Assignment 4, Applying lighting technique.

Assignment 4,   Applying lighting technique.

• Shape
• Form 
• Colour
• Texture

To Photograph any subject, to show Shape, Form, Texture, and colour using all the skills I have learnt . Any subject that can be moved for photographing in different lighting conditions . 

Here I have chosen a wooden carved Buffalo. A symbol of Malaysia Borneo.

Photographing the subject as written :  8 photographs :

Shape: 

Taken on a table top, lit from window light behind. Stopping down by 1 stop, to rim light the subject, and darkening any detail., As the light dims in my apartment. Shadows and colours change. Capturing what you see, and want to portray in a photograph, takes quick thinking of adjustment of the camera. Nature will not wait. 

In this subject I wanted to  separate the back ground , so I focused on the rim lit area 2.8 making the out line more pronounced . 

Shape

Low silhouette taken in very low dark light as in subdued lighting. Showing shape, this picture was darker. So to enhance the back lit wall from the low lighting. I brightened and aded a hint of warmth.That would have been noticeable at the time . I like this very much, as the direction and positioning ads to composition. I think enlargement  on a wall would give a much calming feeling.  

Form 

Texture and colour making form:

 Lit from the setting sun, shining through the window.   Front lit on a tripod. I had to work fast to set this up. The light was dropping fast. As It does here in Borneo. As sun light lowered, I watched  the casting light  from the window move along the wall. Inspired by this beautiful light , I moved quick to grab my carving . Setting up on a chair , At first, to much wobble needed some  card board laid across to make a small table top. My black cloth thrown over the back of the chair to make a backing.                           

The camera needed to be on the try pod. As exposures were long. and I required depth . As you can see from the camera setting below.

This orange light I found acts like an orange filter in Black and white film, bringing out the grain of wood,  showing of this carving in its true form. 

Form  re done from fist submission:

This photograph was taken on location . 

The day was early, and overcast. Some Mosquito repellent and set to the task. My tutor on my first set said what I had taken was  good. Just seemed to point that the images were to much the same. So this one , I took laying on the floor. Then over head. on top of the car. But to much clutter in the back drop .Trees and wires . So I tried the table. 

Just did not seem right. I could not get low unless the window of the house came into frame. 

I looked at the bank wall. with the shoe stand. Moved the shoe stand away from the wall  to give some separation . Made some space . The wide angle lens I use allot when doing culture photography. A feel it gives that national Geographic look. the hardest part as viewing and positioning to frame the carving just right. 

Taken with a 10 to 22 mm WA to fill the frame showing a different perspective of form . Stopped down to get maximum depth. Lit by day light, out side on a cloudy day. 

I like this picture, from the rest as it fills the frame . Showing all elements . 

Colour :

Again making some changes from my previous picture . As my tutor comments were that I had to many the same angle . The above, and this one I took later in day light . This gives a definite example of the colour of the wood. At the same time showing good detail of the back view of the carving. 

Colour 

Side shot lit from window light on a cloudy day from the right side . Giving a softer light,  thrown over the subject, surrounded by the white wall, and slight fill in from the back. Right side. I had attempted to lighten the image . in doing so would have lost this richness and nice Bronze look

 

 the  colour showing the bronze richness of the wood.

Texture: 

Lit from low darker light, on a very dark cloudy day in my apartment on the table . Window light can make some interesting lighting, if you watch it .To take this I wanted to bring out the texture. Instead of taking the hole subject into the frame, I moved in close. Paying attention to detail and composition.  Allowing the back ground to drop off. By positioning both the camera and subject, so the back drop faded away into the darker part of the room. I could have used the back drop again. But one more moment and the light would have been lost. 

Texture 

Texture at a different angle, in low dark side lighting. 

Again working, thinking fast. How to make this different.?

I first took this, on just the table. With its glass top and under lace pattern , The hole image looked ammeter  and snappy. Iv shown the texture of the wood on the little man. Now to show off the Texture and detail in the carving. Grabbing my green T shirt , spreading it over the table. To show of the wood more. I gave my self another problem. 

Framing. And angle , Not to include the edges of the shirt,  so it was not obvious the back drop was an old T shirt. 

Turning the carving and taking 3 or 4 shots. I finally got this pleasing image showing texture. 

I feel that there may be a lot of shadow here , but using the fill card would have softened the carving making the shadows in each carved knife cut less effective. 

8 photographs were asked for , I have taken others I would have liked to have shown taken with flash.  The ones above using available light show a much more dramatic, and in some cases less artificial image .

Shiny Surfaces

The goal is to photograph a very shiny reflective object like a chrome or highly polished steel pot . Pot to big?

In still life and catalogue photography , many Items my be just like the above and demand a great challenge to Eliminate all most if not all refections.

Some use a large light tent where others use big studios with fish flood lighting from the sides through large diffusers. And some adjustment in photoshop.
For this exercise Im using just what is asked, A sheet of tracing or grease proof paper made into  cone .

A week later and I am still waiting for low sun to do the other project.
 Searching for a shiny object. Frustrating to find tracing paper in malaysia , as no one new what I was on about.  Until I found an Art shop that had large sheets.

Now to find that pot or something 18th jan . Alloy yes. Old steel pots yes! new ones . cutlery or thing in the kitchen , all to dull.

20th jan still no shiny objects that I can use. Shiny Idea, looking at the taps. I found a new water tap in my tool box. Just the right size. And a nice shape.  Umm by gone the old days when making witches hats. Fumbling with the tracing paper. i wonder , Am I getting old as this used to be fun and not so much of a challenge . After some effort to get the large tracing paper to a cone. And tape in in a way it would not collapse. I managed to to get the job done using a 60 mm macro lens cutting the narrow end to fit. I used the flash on the camera , and then covering the flash as I did on the previous exercise, used off flash at different angles.

Results Much brighter and no refections only the tracing paper giving over all shade.

Moving the flash did not make that much change , Only when placing it at the base of the cone level with the TAP.

With out diffused 

First mistake. But what a picture! , The inside flap of the paper cone got in the way. 

An idea for special effects.!

 Lit with the camera flash from above.

 Lit with the camera flash from above. 

moving the subject :

 lit mid way to one side 

 Side lit

 Lit from one side and mid way up the cone . 

 Side lighting gives a nice effect The flash was place level with the subject on the floor.
I remember an advert shot just like this of a beer .  Also still life of perfumes .

Concentrating light

Focussing light in a studio is interesting, to see how one can manipulate the light, to give an effect to what you want . From back, front, and under lighting. I miss my Bowens Mono lite with the barn doors. However , a trip to the art shop. You can get most metals to govern your creativity. From black plastic sheets to diffusing sheets. Or the builders DIY .

Here I simply for the exercise, took a sheet of black plastic . A4. Rolled it around my flash, using off flash . This can be done wirelessly, or by darkening the room using the bulb setting and firing the flash manually, or using energy saving bulbs or even to day bright LED lighting. Leds are  bright and cool.

But with out going through crazy expense. Unless you going to be doing allot of studio work. This method is simple, and costs less then £2 .

 I have a Tip Im putting on U tube. How to get the flash to set the off flash without the flash on the camera filling in the light, Well it could be re directed , But then you still have stray light. The Answer came to me when I put my finger over the flash and found it still fired the external wireless flash unit. ( read your flash Guide book for settings!)

Make a little hood from brown Parcel tape .  About 4 layers will do,  Just rap it round your fingers, if you wish. This brown tone still admits the wave length that sets of the other flash. Place it over the pop up flash on your camera, and off you go.  Without spilling light all over your subject. Giving you full control . You may have to adjust the head angle so the computer of the flash picks up the unseen wave length. 

Here are some samples with flash . A modelling light or lamp as mentioned above has more control to see the end effect. 

I moved the slave flash as would with the lamp in the exercise with the angle of light !

Over head to the front 

Directly over head 

 Side lit left 

 Slightly to the left over head 

 Overhead high above 

 Overhead slightly to the back 

 Overhead Closer to subject 

These are also good subjects for my next Exercise Reflections. 

Contrast and shadow fill.

Photographing an object as with a still life. Using a modelling light, eg Flash or tungsten- key light

And the use of a silver reflector at different distances, to show the how the shadows can be filled.

11 photographs:

The camera and lights are set at right angles from each other . The camera at same level as the subject, and the light shining from one side .

First photo taken as.

1 / without diffuser

2 / With

3 / with white card reflector on opposite side of lamp 3ft away

4 / the same with card 1.5 ft away

5 / this time using the same size reflector, using dull side of tin foil

. A Simple exercise gone bad. I was using a 283 Vivtiar flask on M f16 mains powered. As tungsten lamps are hard to find here in borneo at a reasonable price.

After 3 shots it packed up.

So I charged up the Metz . Again . to use for this exercise, Auto mode or set to F stops does not work, due to the computer adjusting the light. So on Manual, the batteries drained to fast.

Frustration ! Only my Landlords Blue lamp.  trying to set this up with there energy saving bulb was getting to much. Then SMASH on the floor it went !

So now faced with no lamp, no strobes, have to wait for the shops to open to buy a replacement, and some sort of lighting to do still life table top photography.

11 photographs: It does not explain what other photographs are required to make up the 11? Or does it say continue to use the diffuser over the Key light.

The following picture were re done. The next morning using a metz C45 Set to M giving an exposure setting F stop of F18 . Camera and flash settings did not change through out the shoot. 

Would I be right to do this:

6 / Same tin foil dull side 1.5 ft closer

7 / Same tin foil using bright shiny side 3ft

8 / Same this time 1.5 ft 

9 / Same using crumpled flattened tin foil 3ft shiny side 

10 / Same as 9 but 1.5 ft closer. 

11 / ????   I think take with diffuser and as 10

1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

 7

 8

 9

 10

 11

Clearly showing the dramatic change in shadow and contrast , When using a diffuser and a reflector makes highlights softer showing detail. Shadows show detail also. Yet the picture still holds texture and form.
picture 2 and 11 are the best here.