I want to experiment with different images and a different model.

I think these diamond cameos turned out well too. However, to further my work next time I would try to add a frame to my images as I noticed that I whilst researching about diamond cameos, they sometimes had a frame around the headshots, making them look richer and helped to make the overall image look more vintage.

For my final diamond cameo, I decided to try something different and create a bright boarder around my images which are placed on a black piece of paper. I did this by repeating the usual steps when creating my other diamond cameos. However, once I had done these steps, I went onto each of my layers and right clicked on them. I then went onto blending options and selected outer glow. I experimented with different opacities, sizes and ranges until I found the perfect glow boarder. I made one in colour and then one in black and white.

Here I experimented with adding two different people to one diamond cameo:

During this project, I managed to experiment with a variety of different diamond cameos. For example, I tried a range of different colours, textures, people and backgrounds. These different attempts at creating different, unique diamond cameos helped me to be able to use photoshop more comfortably and make my work more interesting to look at as it isn’t just the same concept each time.