Photography

On Thursdays we are meant to be in our pathway groups. However today I went and spent the day in photography. This was because the new students were going to learn how the band sessions work and since I had taken part in all but three I decided to experience something different. Before we took any pictures we had to learn how to set things up.

Lighting

The light stand allows you to position a light at various heights. If the light stand is really high then the light can  become unstable. To prevent it becoming extremely unstable don't put the legs together, spread them apart.

The way the legs should be (not a good picture)

Each light had a kettle cable, this plugs the light into the mains. An extension cable may be needed if there are multiple lights or the light switch is too far away. However you need to try and plug the kettle cable into the nearest switch. You have to remember to turn the light off when finished. 

Kettle Cable

There are different makes of light. The two that are used in the photography department are Bowens and Elincrom lights. 

ElinCrom light

Bowens Light

Both lights have a plastic bulb protector on that you have to remove before you can use the light. Both lights are modelling lights. You can connect a camera to the light and when you take a picture the light will pop (like a flash on a camera). The flash can be turned up or down, it can make a little pop or a powerful flash. Don't use the lights with a bare bulb because its harsh. The lights can can be softened and you can use adapters. 

Bowens

The power of the flash can be turned up and down using the dial closer to the light (bulb)

Softbox

Soft box's can be bought in different sizes, it depends on how you want the light to look. A Bowens soft box won't fit an Elincrom light and vice versa. 

The further away the light is from the source the more defined (harder) the shadow will be. The closer the light to the source the less defined (softer) the shadow. 

Bowens - There is a little switch at the side, pull back and rotate the soft box to take it of.

Softbox

Honeycomb

A honeycomb directs the light in one direction. It creates a strongly defined shadow. 

Honeycomb

Snoot

Camera basics for today's pictures.

Shutter speed - 160

Aperture - f16

If the pictures are too dark then choose a bigger aperture or turn the light up. If the pictures are too light then choose a smaller aperture or turn the light down, 

The bigger the aperture number the smaller the hole. The smaller the aperture number the bigger the hole.

Sync cable - Syncs the camera to the lights

Elincrom has a smaller jack plug whilst the Bowens light has a bigger jack plug. 

The Hotshoe adapter goes in the hotshoe on the camera. The other end of the sync plug goes in the hole at the side of the hotshoe adapter attached to the camera.

Each light has two bulbs. One bulb is the modelling bulb, this shows you were the highlights and shadows are. The other bulb is the doughnut bulb, this is the flash bulb, this is the bulb that makes the image.On all flash lights there is some form of reflector.

Reflector

White bulb - Modelling bulb
Transparent circle around the white bulb -
Doughnut bulb (Flash bulb)

After we learned all this we had to get into groups of three and take picture of each other, experimenting with different lighting. By the end of the morning we had to have had out picture take and taken pictures of each of the lighting set ups. There were six lighting set ups and each one created a different effect. We could change the intensity of the pop if we wanted and the position of the light. I really enjoyed this because I got to see how each lighting set up created a different effect.

 This was the first picture I took. The framing of the photo isn't right. There is too much head room and the frame needs to be tighter. More of a head shot rather than upper body shot. The type of attachment we  used for this light is a softbox. You can see the shadow against the wall. This shadow is quite soft so this means that the light is quite close to the subject.

This is more of the frame that we should be looking for. However because of the Blue hoodie the picture appears darker. It wouldn't have made the picture any lighter without it, but the bottom of the frame would have been lighter because the top beneath is white. This picture is dark because of the lighting. You can see the shadow behind Chlo but because of the framing of the photo the entire shadow isn't visible. I think that this makes the pciture seem darker because most of the frame that was left is full of the shadow.

This photo is a lot better than the other two. It isn't dark and the framing isn't wrong. You still see the face and all the features that you're meant too.  However it isn't as tight as it should be. You also don't see any shadows against the wall. 

This is probably my favorite image. We used a snoop attachment for this. The light was above our heads, pointing down. I really like the way that a lot of the image is in darkness and only some of it is in the light. Most of the light is directed onto the forehead. Looking at it I like it because the image starts to get darker towards the end of the image.

I put the rest of the photos on Photobucket: http://s1323.beta.photobucket.com/user/em_believe/library/First%20week%2013-09-12

In the afternoon we had to bring back a object that related to the museum project we were doing. Because mine was calligraphy I wanted to take pictures of my sketchbook and some pens. I was told by the tutor that I was thinking too literally and that I needed to think more conceptually. I changed it and decided to take portraits of people with different emotions. Because of time I only managed to capture one emotion, happiness in various poses. 

We were asked to take more objects in next week relating to the photography project.

After talking with the tutor and realizing the many more possibilities it has helped me move on my museum project. Instead of doing pictures of people, I'm going to take pictures of objects relating to emotion. I'm still indecisive on whether to base the end project on one emotion or various emotions. Each week I am going to take in a different object and photograph it with different lighting.

These are some of the pictures that I took of Chlo. These pictures are meant to showcase happiness. It is just one emotion that I want to explore.

I like this photo because I think that it is framed correctly. The lighting looks a lot more natural than some others that I've taken. However the lighting is wrong. The light was at the right side of the picture. The light should have been placed at the left side because of the way her fringe is. Because of the white background the jacket was too dark for the picture.

 This picture was too over exposed. Because of the size of the aperture too much light was let in. I really like the frame of the picture because it is just her face. I think the shot is really tight without the editing, but this photo can't be used because the image is too over exposed.

This photo is one of my favorites that I took. I really like the framing and without the dark blue jacket it makes the picture look a lot better. The exposure is a bit too bright, but not too bright. You can still make out all of her features. This picture would be a lot better than without the headphones, which is my fault because I didn't ask her to take them out. 

For this picture I wanted a Movement. I got Chlo to jump up into the air. This Shot is really bad because you can see the dividers and because it isn't framed right. I really like the fact that the picture shows that there is motion. 

This is my favorite 'movement' photo. Again the headphones are in the photo, which again is my fault. This picture is no where near framed right, but I like this aspect of the photo. I would have loved to spend more time on this and tried to get the perfect shot for me. I like the fact that it isn't a close up of the face, I think that it shows more motion this way.














I put the rest of the photos on Photobucket: http://s1323.photobucket.com/albums/u584/em_believe/Chlo%20Happy/