Dark Tone
The image is supposed to be black, but the camera's light meter is calibrated to the mid tones and measures the reflected light. The histogram clearly shows this error. So the image is dark grey.
Mid Tone
For the same reason, as in the previous shot, the camera's light meter makes no error in measuring mid tone and so I got the right color (grey).
Light Tone
The camera's light meter is misled again by the calibration and reflected light measurement, so that the histogram looks right but I got a perfect grey, not a white.
This part of the exercise leads to the Part 2, where I will switch to manual mode and, having the control of the light meter, I will drive the histogram in the right position in order to obtain the right tone.
Exercise 4.1 - Part 2
Dark Tone
 |
Mid tone
The tone was already right in part 1, because it is a mid tone.
Light Tone
The histogram is in the position of light tones, so I got a white image, as it was on reality. The histogram is at the right, in the position of light tones.
Lesson Learned
When shooting at dark subjects or light subjects (i.e. the snow), I will switch to manual mode and get out of reciprocity, or else, in semi-auto mode I will compensate underexposing (dark tones) or overexposing (light tones) by, at least, two stops.
Exercise 4.2
Exercise 4.3
I chose to go out and make a shooting 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.
One example is the famous “Navy
Helicopter”, made in 1949.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O187635/navy-helicopter-photograph-feininger-andreas/
Some shots, given the rainy
night, profit of the reflections, glints and glares generated by water on
objects.
I used a tripod, manual mode,
reciprocity in favour of long exposure and low iso.
Exercise 4.4
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
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.
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: no ratio
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: 1:2
 |
| 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
 |
| 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
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.
Exercise 4.5
For this exercise I chose a very popular subject in october: Halloween's Pumpkin. I did a Google Images research (keywords "halloween pumpkin 2016") and found tons of photos.
Most of them are about the pumpkin itself, in all views, colours, dressing, camouflage.
Then I did a research for keywords "halloween candies" and found tons of images as well. Again, most of them are about candies alone or candies together with the pumpkin, but you hardly find an image where the pumpkin is not the main subject.
So I tried to make a set of photos using juxtaposition, focus and framing of the pumpkin: I set up the composition with a small bunch of candies in close-up and the pumpkin in the background, or out of focus, or a little out of frame.
Lighting was an issue, because the surface was a mirror and I had only one flash, remotely controlled. Then I chose to point the flash at the ceiling and use it as a big diffuser, in order to get soft light.
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