Applying
Lighting Techniques
This assignment is to produce at least eight photographs
using one object with different lighting to show:
Shape – The outline
of the object
Form – The volume of the object
Texture – Showing the surface detail
Colour – Showing the objects colour as
strongly as possible
In addition to the above, any other
interesting or unusual lighting could be used.
Initially
the subject seemed to be a straightforward shape, a box with a cylinder on the
front. I feel that I have been able to
bring out detail and interest with the subject by using different lighting and
even though the subject was black I have been able to show the depth of the
pigment. Home studio strobes, natural
lighting and house lights were used to illuminate the subject.
1
- Shape
 |
| f1/125sec f/10 ISO-100 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Canon
28-135mm f3.5-5.6 @105mm
Tripod
Shutter
release cable
2x
strobes with snoot and barn door
Black
paper background
The
lighting setup was initially just a snoot place above and behind the subject to
illuminate a small area of the background.
The idea was to create a silhouette of the subject. This felt a little flat even though the
outline of the subject was visable and so a second strobe was used. This was placed directly above the subject to
illuminate the front of the body displaying the nameplate and to shine into the
view finder to show through the lens at the front.
This
image shows the outline of the subject and gives enough information to let the
viewer know that it isn’t just a box.
My
concern with this image is that with it being dark how is it going to look on
other screens or in print.
2
- Shape
 |
| 1/125sec f/14 ISO-200 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Sigma
10-20mm f4-5.6 @17mm
4x
strobes with soft boxes
Light
meter
White
paper background
Two
strobes with soft boxes were placed to the rear of the sceen pointing onto the
background. These lights were set to a
reading of f16 each and gave a combined reading of f22. The remaining two strobes with soft boxes were
placed at the front pointing towards the subject. The left one set to f11 and the right hand
one was set to f8.5. The camera was set
to f14 to stop the detail being blown out in the lighter parts of the subject.
Even
though a lot of detail can still be seen in the subject the outline is
emphasised by the black subject being against the white background. The position of the subject has been placed
on the lower third to try and keep interest within the picture.
3
- Form
 |
| 1/125sec f/11 ISO-200 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Sigma
10-20mm f4-5.6 @10mm
4x
strobes with soft boxes
Light
meter
White
paper background
This
was a similar setup to the previous image except that the two front strobes
were set at f8 on both sides.
The
subject was rotated through 45o and with a wide angle lens the
subject was distorted giving it greater form.
4
- Form
 |
| 1/60sec f/6.3 ISO-400 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Canon
28-135mm f3.5-5.6 @70mm
White
paper
Black
card
Glass
Light
meter
This
image was created by using a piece of black card with a sheet of glass out of a
picture frame on top. The subject was
places on the glass and positioned to create a reflection in the glass. Natural light from a window was used shining
in from the left and a piece of white paper was held on the right hand side to
bring back the outline of the subject on the upper right corner and to separate
it from the background.
The
light from the window has emphasised the changing angles on the front of the
subject which under flat light looks subtle.
5
- Texture
 |
| 1/125sec f/11 ISO-100 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Canon
28-135mm f3.5-5.6 @135mm
Tripod
Shutter
release cable
2x
strobes with barn door
Black
paper background
The
two strobes were placed either side and slightly above the subject. They left one was set to f5.6 while the one
on the right was set to f4.
The
detail of the dimples in the metal can be seen as the light is reflected off
the surface of the subject.
6
- Texture
 |
| 1/50sec f/5.6 ISO-200 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Canon
28-135mm f3.5-5.6 @135mm
This
was taken outside on an overcast day.
The subject was place on a table and photographed from the side with the
natural diffused light directly above.
The lighting has brought out the detail in the leather effect covering
and all of the metal parts.
7
- Colour
 |
| 1/50sec f/5.6 ISO-200 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Sigma
10-20mm f4-5.6 @18mm
Coat
This
image again was taken in natural diffused light. The photograph was taken from directly above
with a coat ovet the camera to stop harsh reflections shining off the
subject. The colour of the moss being a
contrast to the subject show the variety of shades within the subject itself.
8
Other
 |
| 1/40sec f/5 ISO-1600 |
Equipment:
Canon
7D
Canon
50mm f1.8 @50mm
Strobe
Light
bulb
This
final image was lit by the bulb in view and on the right hand side the modelling
light from a strobe to bring the subject out of the shadows. The lighting gave a yellow hue that has been
adjusted a little in post processing.
Feedback on Assignment
The feedback starts with some overall comments about the assignment concluding with:
"You have grasped the task and used studio flash, tungsten and daylight to vary the various lighting sources and achieved a successful assignment."
This was followed by a short paragraph concluding that I was able to produce technical an visually acceptable images and that I was developing creative skills hat are crucial to furthering my photographic journey.
Shape: Image 1, of the Bronica camera at first appears too dark against a
black background. Your remarks confirm how the image will look on other
media is correct. Opening Photoshop in camera raw then auto adjusts the
image to show the desired effect as a silhouette showing a good example of
shape. Perhaps a lighter original background would have been considered
as appropriate. The second image showing the camera at side view supports
this notion and the shape is evident. It is a nicely exposed image with sharp
definition taken at an exposure level of f/14. Because of the sharp detail the
image shows great texture in the camera body itself. You could afford to
crop this image with the 3rds positioning and still retain the theme for this
exercise.
Form: Image 3, the distortion of this angle using a wide-angle lens does
emphasise the form particularly using the lighting you have deployed that
allows the camera to float against the white background. To be hypercritical,
the lighting on the right hand side could have been adjusted perhaps
decreasing the f-stop slightly. Once again the texture show through very well.
In image 4, you have changed the lighting in favour of natural light from a
window to show the focussing hood that has the appearance of 3
dimensions with the exploded hood. This has worked well and here we can
also appreciate the defined texture of the leather cloth affixed to the
camera hood.
Texture: Image 5, taken with electronic flashlight does depict texture of the
lens barrel. I have increased the exposure slightly for my screen to emphasise
the detail further. Using daylight in image 6 shows off the texture to perfection
of the side of the camera. Diffused light of course does emphasise detail
more fully and this you obtained successfully on an overcast day with natural
light.
Colour: Image 7 is a nicely composed shot of the camera taken from above.
My iMac screen shows the black colour of the image very well compared to
the printed image. It is also nice to see the framed picture within the
focussing hood to add authenticity to the image. Here once again you can
appreciate the advantages of natural diffused light. In the past, I have often
photographed oil and water paintings in natural diffused light on a wind free
day to bring out the natural colours of the pieces of art.
In image No 8, you have introduced artificial colour from the tungsten lamp
as well as using a flashlight to assist fill in. Tungsten will always look yellow or
orange until filtered, but in this case the photograph is acceptable showing a
mood shot at a good angle.
Feedback on Assignment
The feedback starts with some overall comments about the assignment concluding with:
"You have grasped the task and used studio flash, tungsten and daylight to vary the various lighting sources and achieved a successful assignment."
This was followed by a short paragraph concluding that I was able to produce technical an visually acceptable images and that I was developing creative skills hat are crucial to furthering my photographic journey.
Shape: Image 1, of the Bronica camera at first appears too dark against a
black background. Your remarks confirm how the image will look on other
media is correct. Opening Photoshop in camera raw then auto adjusts the
image to show the desired effect as a silhouette showing a good example of
shape. Perhaps a lighter original background would have been considered
as appropriate. The second image showing the camera at side view supports
this notion and the shape is evident. It is a nicely exposed image with sharp
definition taken at an exposure level of f/14. Because of the sharp detail the
image shows great texture in the camera body itself. You could afford to
crop this image with the 3rds positioning and still retain the theme for this
exercise.
 |
| f1/125sec f/10 ISO-100 |
emphasise the form particularly using the lighting you have deployed that
allows the camera to float against the white background. To be hypercritical,
the lighting on the right hand side could have been adjusted perhaps
decreasing the f-stop slightly. Once again the texture show through very well.
In image 4, you have changed the lighting in favour of natural light from a
window to show the focussing hood that has the appearance of 3
dimensions with the exploded hood. This has worked well and here we can
also appreciate the defined texture of the leather cloth affixed to the
camera hood.
Texture: Image 5, taken with electronic flashlight does depict texture of the
lens barrel. I have increased the exposure slightly for my screen to emphasise
the detail further. Using daylight in image 6 shows off the texture to perfection
of the side of the camera. Diffused light of course does emphasise detail
more fully and this you obtained successfully on an overcast day with natural
light.
Colour: Image 7 is a nicely composed shot of the camera taken from above.
My iMac screen shows the black colour of the image very well compared to
the printed image. It is also nice to see the framed picture within the
focussing hood to add authenticity to the image. Here once again you can
appreciate the advantages of natural diffused light. In the past, I have often
photographed oil and water paintings in natural diffused light on a wind free
day to bring out the natural colours of the pieces of art.
In image No 8, you have introduced artificial colour from the tungsten lamp
as well as using a flashlight to assist fill in. Tungsten will always look yellow or
orange until filtered, but in this case the photograph is acceptable showing a
mood shot at a good angle.
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