Fashion Photography (lighting II)

Diary

I had trouble with two things for this project. When I shot for accessories, the film did not catch in my camera, and then I had no pictures. Note for next time: do not close the camera until you test that it’s working. The other thing was that I shot at night, with a big spotlight. I had to use the special paper to really bring out the black. It also made for a grainy texture. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but something to remember for the future. I also had some troubles on Blogger. There were two images that I could not upload. One was a contact sheet, and the other was my high heel final print. I will try to rescan them and see if that helps.

Printing Compositions

Shoes
This test strip was exposed at aperture 2.8 for 15 seconds. I really wanted to see the contrast better where the light is shining, so I increased the time.

This image was shot in bright sunlight coming through the doorway. I used my zoom lens to get up close so I could capture the hard light that shines through the clear material of the high heel. The final small print was exposed for 22 seconds, at aperture 2.8.

Clothing

This test strip was taken at aperture 2.8 with times 20, 25, 30, and 35. The blacks didn't come out, so I increased the time.

This was the picture I shot at night, using a spotlight. This was hard to manipulate because of the surrounding darkness and grainy texture, but when I switched to the other paper on the big final print, it went more smoothly. The small final print was exposed for 60 seconds at aperture 2.8.

Accessories

This test strip was exposed at 2.8 aperture with times 22, 24, 26, and 28. It is too light, so I added a lot more time.
I shot this during the day, at about 5:30 under a cloudy sky. I had little to no trouble in composing the print. This small final was exposed for 68 seconds at aperture 2.8.

Theory Notes

Low Light

Although low light pictures are harder to shoot, they are good because they produce a very soft and gentle effect. You would be shooting in low light during sunrise, sunset, or even at night. The best thing to do when shooting in low light is to use a tripod. Because the shutter speed has to be slow for the film to be properly exposed, a tripod is needed to prevent the camera from moving while the picture is being taken. It might also help to use a film setting (ISO or ASA) a bit faster than the actual film speed. The film speed itself should already be fairly fast for the film to be properly exposed at less time.

Sun Light

Images shot in sun light are easier than those in low light. You definitely have to be careful of lens flare, especially when shooting with the sun behind the subject. For the best effect, the sun should be to the side of the subject. Also, be aware of your aperture. The brighter the sun is, the more you want to close your aperture.

Image BankJason Christopher is a fashion photographer, born and raised in California. His images usually have sharp lighting, and the beauty is emphasized by sharp lighting. His motto is “Be prepared or prepare to fail.” I chose this image because I thought it was a good representation of his work, which can be viewed at the following link. http://www.jasonchristopher.com/bio

Stephan Eastwood was born in New York, and taught himself the art of photography. His main focus is beauty, and he even did some modeling when he was young. I chose this image because it depicts the beauty Eastwood strives for in a classy way. http://www.stepheneastwood.com/bio/index.htm

Trevor Brady is a photographer of fashion and advertising. I chose this image because I wanted to see how a photograph for advertising can be effective. I think the water droplets make the image more effective. http://www.trevorbrady.com/

Lighting Project 1

Contact Sheets

Hard Light Portrait

This test strip was produced with aperature 8 with 3.5 seconds. It is too light, so I increased the time.

My first and final full print was taken at the same aperature with 6 seconds of exposure. It expresses the use of hard light because of the shadows, especially on her face.

Soft Light Portrait

This test strip was taken at aperature 8 and expsed for 4, 5, and 6 seconds, respectively.

This full print was taken at aperature 8, exposed for 3 seconds. The wall is too bright, and Faith is a little light.

So, I tried burning. I exposed the whole print at 2.5 seconds, and then tried burning (which is very poorly done) at 4.5 seconds.

Since the burning did not work out for me, I ended up exposing the picture for 5.5 seconds at aperature 8, and left it in the developer for longer so the wall would get darker. This demonstrates soft light because of the gradual lightening and darkening of the skin (on the arm for example).

Hard Light Still Life

This test strip was taken with aperature 5.6 at times 4, 6, 8, and 10.

This full print was taken at aperature 5.6 and exposed for 7 seconds. It expresses hard light because the light is hitting the flower is such a way as to make it really stand out from the background.

Soft Light Still Life

This test strip was taken at aperature 5.6 and exposed for 7 seconds, and it looks pretty good!

Please ignore the rainbow (my scanner...). This full print was taken with the same settings as the test strip and came out fairly well. It demonstrates soft light because of the gentle shadows in the backgroung, as well as the ones showing the texture on the flower.

Hard Light Landscape

This was taken at aperature 8, exposed for 9 seconds. The contrast here is very good, and it demonstrates hard light in the drastic shadow changes on the pathway and in the trees where the sunlight falls.

I had a lot of trouble with this print. This is taken at aperature 2.8 and exposed for 15 seconds. It was supposed to demonstrate soft light in the landscape form, but no matter what I tried to do on the enlarger, I could not manipulate it enough to show that. In order for it to be soft light, the reeds in the background would have to be darker, and not hit directly by the sunlight. The same thing would have to happen with the algae (or whatever it is) growing on top of the water. Another problem is the trees in the background. The sunlight is hitting them directly on the top, but you can through to the inner branches, which are submerged in shadow. It was a little disappointing because I quite like the photograph itself, it just doesn't convey what I wanted it to.

Image Bank

This photograph was taken by Michele Clement, from the States. Clement won this year's first place Photographer of the Year award at the Annual Spider Awards Show. I chose this picture because it demonstrates soft light with the faint shadows. I also love the way Clement has captured a skewed moment; it's very creative.

This photograph was created by Cole Thompson. He decided to become a photographer at an early age, studying photography from both books and personal experiences. I liked this image in particular because of how creepy it is within the car, which is then contrasted by the bright sky seen through the winshiedl. It also demonstrates hard light, with the shadows and sharp contrast between black and white.

This photograph is from Steve Walton, a photographer from the UK. He has a passion for nature, where he gets his inspiration for photography. I chose this picture because of the natural elements of it. It is a beautiful landscape composition, and I love the way that Walton used the scant sunlight to his advantage, focusing on the rocks, which are not the center of the image.

Theory Notes

Hard Light

This demonstrates hard light because you can see the sharp shadow image of the finger on the hand. Hard light images, when outdoors, should be taken at a time when the sun is high and will give the best shadows and contrast. If you are using studio lighting, you should position the lights in such a way that will create shadows on the central object or person.

Soft Light
















This demonstrates soft light. You can still see the shadow of the finger of the palm of the hand, but it is much softer. To achieve this with natural lighting, you would have to shoot at a time when the sun will not create as many shadows, and the contrast is more gentle than drastic. With studio lights, just position the lights so that it is spread evenly across the subject. You may also want to dim the lights.

Three Point Lighting

Three point lighting is fairly self explanatory. There are three lights, positioned in a semi circle around the subject. All three lights should be pointing at the subject, and coming from different directions.