Today we were going to be going into the Studio (the one with the floor to ceiling windows) and looking at lighting characteristics.
We were going to be using natural light and observing the effect it had on the models face, our model was George.
Before we went into the studio Andy went through a few things with us.
Light Temperature is measured in Kelvins;
Household Bulb- 3200k
Candlelight- 1000k (but most camera's settings probably wont go as low as this)
The lower the number in Kelvins- the warmer the light will be so candlelight will be a very warm orange light. At the other end of the scale there is something called a HMI light which are used in fashion photography and are very close to daylight at around 6000k- this is a very cold light, given that these lights cost around £10000 each it is unlikely i will be using one for a while!
The Characteristics of Light are (also shown in my earlier research from Studio 1):
Quality
Direction
Contrast
Colour
Intensity
Un/evenness
Andy wanted us to look at the work of some photographers who use the colour and quality of light as part of the narrative in their photographs- Gregory Crewdson uses different colour balances in his images to create an effect, although his shoots cost thousands and are very much staged like a film set, the end result is very effective and shows a mixture of different lighting.
We looked briefly at Gregory Crewdson and the lighting he used for effect in his images, below are some of my favourite examples of his work:
Photograph By Gregory Crewdson
Photograph By Gregory Crewdson
Photograph By Gregory Crewdson I like Crewdson's work, the use of light is very clever, the mixed lighting he uses is a good example to look at with my Systems and Processes brief in mind (Location photography- 1), although if i were to reproduce something to get a similar effect it would be on a much smaller (cheaper) scale, not sure my budget can stretch to £thousands for the setup of one photograph!
Click the link to see an article i found:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/crewdson.shtml
In contrast to Crewdson, Alec Soth does this in a totally different way- he uses the available light from the scene. http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/crewdson.shtml
Alec Soth uses light in a different way to Crewdson, mainly using the light that is already available and his shots arent so staged, click the link to go to his wesite:
http://www.alecsoth.com/
Below are some expamples of his work that i feel were most relevant:
Photograph By Alec Soth I love this photo, it reminds me of the work of Joel Mayerowitz- the Provincetown image of the gas station, i have his book, cape light.
Photograph By Alec Soth 
Photograph By Alec Soth Whilst looking at his work and his site i also found a link to his blog site which i found quite interesting:
Both photographers achieve a powerful effect with the use of different light sources, but they do this in a totally different way.
In the Studio:
Setup 1
George sat with the window on the left of him
F5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 400, handheld, Unedited.
Setup 2
George lit from the front by the window
F5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 400, handheld, unedited.
F5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 400, handheld, unedited.
Setup 3
George lit from the back by the window with reflector boards in front of him
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 400, handheld, unedited.
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 400, handheld, unedited.
Setup 4
Same setup but we added an extra reflector and doubled the ISO to 800.
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 800, handheld, un-edited.
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 800, handheld, un-edited.
Setup 5
Into the curve studio, George lit from the sky light above.
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 400, handheld, un-edited.
Setup 6
Same setup just changed the ISO to 800.
F5.6, 1/60, ISO 800, handheld, un-edited.
Setup 7
Same light and settings as above just taken from a different angle, higher up, looking down on George.
Main Learning Outcomes
- When lighting someone from above, get the person to look up to avoid harsh direct shadows, unless this is the effect you are looking for, dependent on the look you want.
- I didnt realise that a flattering lighting effect could be produced using natural light so was quite surprised what a difference the direction of the light made to the photos.
Things to Improve/learn
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