The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
11 photographs
Additional things that you will need are a large white card (about 2 feet by 3 feet) and some aluminium cooking foil. These will function as reflectors.
Set up a simple still-life shot. You will not need to move the light around so the background can be whatever you want. Leave room for access at the sides of the set, and make sure that neither side is close to a wall.
Shoot from the same level as the object, with the camera on a tripod. Fix the light at about two to three feet to one side of the object and at its level, so that it is aimed at right angles to the camera’s view. Take the first photograph without a diffuser in front of the lamp, and the second with the diffuser.
Follow these with a series of five exposures. The light and camera remain unchanged. Take the white card and place it three feet/one metre away from the object, on the opposite side from the light and facing it. Take a photograph. Then move the white card twice as close to the object, and take another photograph.
Tear off a piece of the aluminium foil sufficient to cover the area of the white card and place it against the card, with the dull side facing the object. Make an exposure. For the next shot turn the foil round so that the shiny side is facing out. For the last shot crumple the foil in your hand and then smooth it out again. Place it once more against the card, with the shiny side facing out. Compare the results and arrange them in order of contrast, from the one with the biggest difference between the lit and shaded parts, to the least. You can see now why the expression ‘shadow fill’ is used. In a simple lighting arrangement like this, the lamp is set up first and then, if necessary, the shadows are filled in with a reflector.
The most contrasty version will be that shot with the un-diffused lamp and no reflector. You should be able to see a marked difference between this and the diffused version without a reflector. This is because more light leaks around the object from the larger area of the diffused lamp.
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Equipment
Nikon D4
24/70 – f2.8 lens
Tripod
Nikon Speedlight S910
Circular Diffuser (2 Stops)
Black Velvet Background
White Card
Tin Foil
Method & Approach
With this exercise I first set up the scene followed by the camera and equipment, I used a Black Velvet Background in Pictures one, two, three and four as I was able to have the white card reflector at a diagonal distance far enough away from the subject not to be seen. Upon moving the white card reflector closer to the subject this was no longer achievable hence from Pictures five onwards we no longer see the Black Velvet Background but instead the white card or tin foil.
After setting the camera angle and light source position to something I was happy with, I then set the camera up and took each picture with identical settings. The only difference in each picture is the introduction of a diffuser and the altering of the rear reflector distance and type.
Please see pictures and captions below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 1 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Picture 2 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture one was taken without using a diffuser and Picture two with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture two, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- We can see that the contrast difference in Picture one is greater than that of Picture two, by using the diffuser it has also changed the light characteristics in Picture two which has created a much softer look. The picture is just as sharp but without the hardness of direct light, effectively creating a more pleasing and gentler look.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source – Including a white reflector behind at a distance of one meter.
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 3 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Picture 4 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture three was taken without using a diffuser and Picture four with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture four, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- We can see that the contrast difference in Picture three is again greater than that of Picture four, by using the diffuser. In these two pictures because of the angle used to capture the subject and also the position of the light source I was able to position the white card at a distance of one meter diagonally behind the subject but still keep the Black Velvet Background. By introducing the white card at a distance of one meter it has made a slight difference to the foreground colour and the overall exposure is slightly brighter.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source – Including a white reflector behind at a distance of half a meter.
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 5 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Picture 6 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture five was taken without using a diffuser and Picture six with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture six, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- Again the contrast difference in Picture five is greater than that of Picture six from using the diffuser. By moving the white card to a closer distance of half a meter I was no longer able to use the Black Velvet Background, hence we now only see the white card. By moving the White card closer it has introduced a colour difference to the foreground colour and the overall exposure is slightly brighter. One obvious difference is the lack of subject shadow in Picture six from using the diffuser.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source – Including a tin foil reflector behind with the dull side facing outwards at a distance of half a meter.
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 7 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Picture 8 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture seven was taken without using a diffuser and Picture eight with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture eight, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- Here we see the contrast difference in Picture seven again being greater than that of Picture eight and also much softer from using the diffuser. Introducing the dull sided tin foil at a distance of half a meter has lightened the foreground colour and the overall exposure is slightly brighter, noticeable at the front of the subject. In picture seven we see a slight subject shadow but nothing in Picture eight.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source – Including a tin foil reflector behind with the shiny side facing outwards at a distance of half a meter.
Picture 9
Picture 10
Picture 9 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Picture 10 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture nine was taken without using a diffuser and Picture ten with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture ten, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- Once again we can see that the contrast difference in Picture nine is greater than that of Picture ten from using the diffuser. By turning the tin foil around so the shiny side now reflects, has really lightened the foreground and base colour with an even greater effect on the overall exposure. With regards to shadow reflection and in relevance of the previous results I expected the shadow to be greater still in Picture nine but due to the tin foil having a mind of its own this wasn’t the case but as above …. should have been.
With & without a diffuser in front of the light source – Including a tin foil reflector behind with the shiny side facing outwards at a distance of half a meter.
Picture 11
Picture 12
Picture 11 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70mm
Picture 12 – Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera positioned on a tripod)
Speed 1/30th second
Aperture f22.0
ISO 800
White Balance Setting Tungsten (2850°K)
Lens 24/70 f2.8
Focal Length 70 mm
Comments
- Both Pictures are identical, the only difference being Picture eleven was taken without using a diffuser and Picture twelve with a diffuser.
- The diffuser used in picture twelve, has an equivalent value of two stops.
- We can see that the contrast difference in Picture eleven is greater than that of Picture twelve and is much harder. By removing the tin foil and crumpling it up has created a less reflective background but we still see shadow in picture eleven. Another knock on effect is that by making the background less reflective the foreground colour and exposure have been decreased.
What have I learnt from this exercise
This has been a good learning curve in relevance to studio photography. From it I have learnt to be very careful and selective with background and surfaces in order to control unwanted shadows. I have also learnt that diffused light will balance and soften the light and ultimately produce better a more balanced and softer picture.
Thoughts and Reflection
I take a great deal of pictures in and outside the house, from family members and of my children and seeing how diffused light with the introduction of reflective surfaces works on subjects has given me a whole new thought process along with a list of ideas I want to try out.
stingray493 