For my photography elective we have to discover a particular element of photography that we enjoy and find interesting. I am not a photographer as such but i enjoy doing portraiture photography, but as i've been doing this in college i decided that i wanted to explore more with my photography skills. In Leeds there is the annual Light Night, which is a festival based around light where artists have the chance to exhibit thier work around the city.
Me and a few friends explored the city on this night and the aspect of light and it's possibilities really inspired me. So for my elective i have decided to explore the concept of light and how it can make or break a photograph.
I started by playing around with reflection in a window and then turned to the slow shutter speed setting. This is the first time i have used this setting and created images like this so it's all experimentation.
I found a few photographers and artists who use light as their main inspiration :
Chuck Anderson
Portrait photography with lighting:
I started off by simply taking photos of people in my group to see how the lighting worked.
I enjoy portrait photography, so i tried to capture people who didnt know i was taking a picture of them which makes it more natural and to me has more emotion and feeling to the photo.
Joe looks as though he's floating because of how the backlighters light up the white wall, this allows for a crisp finish.
By changing the light settings, dimmer or brighter you will start to see shadowed areas. There is a slight shadow appearing around Joe and Ryan. This gives the photo a bit of depth.
I took a few pictures of Ryan in a natural state as he has a really photogenic face. His smile is genuine in this photo which adds emotion.
This photo of Joe works really well because of the shadow and use of dimmer lighting. Also the way that he is standing. Reminds me off a clothes modelling photo in a magazine.
Again the same with this one of Ryan, he's just a natural at this, the way his standing and his facial expression along with the lighting make this photo look like a modelling shot.
Dependant on what lighting you use, you can make the space look bigger or smaller.I like how the lights have created multiple shadows on this photo and also the expression on Joes face.
Studio lighting
We learnt how to use light meters in the studio to determine what setting we should set our camers and lighting. It works in ratios.
Difference
in aperture
value-----------------Contrast
1---------------------------2:1
1 1/2---------------------3:1
2---------------------------4:1
3---------------------------8:1
4-------------------------16:1
5-------------------------32:1
Etc...
I started to take photos of objects using different lighting, in my bag i had this DKNY perfume bottle which is mirrored. I started playing around with it by capturing myself in its reflection when taking the photo, it works really well and adds dimension to the photograph.
I tried doing a birds eye view shot but it doesnt work as well because its too rounded.
The same technique as before but i have added a mirror to the composition to add another dimension and reflection.
When i took the shot in black and white you dont tend to see the reflection in the same detail although its interesting to see all the tones of black, white and grey.
I used a brighter light here when taking the photograph but it flashed too hard and reflected too much on the bottle
I like how this one is focused on the logo of the perfume and the rest seems slightly blurred, this would be a good photo for the promotion of the product.
After using white lighting i changed to colour, coloured thin plastic was put over the lights to create this warm ambience. The first photo that i took came out very blurred as i couldnt get my camera to focus but it seems to have a very subtle and calm feel to it and works quite well.
It was just a case of trying out different compositions in different areas of the colours, each one creates a different mood and atmosphere around the object.
The light reflecting on the mirrored sections turn almost like a green. The perfume itself is called DKNY Red apple, so the colours that surround it as well as the reflected colours link in with the purpose of the product, which gives a nice effect.
I then added white light too but it took away the warmth of the image and the white light reflected more than the colour which looked hideous.
With this one i tried capturing myself in the reflection again, it doesnt work as well as the above shots.
After changing the settings on the camera, i managed to make the image look lighter, the colours remind me of rhubarb and custard sweets.
The images of my shoes work well, they are white apart form the dirty parts, so using the white light seemed appropriate, on some the light is very bright and almost becomes a glow around the shoes.
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