What is Studio Lighting?

Studio Lighting is artificial light that is used to light up the environment you want to take photos of. This can be used in a range of techniques to create different types of unique images.

People use Studio Lighting to get a range of special effects that can be applied to the subject, some of the effects are named Rembrandt lighting, Butterfly lighting and Chiaroscuro. Each effect involves manipulating the studio lighting to create a balance of light and shadows against the subjects face.

Types of studio lighting

Continuous lighting

2 Point Lighting Setup

With a 2 Point Lighting Setup you setup both lights facing the subject at a 45 degree angle with one angled up and one angled down. The goal of this lighting setup is to eliminate shadows from under the subjects nose and cheeks.

3 Point Lighting Setup

With a 3 Point Lighting Setup you setup two of the lights (The Key Light and Fill Light) so they are facing 45 degrees from the subject similar to the 2 Point Lighting Setup however the third light (Back Light) is placed behind the subject. By using Three sources of light it allows for more control of the shadows casted on the subject, highlights and the overall contrast. Its one of the best and well known lighting setups as it allows for total control of the environment and also allows for you to shape how you want your subject to be viewed as.

Fill Lighting

Fill Lighting is used to fill in any shadows that the key light may create, it is usually placed in front of the subject but on the opposite side of the key lighting. It is primarily used on a 3 Point Lighting Setup. Fill lighting can be useful for revealing more details of a subject that were hidden due to the shadow of the key light.

Coloured Gels

Coloured Gels is a transparent coloured material that is attached on to the red-head lights which can modify the temperature and the feel of the image which is useful if you want to find a type of lighting to suit the subject your taking a picture of or if you want to make your picture look unique or standout more.

It is used for multiple different purposes such as to colour light and for colour correction and it is used in not only just photography but in videography and theatre as well.

Evaluation:

Overall, I think that the images that I took were effective and this is because I was able to capture the subject actually doing their work in their usual environment so not only did it make the image feel authentic but you could also see what was happening at the moment and what the subject was doing or in the middle of doing. I also like the environments used as its easy to identify what my subjects usual environment is and the tools/equipment needed to proceed with their work. Editing these images also helped a lot as I was able to bring more detail out which helped show more things in the environment which can make the image look more compelling. However I do feel that I could of attempted to take more images of other different environments as well as using different composition techniques which would of helped to make the image stand out even more.

Typology like representation using art steps:

Image #1

What I have done to this image is that I have decreased the exposure of the image in order to make it less brighter which will help capture some more detail around the bright areas as well as increasing the contrast to help reveal more detail all around, I have also increased the temperature of the image to reduce some of the bright white colours along the top of the image.

I have also cropped the image so it focuses more on the subject as well as also using composition mainly rule of thirds which has helped make the subject occupy most of the image making it the main focus which is what I want.

Image #2

I did not crop this image as I wanted to retain the perfect symmetry of my subject being at the centre of my image. This helps the subject be the main focus of the image especially as they are right in the centre so its most likely the first thing you see when you view this image.

Image #3

With this image I adjusted the exposure slightly to brighten up the image and then I also increased the contrast in order to preserve more detail, however due to the high ISO this image was taken in, increasing both the exposure and contrast made some details in the image hard to view so to counter this I decreased the Highlights dramatically which helped restore the visibility of the details in this image.

With this image I didn’t adjust the exposure as the image was already bright when I took it, I did adjust the contrast to bring out more detail in things like the engine or the texture on the floor and wall, I also decreased the Highlights a lot as it helped decrease places in the image where it was overexposed primarily in the wall so now it makes the texture on the wall much more visible compared to before I edited it. Last thing I did was decrease the image temperature to remove some faint yellow light that was present before.

With this image I adjusted the exposure slightly to give some dark areas of the photos more light and also adjusted the contrast to bring more shadow and detail into the photo. I also decreased the Highlights as some areas of the photo were too bright especially around the face so decreasing the highlights helped reduce the bright areas and bring out some details. I also decreased the temperature slightly as it helped to remove the faint yellow tint you could see in the image due to the lighting.

I cropped the image to ensure that the subject is the main focus of the image using the rule of thirds composition, its also cropped really nicely in a way where you can see not only the subject but what he is doing with the vehicle which helps identify what his usual environment is.

Image #6

This image needed a lot of editing done to it as the image quality before the edits were quite grainy and dark due to me accidently leaving the ISO at a high value, to counter this I first made sure to increase exposure slightly to brighten the image and slightly reduce the contrast as adding more contrast to this dark image made it look darker and more grainy. To preserve as much visual detail as I could I turned the highlights all the way down which was needed for this image as it helped uncover the missing details in this image like the corner of the wall on the left side of the image, that was completely white until I adjusted the highlights. I also adjusted the image temperature by turning it down to remove the yellow tint in the image which helped to show more minor details that was missing.

With how this image was taken, I was had to crop it to meet the rule of thirds composition which in return made this image not look too bad. We can clearly see the subject at her workplace interacting with the fridge which takes up around half the image so it makes it easy for the subject to be identified and seen.

Contact Sheet

By making a contact sheet it has helped me determine which images I think are best to be shown as my final images, There were images I colour coded yellow as my subject either appeared blurry or the image quality/angle wasn’t at the standards I wanted. There were images I colour coded red as my subject was looking away from the camera or the image wasn’t very relevant to what I was trying to capture. The images I colour coded green are images I think are worth choosing as my final images as they meet all my criteria and I think will look great when presented.

My Best Photos

I have selected these photos to be edited and used as my final images as they show a clear representation of my subjects usual environment and they are captured in the moment of their work which makes these images feel more genuine. They also show lots of details in the background of their environment.

Initial ideas:

Environments:

Subjects: I intend to take photos of is my family and friends.

Environments: I will try to capture my subjects in their environment most suited to them. For example: Sister: Will be photographed at her bank or at her home office Dad: Will be photographed at his garage Mum: Will be photographed at home on her patio Sisters boyfriend: Will be photographed at his workshop or his work van Friends: Will be photographed at the football pitch or basketball court

Poses: I intend to make my subjects keep quite a natural face and expression, I may also get them to hold items that will help hint of what their profession is.

Gaze: I intend to make my subjects keep eye contact with the camera in order to make the photo feel more authentic.

Composition: I intend to experiment with various amounts of compositions. Mainly on Rule of thirds and symmetry.

Framing: I intend to get the perfect balance of keeping the subject in frame and in focus while still maintaining the quality of the background behind the subject so the viewer will be able to identify the subjects environment easily.

Orientation: I will be taking most of my pictures in landscape in order to achieve a wider view of the environment.

Aperture: I will experiment with small to medium aperture in order to create a long and medium depth of field which will help me determine which is the best style to take my environmental portraits.

Arnold Newman (born in 1918 – 2006) was a American photographer who was most famous for his environmental portraits. For his portraits he made sure he used a carefully framed and well lit setting while also making sure its contents were also visible, this helps symbolize the individuals life and work in the photograph. One of his famous portraits was one taken of a man named Alfred Krupp and he was originally commissioned by Newsweek to take the portrait but he refused at first, This is due to their backgrounds as Arnold Newman is Jewish and Alfred Krupp was a convicted Nazi war criminal. Eventually Arnold Newman agreed to take the portrait as he saw the assignment as some sort of personal revenge. This portrait would then later become one of the most controversial images taken at its time.

Technical

Lighting – The photo is positioned in a way where most of the light from the image is at the top while it gets darker between the bottom of the image. The subject is also illuminated to make him the main focus which can make him look more sinister.

Aperture – The photo looks like it was taken with a wide angle lens as we are able to view a great amount of detail in the image, it also uses a low aperture which gives us a large depth of field as we are able to view most things in the images clearly and with ease and it also doesn’t appear blurry.

Shutter speed – The photo looks a bit over exposed as we can notice from the light towards the back which makes things near the light appear slightly blurry.

ISO – The photo does not appear to look very grainy so I assume that a low ISO was used.

White Balance – The picture uses quite warm colours especially on the pillars and the subject.

Visual

The image features a few colours but mainly sticks to using warm colours. The tone of the image is both light and dark, we can see this with the subject where he is illuminated with light which creates some dark shadows at the bottom of the image. We can also see that the subject takes up half of the image and has his fingers interlinked while resting his chin on top and leaning towards the camera and this being done helps create some mystery and uneasy feelings towards the subject which makes us wonder who he is and what he does in his life. We can see a pattern in the background with the pillars which are placed symmetrically with one on the left side and one on the right side which helps us direct our attention to the middle which is the subject.

Contextual

This image is supposed to represent the horrors that were happening in WW2 specifically the time period were Nazis were using Jewish people as slaves. This is easy to see as we can see that the setting appears to be in an industrial building which resembles closely to a train station, the pose and positioning of the subject also makes us uneasy and makes him look sinister to represent the Nazis at the time who were in charge of trafficking the slaves and what to do with them. The subject named Alfred Krupp was actually a convicted Nazi war criminal which makes the photo even more connected to the setting and what it is supposed to represent.

Conceptual

The concept of this image is to show the public the tragedy of the loss of millions of Jewish people during WW2 and how horrible their conditions were, By using a convicted Nazi as the subject of the photo it helped layout the true meaning of the photo and what it really presents. Arnold Newman was said to be furious when he saw this image and this photo allowed Newman to share his hatred towards Krupp with the world.

Environmental portraiture are pictures taken of the subject in their usual environment, for example a person whose skill and job is baking would have a picture taken of them at the bakery or a person who does boxing for a hobby would have a picture taken of them doing boxing at their training session. These images without explaining anything can help us determine the life’s that these people live and can reveal the type of person they are by what they do in their life. This makes Environmental portraits interesting as it gives the image a meaning and a story behind it which makes these images standout compared to other styles of images.

Why do people use environmental portraits?

People use environmental portraits as it tells a story, by viewing an image of a subject and their environment, which would be easily identifiable as its usually something we see day to day or have heard of, it allows for viewers to give their insights on the subjects personality, their life style, their hobby/job. In some cases it can even make enhance the viewers understanding of the photo as some environmental portraits have a deep and fascinating meaning like the image Alfred Krupp taken by photographer Arnold Newman.

How do I take environmental portraits?

To take a good environmental portrait image you want to make sure you have a subject and their environment (or a background/object which will make the image easy to identify of what the subjects usual environment is) and you also want to make sure that you have a plan in place of what you want to capture. Once you have everything in order you want to position your camera and ensure you have the settings you want to use to capture the image like how much light is being let in or the depth of field you want to achieve. Once that’s all done you can get your subject to look at the camera and pose however you would like and then you can capture the image.

I have taken images using paper to try create some unique abstract images. The artist who has inspired my images is named Francis Bruguière.

Francis Bruguière

Francis Bruguière is an American photographer who was famous for creating amazing images using only paper and light. He was introduced to photography by Alfred Stieglitz (Photographer and modern art promoter) in 1905 where after studying painting in Europe he became acquaintances with Stieglitz who accepted him as part of the photo-secession. He experimented with many different options with his photographers and in 1927 he created the Cut-paper abstraction piece which became really popular. He was able to capture this image by cutting up the paper and folding it in a way which is used to make unique details and make it look 3D, he would then use light to shine through the paper which would then result in shadows being created against the paper which resulted into making some amazing images.

My Texture Photoshoot:

My Favourite Images

I selected these images as they looked the most appealing compared to the rest, you can also see how they’re structured in a way that gives it that 3D look and you can also see the amount of shadows it creates against the paper and floor.

My Favourite Images Edited

With these images I edited them by changing the image temperature up to around the mid 20s which gives it this yellow tint which brings out more detail in the image and also matches the kind of colour Francis Bruguière’s photo uses, I also turned up the contrast high in order to get a better visuals with the shadows, as well as slightly increasing the exposure to give the image more light. I also lowered the highlights of the photo to make it less bright in some areas to increase detail. The final results after applying these changes are these images where its easy to identify the shadows in the image as well as preserving the detail of the paper pattern.

What is Shutter Speed?

Shutter Speed is the length of time your cameras shutter stays open, which also determines how much light the sensor is exposed to. The longer the shutter is open then the longer the light will have to hit the sensor and brighten the image, The shorter the shutter is open then the shorter the time the light will hit the sensor which could result in darker images. Shutter speed is part of the exposure triangle which is the three factors that determine the exposure of a image.

By adjusting and controlling your shutter speed it can determine how sharp or blurry your moving image is. By taking images with a fast shutter speed you can capture a moving image and it will essentially be frozen in place so you end up getting a clean and sharp photo of your subject. By taking images with a slow shutter speed you end up getting images of your moving subject being blurry.

Examples

By using a fast shutter speed it makes your moving subject freeze in place in your image so you end up getting images like these below.

All photos used in the examples are not mine

Francesca Woodman

Francesca Woodman experimented with slow shutter speed and was able to create an amazing series of photos. Her photographs were taken at her parents farmhouse in the countryside of Florence Italy where they would spend their summers. The European culture and art had a huge influence on her work. The influence of surrealist art in the photographs of Man Ray and Claude Cahun can be seen in the themes and style used in her photographs. Her ideas and skills were developed at the Rhode island school of design. Her photographs was important and had an influence for American artists. Especially since in the 1970s the status of photography wasn’t really as big as paintings and sculptures. However in 1981, Francesca Woodman ended up taking her life at the age of 22

Her images below:

My Photos

Thanks to the low shutter speed (2 Seconds used) I was able to create light trails using flashlights and led lights which in return made some interesting and spectacular photos.

In Photography, texture refers to the visual quality of the surface of an object. This can be things like the variances in shapes, tone and colour depth. Texture can bring life and vibrance to images which would otherwise look flat and dull.

Edward Weston

Edward Weston is a photographer who is often named as “one of the most innovative and influential American photographers”. He is best known for his Sharply Focused Photos of natural forms, landscapes and nudes. His mother died when was only 5 years old and was then raised by sister Mary who was nine years older than him. After a few years his father remarried but neither Weston or his sister got along with their new stepmother and step brother. Mary got married in 1897 and left home which results into Edward Weston being left on his own due to his father primarily focusing on his new wife and stepson which resulted into him dropping school and isolating himself in his room. For his 16th birthday his father purchased him a Camera and after going on holiday in the Midwest his interest in photography grew which led into him purchasing a better camera. In 1930 he decided to experiment taking photographs of different subjects as at the time he was mostly focused on taking Landscapes and nude photos. He took photos of Cabbage, Kale, Bananas, onions and in August of that same year photographer Noskowiak brought him seven green peppers which ended up into him creating one of his most famous piece named Pepper No. 30 which was taken of a green pepper in rich black and white tones. This photo was one of the best-known photos taken by Edward Weston. Another image he took which interests me is cabbage leaf taken in 1931 which was taken when experimenting taking photographs with different types of vegetables.

Edward Weston will be my inspiration for my textural photos as I really like the style of how his images are taken and the subjects in them. For example with the Cabbage we can see the veins of the leaves clearly along with the grooves and shape of them.

My Photos

My Six Personal Favourites:

I chose these images as I feel that the detail of the fruit and vegetables can be seen clearly which is important to me as it follows the same idea Edward Weston uses in his images like for example his image ‘cabbage leaf’ where you are able to view the grooves of the cabbages leaf in detail. So with these images it should match up close to his style especially when edited as I will be able to try get those details in the images to pop out more and be more obvious. I have used a large aperture in order to have a shallow depth of field which allows the cabbage and orange to be the only thing in focus which is needed for my type of photography style.

My Six Personal Favourites Edited:

These are the images after they have been edited and with the images edited they are looking much better. You can see the details pop out more as the black and white colour scheme brings our attention more to the small details of the images. For instance with the orange picture on the bottom left the wrinkles in the orange skin are more visible and easier to look at compared to the same image in colour. The use of a high aperture also helped to keep the subjects in focus which is needed in order to capture all the small details in the photo.