WHAT IS CHIAROSCURO LIGHTING?

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term used to describe the technique of using light and dark in artwork. It is a high-contrast lighting technique that uses a low lighting setup to achieve contrast between the subject and a dark background. The final images produced include a well-lit subject and it is three-dimensional, with exaggerated shadows and highlights. It has a dark, full of contrast look, with dense shadows, though the background doesn’t always have to be completely black.

WHY DO PHOTOGRAPHERS USE THIS LIGHTING?

Photographers use this type of lighting because it emphasises the texture of the subject and it adds depth to portraits. This lighting is good for photographers to use because it creates a sharp contrast that makes a more dramatic and often assertive photo. This is a common technique used as it can emphasize power, glamour, and drama.

EXAMPLES OF CHIAROSCURO LIGHTING:

LIGHTING SET UP:

For Chiaroscuro lighting, we only used one light source and we did not use a reflector, unlike the other lighting methods. We placed the subject centre in front of a black background, and used the lighting source on one side of their face. This then creates the effect of split lighting.

CONTACT SHEET:

MY FINAL EDITED IMAGES:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I edited these photos using Adobe Lightroom Classic. For all of these photos, I increased the exposure and contrast to make sure I was making the shadows intensified to create the idea of ‘split-lighting’. My favourite image I edited is the last one shown above because the Chiaroscuro lighting affect is shown clearly and accurately. The contrast between light and dark here is affective as it is clear where the lighting is split into the two differences.

WHAT IS REMBRANDT LIGHTING?

Rembrandt Lighting is a technique that was taken from a famous painter in the 1600s, Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Reign, named after the way he used light in his portrait paintings. Rembrandt lighting is a technique utilising one light and one reflector, or two separate lights. It is a type of side lighting where the side of the subject is in shadow creating a lit-up triangle underneath the subject’s eye on the less illuminated area of the face. The background of the image is also usually shadowed and dark, putting the subject front and centre. The black background emphasises the contrast between light and dark. This can be highly effective in making a two-dimensional image appear three dimensional. The Rembrandt lighting technique results in a moody and dramatic effect.

WHY DO PHOTOGRAPHERS USE THIS LIGHTING?

It’s a popular technique for photographers to use because it creates images that look both dramatic yet natural. The Rembrandt method is considered low-effort while producing high-impact photographs. Secondly, one of the reasons professional photographers go with Rembrandt lighting is to achieve a dramatic visual effect called the chiaroscuro effect.

EXAMPLES OF REMBRANDT LIGHTING:

LIGHTING SET UP:

This diagram describes the set up of Rembrandt lighting. to achieve our photos, we used one reflector placed at eye level and one main light source placed on a 45 degree offset from the subject. The reflector projected the lighting back onto the subjects face to create the small triangle of light under the eye, illuminating the model’s face.

CONTACT SHEET:

MY FINAL EDITED IMAGES:

Here are some before and after comparisons of some of my favourite photos to show Rembrandt lighting. I edited all of these images using Adobe Lightroom Classic. To show the lighting technique more accurately, I increased the shadows and intensified the highlighted areas on the face to emphasise the contrast between the light and dark, creating a lit-up triangle underneath the subject’s eye on the less illuminated area of the face. I like the outcome of these edited images because it helps show the enhancement of the triangle of light that is created by using the reflector to bring highlight to half of the subject’s face, whilst the other half of the face is shadowed. The black and white edited photo helps to creates a more effective image as the shadows are made to appear darker and softer, whilst the highlights on the face are sharp and harsh.

WHAT IS BUTTERFLY LIGHTING?

Butterfly lighting is a portrait lighting pattern where the key light is placed above and directly centred with a subject’s face to create a shadow under the nose that resembles a butterfly. The lighting is soft on the face. This lighting is often seen in glamour shots and particularly with headshots. 

WHY DO PHOTOGRAPHERS USE BUTTERFLY LIGHTING?

Photographers use this method to take flattering, glamorous portrait photos. It is a popular setup because it has the effect of slimming the face due to shadows that are created on both sides of the face. This provides a flattering look that emphasizes a subject’s facial features, highlighting the eyebrows, cheekbones, and nose in a photogenic way.  Another reason why photographers use this lighting pattern is that it is easy to set up, doesn’t require a lot of fancy equipment, and it creates a natural but strong look.

EXAMPLES OF BUTTERFLY LIGHTING:

LIGHTING SET UP:

To achieve this lighting, first, we placed the main light source above the subject at a higher angle, pointing down towards the subjects face. We then placed the camera directly under the light source on a tripod. Lastly, we used a reflector to bounce the light back up and soften the shadow under the chin and under the nose. To do this, we positioned the reflector under the subject’s face. The only other thing we used was a black backdrop.

CONTACT SHEET:

MY FINAL EDITED IMAGES:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Photoshoot 1:

Photoshoot 2:

For these 2 photoshoots, I made the mistake of using my phone as a camera. Therefore the quality is not as detailed and the subject isn’t as focused as they would’ve been if I used a Digital Camera. I do like these images because both of these photoshoots provide portraits of people within different social environments. Photoshoot 1 is of my work colleague playing chess, and naturally posing for the camera. The subject is aware he is being photographed, but I could’ve improved these photos by making sure the subject was looking directly at the camera and making a connection with the viewer. In these photos, the subject is the main focus as he is the only person present, making it clearer to the viewers about what is happening. Photoshoot 2 is purposely a lot different, as the subject was not aware he was being photographed. Also, in these photos there is more than one person present, making the ‘subject’ not fully focused on. Although, it is clear to viewers that the DJ is supposedly meant to be the main focus of the image. I also should’ve tried to make the subject more centred, and as we can see the photos were taken on an angle so this made it difficult to include more of the background. The lighting also affected these images because we were in a dark environment, with only artificial and coloured lighting. The low light helped create a sense of gloom and mystery. Some of these images appear to be more blurred than the others, and this is because it was difficult to get a still, focused shot of the DJ when he was not aware of the photoshoot at that moment. This subtracts the effect from the images, as it looks as though the photos were not planned out or thought through enough.

Photoshoot 3:

Photoshoot 4:

Photoshoot 5:

Photoshoot 6:

Photoshoot 7:

Photoshoot 8:

Photoshoot 9:

Photoshoot 10:

Photoshoot 11:

Photoshoot 12:

Photoshoot 13:

Photoshoot 14:

Extras:

Overall, I did around 15 photoshoots altogether. I used different people in different environments to create stories behind the images. My favourite photoshoot I did was photoshoot 7. I like these images because it is clear what environment the subjects are linked to, and also in some there is only one subject and in the rest there are 2, therefore it adds contrast. I also like photoshoot 8, because the subject is looking directly in the camera with a serious and dead facial expression. This creates a mood of frustration for the viewer.

August Sander

I have chosen to write about August Sander because his work intrigued me. I think all of Sander’s photographs create a huge feeling of time as they are in black-and-white and are taken of people in the 20th century.

August Sander was a famous German photographer who lived a long life, 1876-1964. Sander’s photography career began when he was a teenager. Acquiring his first camera in 1892, he took up photography as a hobby and, after military service, pursued it professionally, working in a series of photographic firms and studios in Germany. After photographing local farmers, Sander was inspired to produce a series of portraits of German people from all classes of society. In the mid-1920s, Sander began his decades-long project ‘People of the Twentieth Century‘, but in the 1930s his work fell into disfavor and was banned by the Nazis. Although his project couldn’t have been completed, it includes over 600 photographs divided into seven volumes and nearly 50 portfolios. The photographs from this project are all mostly black-and-white portraits documenting Germans from various social and economic backgrounds in the 20th century.

Emotional:

• Intimidating
• Uneasy
• Creepy
• I like the photo because it makes me think about the backstory and meaning behind it.

Visual:

• Looks like a train factory
• Dull
• Dark lighting, lots of shadows
• Looks a bit abandoned and dirty/rusty
• Artificial lighting
• Shallow depth of field
• Old white man-main focus point, subject of the image-staring into the camera, makes viewer feel uncomfortable
• Dark surroundings
• Symmetry

Technical:

• Balanced composition from the 2 pillars either side making the main subject centered
• Line of symmetry
• Losing focus and detail the further back you go behind the subject so the main subject is focused and the rest is blurry
• Lighting is from either side of his face so the middle of his face is dark shadowy.

Conceptual

Taken from Los Angeles Times:

“In 1963 Jewish photographer Arnold Newman was commissioned by Newsweek to take a portrait of Alfred Krupp, a convicted Nazi war criminal. At first, Newman declined the offer. The Jewish American photographer saw the convicted war criminal as the devil and wanted to put a knife in his back. But Newman did proceed with the job. A sinister-looking man, Krupp was seated on a platform with his factory in the background. Newman asked him to lean forward. Krupp clasped his hands together under his chin. “My hair stood on end,” Newman would later say. It was considered one of the most important photos by the man who became known as the father of the environmental portrait.”https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-arnold-newman-photographer-20190613-story.html

Contextual

• 1963

Examples of Arnold Newman’s photography:

What is environmental portraits?

Environmental portraits are typically images that show a subject in their workplace, usually undertaking their profession. They don’t always have to be in a workplace, they can also be images where the subject is linked to the background and shows the subject’s life and surroundings. The environment behind the subject helps tell the story about who they are, what they do, or what their passion is. Photographers like taking environmental images because they are visual storytellers and they like to tell stories with out the use of words. These images reveal the story behind a stranger, and makes the viewer feel closer to them in a way.

Mood board:

This style of photography makes me feel inspired because I can learn about different work environments and how they have changed over the years. I also like how each photo has a different feeling to it from the subject’s body language and their facial expression.

What is typology?:

Typology in photography is a single photograph or a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency usually of similar objects.

As we can see here, there are 9 photographs all including trees of similarity. This is called typology because it is a suite of images in relation to the same subject. In this case, the tree is the main subject of the image.

In this virtual gallery, I used my favourite ‘still life images’. I like this layout because the smooth and textured photos contrast really well together. I like the way that the two photos that are opposite to each other include similar objects but are photographed with two different tones, cool and warm. Both of these images have a smooth textured background, and the photo that is centred has a rough textured background which creates a contrast between all of these photographs.

Edit 1:

Before

After

Edit 2:

Before

After

Formalism:

Formalism is the study of art based on analysis of its form, the way it is made and what it looks like. Formalism photography is where the design, composition and lighting are dominant over the subject matter, and concentrates on the desired subject while eliminating everything else, to make the subject the main focus. Paying attention to the formal elements will help you emphasise the most critical aspects of the shot.

The seven formal elements are commonly known as:
– Line
– Shape & Form
– Pattern
– Tone
– Colour
– Texture
– Space

For my artist response, I chose to use the artist Walker Evans as inspiration for my photographs because I found his work really interesting as he uses tools to take single object photographs.

Importing photos

I used Lightroom Classic to edit and organise my photographs. Using this, I have learnt the skills of importing images from the computer files into Lightroom Classic, I can also rate my images from 1-5 stars depending on the quality and pick my best images from the photoshoot.

Flag colour representation:

• RED: Images that could’ve been improved
• YELLOW: Good images that I could potentially use
• GREEN: My best images

Single object photoshoot:

Single Object editing:

Edit 1:

Before editing:

After editing:

In the unedited photo above, I found that the image seemed too dull, with no colour. I decided to edit the image so that the hammer had more texture to it and stood out so the viewer’s focus was only on the tool. I also increased the saturation, this made the background colour brighter and a heavier pink tone.

Edit 2:

Edit 3:

Edit 4: