ASSIGNMENT 4 Notes - Studio
Lighting
For assignment 4 I chose to revisit the
exercise on studio lighting. I selected this exercise because I want to push
myself out of my comfort zone and deepen a practice that is not so familiar to
me.
I have always used flash but this time I borrowed
two small, portable led spots by Manfrotto and I mounted them on tripods. By
using continuous light I could experiment different light positions, different
ratios, and identify directly the outcomes. Then I used a 30x40x40 box as a
stand, a sheet of white plastic and a white wall as background. In one shot
(Photo 8) I could manage the horizon line in a way that it disappeared.
The camera was on a tripod: I shot a set of
photos with camera at the same level of the subject, and another set with the
camera in a higher position, so that I could change the point of view. I shot
two photos using just the room light (two ceiling led spots) headed to the
background wall and the back-camera wall, in order to obtain a very diffused
light.
I referred to Jean-Baptiste Huynh when I tried
to obtain the soft “wrapping” effect on the subject, even if I could only put
the light spot very close (15 cm) to the subject, plus a simple and small
diffuser.
I used a 105 mm macro (so a 168 mm with an aps-c
sensor) in manual focus, and camera in manual mode. Thanks to the continuous
lights I had the possibility to use a light meter and see the difference
between reflected light measurement and incident light. I used a wide aperture
(most f4) in order to get a shallow depth of field, put the background out of
focus and isolate the subject.
The subject is a jellow pepper. I sprang some drops of water on the pepper. Therefore I
obtained some more reflections and glints. I was inspired by my previous
experience on artificial light (exercise 4.3), when I went out in a rainy night
and obtain some shots full of glints and glares.
Photo 1 & Schema 1
(f4, 1,3 sec, iso 100)
Direction: the light is bounced off the wall in
the back of the camera.
Quality: Soft light, coming from the big
background, even if far from the subject. No shadow. The subject flattens
because of the diffused light.
Contrast: there is no ratio, there is no
contrast.
Photo 2 & Schema 2
(f4, 0,8 sec, iso 100)
Direction: the light is bounced off the wall in
the background. The stand is close to the background, so that the light falls top
down from the two spots on the ceiling falls.
Quality: Soft and hard light. There is a crisp
shadow, caused by the distance of the spots (three meters), but, at the same
time, the subject flattens because of the bounced and so diffused light coming
from the background.
Contrast: there is no ratio, so that there is
no contrast.
Photo 3 & Schema 3
(f4, 0,8 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light about 45 degrees left,
fill light bounced off the background wall.
Quality: Soft light. The main light is at about
30 cm, while the fill light is bounced and moderates the shadow. The pepper’s
surface is more detailed and you can see the texture of the plastic sheet.
Contrast: ratio 1:2
Photo 4 & Schema 4
(f4, 1/40 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light about 45 degrees left,
fill light bounced off the background wall.
Quality: Soft light. The main light is at about
30 cm, while the fill light is bounced and moderates the shadow. The pepper’s
surface is more detailed and you can see the texture of the plastic sheet.
Colour: the orange filter of the fill light
creates a casted background. Honestly I do not like it, because the jellow pepper
has less contrast with the background.
Contrast: ratio 1:2
Photo 5 & Schema 5
(f4, 1/80 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light about 45 degrees right,
fill light from back-left and higher position.
Quality: Less soft light. Main and fill light
are at about 30 cm, but the size of the spot is small and there is no diffuser.
The pepper’s surface is more detailed but the texture of the plastic sheet is
less evident.
Contrast: ratio 1:4
Photo 6 & Schema 6
(f4, 1/30 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light in back-left and higher
position, fill light in back-right position.
Quality: Less soft light. Main and fill light
are at about 30 cm, but the size of the spot is small and there is no diffuser.
The crisp shadow on the stand originated by the fill light is crisper because
the spot is less close than the one of the main light. The pepper’s surface is
more detailed (you can see the water drops and the shadows) but the texture of
the plastic sheet is less evident.
Contrast: ratio 1:4
Photo 7 & Schema 7
(f4, 1/125 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light in back-left and higher
position, fill light in back-right position.
Quality: Less soft light. Main and fill light
are at about 30 cm, but the size of the spot is small and there is no diffuser.
The shadow originated by the fill light is crisper because the spot is closer
than the one of the main light. The pepper’s surface is more detailed (you can
see the water drops) but the texture of the plastic sheet is less evident.
Contrast: ratio 1:4
Photo 8 & Schema 8
(f4, 1/8 sec, iso 100)
Direction: main light 45 degrees front-left and
higher position, fill light bounced off the back wall.
Quality: Hard light from the main light, soft
light from the fill light. Main light is 3 m far from the subject. Fill light
is bounced and diffused by the wall. The pepper’s surface is more detailed (you
can see the water drops) but the texture of the plastic sheet is less evident.
Contrast: ratio 1:1 The lighting ratio of the
background is the same of the plastic sheet, so that, using a shallow depth of
field, there is no horizon line.
Photo 9 & Schema 9
(f4, 1/80 sec, iso 100)
Camera’s Viewpoint: High.
Direction: main light 45 degrees back-right and
top-down position.
Quality: Soft light. The spot is close to the
subject, so that the shadow is not crisp. There is no evidence of the texture
of the plastic sheet.
Contrast: no ratio.
Photo 10 & Schema
10 (f4, 1/6 sec, iso 100)
Camera’s Viewpoint: High.
Direction: main light 45 degrees back-right and
top-down position.
Quality: Hard light. The spot is far from to
the subject, so that the shadow is crisp. There is no evidence of the texture
of the plastic sheet.
Contrast: no ratio.
CONTACT SHEETS
TUTOR REPORT
Student
name
|
Giorgio Colonna
|
Student
number
|
514841
|
Course/Unit
|
EYV
|
Assignment
number
|
4
|
Type
of tutorial
|
Written
|
Formative
|
Overall Comments
In this assignment you’ll have taken the opportunity to work with studio
lighting in producing a series of images that exploit a range of lighting
techniques. The work presented indicates an awareness of basic lighting setups
and illustrates a variety of different lighting situations. These exercises will
help you in developing an awareness of the nature of lights and how you can control
it in the camera. The question that I would raise regarding the images is what are
they for and how are we to view them? As a serious of exercises they could be
used to illustrate a guide to photographic lighting but as a serious of images
to be viewed in a creative aesthetic sense they lack a dynamic in composition and
intent. Remember that your purpose as a photographer is to create interesting
images and this assignment gave you the opportunity to develop creatively in
the studio where you have total control over the lighting and the environment.
I would like to have seen stronger compositional elements within the work and
an exploration of concepts relating to still life photography. When working on
your assignments and exercises try to always make strong creative images as
part of your practice. The exercises that you carried out during the nighttime
shoot evidenced a potential for creative development that could be used in the
future as a project. I particularly liked the posed image of the figure against
the wall and also of your observation of the umbrella in the litterbin.
Overall this assignment has been completed more as a technical exercise
than as a creative use of the studio.
Assignment 1 Assessment
potential
I
understand your aim is to go for the Photography Degree and that you plan to
submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you
have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I
believe you have the potential to succeed at assessment. In order to meet all the assessment criteria,
there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my
feedback.
Feedback
on assignment and supporting work
For this assignment you have produced a range of exercises that have
explored the effects of different lighting conditions upon the subject. This
has also allowed you to explore light within the context of the equipment and
software that you use. However it is lacking in a personal vision that utilizes
the available technology.
In relation to the technical aspects of the work generally the images
achieve their intended purpose to illustrate the intended lighting technique.
There are some areas that could have been developed for instance you mentioned
the difference between reflective and incident light readings but there are no
examples of how or when you might have used these readings. Also there is
mention of lighting ratios and I notice that you describe on your diagrams that
a ratio of 1:2 is two stops. In fact a two stop difference is a ratio of 1:4.
Remember that when you alter the amount of light entering the camera by one
stop that you either double or halve the amount and this give you a ratio of
1:2. I would suggest, particularly if you are using continuous run lighting,
that you research the Inverse Square Law as another means of controlling
lighting ratios.
In relation to the images do consider the density of the shadow areas
and also their direction. In images five and seven there are doubled shadows
that in the main are to be avoided.
I would like to have seen you take a more adventurous approach to your
composition and develop the potential of the studio setting to produce exciting
images. I have included some examples of notable studio work in still life that
you should research as part of your interest in this area.
 |
| Edward Weston Pepper Series |
 |
| Irving Penn Found Objects |
Learning Logs or
Blogs/Critical essays
There is little evidence of critical reading and the learning log needs
to be expanded to evidence more research for each assignment. Also please read
the assignment criteria carefully and ensure that all areas are covered. As it
states in the brief “Conclude your notes with a
personal reflection on how you’ve developed the exercise in order to meet the
descriptors of the Creativity criteria”.
Remember when you consider submitting work for formal
assessment the assessors will be looking to see evidence of reading, reflection
and meeting all criteria. At this stage prior to formal assessment it is
possible to rework and reshoot assignments based upon feedback given and your
own analysis of the work at this point. Before any submission carry out a
review of all work and consider any changes that may need to be made.
Suggested
reading/viewing
edward-weston.com/
Tutor name
|
Matthew Winterlich
|
Date
|
12/10/2016
|
Next assignment due
|
8/01/2017
|
Reflection on Tutor Report
After reading the report I realized that, first of all, having selected exercise 4.4 to develop my assignment, I did not meet the creativity criteria. I then went back to the selection process and selected back what was my previous first-choice for assignment 4: exercise 4.3. I selected a series I shot in a rainy night in my hometown. I have always been fascinated by streetlights and how they alter the landscape, street views, even the reality of what we see with our own eyes. I was inspired by Andreas Feininger works and readings on night photography and how he explained that you can obtain different photographs of the same subject working with long exposure and getting light patterns or fading shapes. Even if I made some experiments with long exposure (see the contact sheets), I selected a set of photos I shot close to a shopping arcade. My ambient light was that coming from fashion shops, eventually reflected by wet pavement. In photo 1 and 2 I adopted a long exposure in order to fade the person.
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