Assignment Four – Applying Lighting Techniques
The object of this assignment is to demonstrate my understanding of light and what I have learnt throughout Part Four of this course.
My chosen subject for this exercise is an ebony carved African man with a headdress of Guiney foul feathers.
1. Shape
This quality has to do with the outline of an object – its edges. These are likely to stand out more clearly if they contrast with the background, and if there is minimum detail visible in the object.
Picture 1.1
Picture 1.1
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
I wanted to create and show the outline of the African man in a true to life surrounding, i.e. the Kalahari Dessert and my imagination steered me towards an African sunset behind the subject on a sloping plane, hence my colour of choice being a very warm and vibrant red/orange. This picture took me quite some time to capture before I was totally happy but as I progressed with slight changes here and there to the lighting and camera the picture slowly evolved into something I am really happy with, I feel it could almost be a real person silhouetted against the endless sand dunes of the Kalahari.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/180th sec
Aperture f9.5
ISO 200
White Balance Setting Temperature 6150°K
Lens 85 mm (prime)
Focal Length 85 mm
Comments
This picture was taken with the subject placed in front of a two stop circular diffuser. The orange effect surrounding the subject was created using two speedlights equally placed about one meter apart with orange gels fitted and to further enhance the effect I increased the cameras temperature (white balance).
Picture 1.2
Picture 1.2
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
This is an effect I use quite often at night with three or more speedlights, it is also an effect used quite often at parties such as weddings. One Speedlight is positioned on the camera whilst the other two or more are placed about the subjects or room at a distance and for this part of the assignment I thought it would be fitting to show the shape of the African man in a black against blue contrast.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/180th sec
Aperture f9.5
ISO 200
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 66 mm
Comments
This picture was taken again with the subject placed in front of a two stop diffuser. The effect surrounding the subject was created using two speedlights equally placed about one meter behind the diffuser without any coloured filters or gels fitted and to create the blue effect I used a third speedlight (set very low) looking at the subject from the camera side with an orange gel fitted. Finally the cameras white balance is set to incandescent. This is an unbalanced light scenario but used cleverly it can create effects such as this shown.
2. Form
This is another way of describing the volume of an object – how three dimensional it looks. The modelling effect of the light and the way you deal with the shadows is all important. Try to show as much depth as possible in the subject.
Picture 2.1
Picture 2.1
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
My thoughts prior to setting up and taking this picture were to create as much depth and shadow as possible without too much darkness or to the point of overexposing the subjects details by creating large hot spots. I decided to shoot this picture in monochrome set against a black cotton background.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/45th sec
Aperture f16
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 38 mm
Comments
This picture was taken with a single Speedlight without a diffuser. The Speedlight was pointed towards the material foreground with a silver reflector to the left hand side bouncing the light back onto the subject.
Picture 2.2
Picture 2.2
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
I wanted a close up of a detailed area where I could position the light in return for good shadow and depth enhancing the dimensional contours of the subject.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/45th sec
Aperture f11
ISO 400
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
For this picture I used an undiffused Speedlight at ninety degrees to the subjects facial profile. I also moved the subject as far from the backdrop as possible in order to eliminate any shadows, this gave me the contrast I wanted between subject and background.
3. Texture
This is a quality of the surface detail. Fine detail, such as that on sandstone or skin, it stands out best with a pattern of small, hard shadows, so you will have to consider both the diffusion (or lack of it) and the angle of the light. Of course, a shiny surface like chrome, although it is thought of as being smooth, it does have a texture of a kind.
Picture 3.1
Picture 3.1
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
My thoughts whilst compiling and capturing this picture were to capture as much of the textures and details from the wood, grain, facial carving and feathers as possible whilst at the same time capture a true rendition of subjects tone and colours.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1 second
Aperture f16
ISO 400
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
I first tried to capture this picture using a white background, the ebony colour came out well with a nice contrast (as expected) but the feathers were lost and had no impact. I then tried a red background but the results looked cheep and had little elegance (in my opinion), so I reverted back to my black velvet backdrop. Here I used two diffused speedlights which were both off camera, one positioned on the subject slightly off lens axis but elevated at approximately sixty degrees above and to the front of the subject. The other was positioned below the subject but behind angled up at the backdrop, this was done to eliminate the total black look and potential shadow cast from the subject facing flash unit.
Picture 3.2
Picture 3.2
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
In this picture I used a more reflective backdrop, still black but not so absorbing as velvet. My goal was to create a halfway colour between black and white in order to give a ‘common ground’ of contrast between the feathers and the ebony, in other words a greyish backdrop. In a sense I wanted not so much of the feather details (like in the above picture) but more of the wood grain and carved textures around the skirt and base, I also wanted to include a part of the shadow as an additional element of interest indicating where the light direction was coming from.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 4 seconds
Aperture f19
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 55 mm
Comments
This picture was taken with a single diffused household reading light (tungsten). With the light positioned on its side and then switched on, the subject was finely manoeuvred to best enhance the wood grain and textured carved features.
4. Colour
Choose a kind of lighting and exposure setting that shows the subject’s colour (or colours) as strongly as possible. In addition, you could photograph your subject in any other interesting, unusual or attractive lighting.
Picture 4.1
Picture 4.1
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
My initial idea with this picture was to capture a reflection on two pieces of glass, one from behind the subject and the other underneath. With relevance of colour I wanted to introduce something from the colour circle that I had learnt from Part Three of the course but without overpowering the subjects true colours. After trying several combinations my final choice was yellow on purple. Having got my colour ratios about right I was now getting too much reflection on the glass behind the subject and to remedy this I got rid of the glass behind the subject and swapped the velvet backdrop for the shinier black item I had used earlier although I kept the glass base. With a few more minor adjustments to camera and lighting the results were now pleasing and about as close as I was going to get, my final addition to this picture was done in Photoshop where I blended the lower glass base and backdrop.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/45th sec
Aperture f11
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Temperature 2850°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 55 mm
Comments
This picture was taken with yellow and purple coloured gels fitted to two independently diffused speedlights, both positioned equally in front of the subject at approximately one hundred and twenty degrees apart, the yellow more biased on the subject and the purple more so on the backdrop.
Picture 4.2
Picture 4.2
My thoughts and approach when taking this picture
Having captured both additional colour and a reasonable resemblance of true colour in the previous image, in this picture I wanted to apply a little more free licence and add more illuminated colour but again not to the point where the subject has no identity or recognition from the other pictures in this series. I still wanted to visually capture all subjects features but with an alternate colour enhancement. Again I tried several colour combinations, some of my choices were hot whilst others were cold but my final combination was a mixture of hot and cold. I like this effect where the subject is looking into the hotter colour, the other way around didn’t work as well and somehow looked out of harmony and balance. To me this image resembles a tribesman addressing his on lookers at night about a campfire with a brightly lit full moon to his rear.
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/45th sec
Aperture f11
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Temperature 5000°K
Lens 24/70 mm
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
This picture was taken with red and blue coloured gels fitted to two independently diffused speedlights. The speedlights were positioned in an unequal fashion about the camera at approximately ninety degrees apart, the red Speedlight biased more towards the subjects front and the blue towards the subjects side and backdrop.
My Reflections
Once again I have thoroughly enjoyed this part of the course and of all the coursework so far, part four has been the most demanding and challenging. I have completed all the exercises to the best of my ability and learnt a great deal in doing so. Looking through some of the other fellow blog sites and in relevance of the coursework from part four, I see that quite a few people skip certain exercises which to me seems like false economy and looking back I feel good in myself that I have not done this but there were moments where I did think of skipping certain parts and just moving on.
As I mentioned above some of the exercises were more challenging than others and in particular one stands out more than the others due to bad weather conditions Light through the day. During this exercise I was rained off for nearly two weeks, I was eventually able to capture necessary pictures during the relevant times of the day, not only for the sake of the exercise but also for my own understanding of different ambient light conditions.
I also really enjoyed the exercise named The lighting angle where I learnt a great deal towards the different effects introduced by just repositioning a single light source and also the practical approach of tin foil and tracing paper.
In relevance to the exercises and this assignment, I have tried to show my photography ability both in the pictures and with my constructive comments below each caption.
Things I have done since my last assignment
- I am almost there and at a point of happiness with regards to the many available options in Photoshop found in the printer setup menu and the equally available amount in the same menu for printer options, marrying these countless combinations has been confusing and sometimes a total waste of good paper.
- I finally plucked up the courage and entered my first photography competition …. I came nowhere, oh well better luck next time.
Current Books I am Reading
- The Photograph / Graham Clarke / Oxford History of Art.
- Understanding Flash Photography / Bryan Peterson / Amphoto Books.
- The best of Photographic Lighting / Bill Hurter / Amherst Media.
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