Self Evaluation

This assignment has been very useful in a number of ways; I have furthered my knowledge of DSLR cameras and studio techniques and I am much happier with working in a studio and using lighting. I have produced several images demonstrating my understanding of depth of field and aperture. I can now confidently choose an aperture that’s suitable for the type of image I want. If I want everything on focus I would shoot around f16/22 and if I wanted shallow depth of field I would shoot between f1.8/f4. I can manually exposure images correctly and compensate for a change in aperture by altering my ISO and shutter speed. For my shutter speed assignment I did a lot of light painting as I have never really done this before. I found it very interesting and can see with practice how some great results could be achieved. I could now combine a studio portrait and light painting to create something experimental.

Overall I think my final studio image reflects what I outlined in my proposal. I think I took a good range of images throughout the shoot and managed to achieve my goal of producing a photo suitable for use in an advertisement for Nike. I decided to shoot in RAW format whilst in the studio so I had the best chance of correcting errors in post production, the trade off was that I had to use two 4gb SD cards because a RAW file is much larger than a JPEG. Once I had selected my final image I edited it in Photoshop and because I shot RAW I had a lot of control over the image and I am very happy with the results.

I did run into some problems in my studio time mainly caused by inexperience with studio work. The black backdrop was quite reflective so in my first few shots it appears grey but I worked around this by putting more distance between my subject, the background and the lights. This meant the light never reached the background leaving with me with a seamless black background and my model exposed. I’m very happy with how this project turned out but I would like to be a bit more experimental in the studio next time. I could use lighting gels and modifiers to create more interesting light setups or play around with different props and lenses to achieve a different style of photograph.

Studio Outcome

After completing my studio shoot I was left with 300+ images which I sorted through using Adobe Bridge. I then selected my favourite in terms of lighting, subject matter and the models expression. Once this was narrowed down to 3-5 images I began editing them.

I found that because I was using a black backdrop I was having a lot of issues with reflection as the background was gloss and not matt material. So it was reflecting light and turning into a grey background.

I managed to solve this problem by increasing the distance from my model to the background so in the end there was around 6ft between the model and background. I was using low key lighting to add drama to the shots and I think this has worked well. I was using 2 studio flash heads with no modifiers apart from a reflector.

This was the lighting setup that I began with and I kept this pretty constant throughout the shoot as it worked from the off. The only thing I changed was the height of the fill flash depending where I wanted to emphasise. In some shots the shoes were a large part of the outfit so the flash was lower and directed towards the lower half. On other shots I wanted the chest to be the focus so the flash was sitting level with the models chest. I often found that keeping the flash powers the same was the best as I was happy with the look of the lighting and if I wanted something brighter or darker I changed my aperture. I kept my ISO at 100 throughout the shoot to get noise free images and my shutter speed was around 1/180th which is below the max sync speed of my camera (1/250th) just to make sure there was no chance of the shutter being too high to sync with the flash.

Once I had selected a few of my favourite images I began editing them in Photoshop CS6. I first got the image looking how I wanted composition wise and then focused on the look of the image. For the below image I added some contrast using a curves adjustment layer and then desaturated to achieve the 'Nike' look by adding a black and white adjustment layer and setting it's opacity to 40%.

                                             Before:                                                   After:

So far this is my favourite image and a strong contender for my final image. I think it's quite a strong image and the model shows good presecene and confidence. I've added some text to show what it would look like as a promotional piece which was my goal. I think the image ticks all the boxes my only problem is that the legs are a little dark and fall into the background too much, I would have been better lowering my fill light or using an umbrella to throw the light across the whole of my subject.

Studio Proposal

From my studio workshops I now have a good idea about basic lighting setups which I can use during my final studio shoots which I have now written a proposal for:

"For my studio work I'm going to be creating a portrait to promote Nike Sportswear. I will be focusing on creating a shot that would be suitable for an advertising campaign so it must fit the current style of Nike as a brand.

I will be using a studio backdrop to put focus on the models clothing instead of the location. Nike as a brand is quite modern. Their adverts are always clean and often use low-key lighting and negative space to their advantage. This is something I want to keep in mind for my own shoot, as this is a key element of the ‘Nike’ look. The backgrounds are often black and the subject is always well lit which creates a sense of atmosphere in the shot and again this often makes the model look strong as the main focus is on them.

I have discovered that Nike adverts are most commonly in colour but with low saturation and contrast this is something to keep in mind when editing my shots. The models always look confident and strong which is a key part of a sporting brand especially one as large as Nike.

I will be using a Canon DSLR and a range of lenses so I have mixture of focal lengths to work with. I will aim to capture a range of angles focusing on ones that make the model look dominant and powerful. This combined with the lighting will make or break the photos so will take some experimenting. I will be looking for a final photo that would be easily identifiable as something similar to a Nike style ad."

After finding some shots I liked the look of I decided to research how to achieve similar lighting for my studio project. The style of lighting used is 'low key lighting'. It is used to add atmosphere to a shot as there is usually a lot of contrast and shadow in the photo with only selected parts lit.

It is very popular with portrait photographers as they can selectively highlight a models best features while adding a lot of drama to a shot. Here are some examples of low key portrait photography:

These style of shots are achieved by either using one main light and a reflector or a main and fill light. The main light is usually set around 1/2 power and offset to one side of the subject with no modifier as a soft box would reduce the harshness of the shadows and this is counter productive when trying to achieve a low key look.

Studio Lighting - Part Two

For the second part of the studio lighting workshop we used 3 lights in total. A main light, a fill light and a background light.

They all have there own jobs:

Main light - To illuminate the subject using the chosen lighting technique, often this is the most powerful flash

Fill light - Used in place of a reflector, it can add light to the opposite side to the main light or be used to highlight certain areas of a model. Often set to a lower power than the main light just to add small amounts of light to the photo.

Background light - Used between the model and background to achieve high key lighting (seamless white backdrop). It can also be used to illuminate the subject from behind to separate them from the backdrop.

Once we had our lights set up we began learning about common 3 light setups. The ones we tried were hair lighting, kicker lighting and rim lighting.

Hair Lighting

The main let is set to one side and a fill light is used from the opposite side on a lower power but similar height to create a shadow. Another light is then placed high next to the subject but pointing down to illuminate the hair. I found that the hair light was best on low power so when combined with the fill and main lights the image wasn't blown out. This works best on females and people with hair as it illuminates well and helps add depth to a portrait.

Kicker Lighting

Kicker lighting helps separate the subject from the background but placing a light behind them but offset to a side. When combined with a main and fill light you can get some nice shadows on one side the face but no shadows on the background. For this shot each light had a soft box so that the lighting was very complimentary and not harsh on the subject.

Rim Lighting

Rim lighting is good for subject with a lot of hair as a light is placed behind them you get a halo effect around there head. This is caused by the light being blocked by there head so it only comes through where the hair separates  This is also good for adding depth between the subject and background but should be used carefully and in conjunction with a main and fill light to avoid creating a silhouette. For this shot we had to use a lighting tripod to get the rim light low down as normal lighting stands where placing the light too high so light was leaking around the subject and into the camera.

Studio Lighting - Part One

In preparation for our studio shoots we completed a workshop using a single lighting setup so we could learn the 6 commonly used lighting techniques. These are butterfly, rembrandt, spli, hollywood, broad and short. They can all be achieved with one light but can also be used with multiple lights eg a fill light , a main light and a background light.

Here are the shots from that workshop:

Rembrandt Lighting

A light placed high above the subject offset to a side, the classic rembrandt should create a triangle of light between the nose and the far cheek of the unlit side of the face. I think I have achieved that in this shot.

Short Lighting

Short lighting is when the face is lit from the side facing away from the camera. Broad is the opposite to this.

Broad Lighting

 Butterfly

Butterfly lighting is when the light is placed above and directly in front of the subject so there is a small shadow underneath the nose that resembles a butterfly. This is a very flattering and east light setup to use.

Split Lighting

Split lighting is when the light is placed directly on one side of the subject at head height which creates a harsh shadow directly down the face and is very dramatic.

Shutter Speed - Studio Work

When learning about shutter speed and aperture we spend some time collectively in the studio doing some workshops. One of these was an afternoon light painting and playing with long exposures in the dark. The results are varied as we tried painting with light, multiple exposures with a flashgun and combining people and light.

For most of these shots the shutter speed was around 8 seconds, f8 so that we didn't have to adjust focus a lot if things moved slightly. We kept the ISO as low as possible to get the best noise free images. 

We then used torches and other various light sources and kept them pointed at the camera and began drawing and moving them around. The results are always different so there was a lot of experimentation but it is clear to see how this technique could be used effectively both in a studio and on location.

For the multiple exposure shots we used an off camera flash fired manually. We got someone to stand on the backdrop and then fired the flash, this freezes that frame and exposes it but because the exposures were a few seconds we could move around and use the flashgun again which exposed another image but because things moved the image is different. They then both appear on the same photo.

We played around with this as it was a great way of showing movement but it was very hard not to overlap the path you had already been on which ends up with an overlaid image like below.

Depth Of Field

Aperture is a key feature of DSLR cameras and one of the reasons they are so popular. They offer massive depth of field due to a large sensor size and lenses that have fast apertures.

Inside every DSLR lens there are aperture blades that control the amount of the light that can come through the lens and its then focused onto the sensor.

Here are some examples of the ways in which DOF can be used to enhance a photo:

To achieve shallow depth of field (blury subjects among sharp subjects) you need to be using an aperture of around f/4 and below. This is where the aperture blades are letting a lot of light in and will give you brighter images. When your aperture is around f/22 there will be a lot less light coming in and everything in your image will be in focus. Both a wide open and closed aperture have pros and cons.

Most lenses will be soft around there fastest aperture and you will often have to stop up to get sharp results. When your lens is at f/22 you need to compensate for the fallout of light by either slowing down your shutter speed or increasing your ISO. All three of these things are related and have a knock on effect when one is changed, but more on that later.

The below images were shot around between f/1.4 and f/4 as you can see some parts are in focus and some are not. This is what I was hoping to achieve by using such a fast aperture. Plus I was indoors so needed to let as much light as possible into the sensor so I could keep my shutter around 1/60 sec to avoid camera shake.

In this photo I was using a fast aperture so that the foreground was blurred to emphasise the leading lines of the wall and also draw your eye towards the human subject on the right of the image by blurring the left.
f/1.4
1/250
ISO 200
30mm

This was shot through a security door which had lines going through but because of the shallow depth of field and the fact I've focused on the background you can barely see the foreground. This is another use of aperture.
f/2.5
1/160
ISO 200
30mm

My Final Images

After experimenting with depth of field I have selected a few images which demonstrate the use of DOF and the different ways in which it can be used.

This shot demonstrates the use of foreground V background in DOF. This is a popular technique as you can be selective with what you want the user to focus on. For this particular photo you can tell there is a corridor in the distance but visually you can't see much about it so your imagination can wander.

The use of shallow DOF in this shot creates a nice blurred background and some nice bokeh from the lights. 

In this shot I used DOF to separate the 3 foreground subjects from the background as I wanted them to be the entire focus of the image. I think it helps create a sense of atmosphere and helps to add a sense of mystery to the location.

Shallow

This shot was about making only one element in focus. I chose something that was in the centre as I wanted a blurred foreground and background. This is often used to create a sense of visual hierarchy as you can choose what elements you want visible and what you want to be blurred out. The point of these shots was to select a point of focus that was around the centre of the image so that the foreground and background were both blurred.

Background V Foreground

This technique involves using a shallow DOF but focusing on an element in the background so that any foreground visuals are blurred. To achieve these shots I was shooting at around f2.8 on a sunny day this means I had to put my shutter speed up to around 1/800 and ISO 100

Foreground to background

This shot demonstrates my knowledge of aperture by being able to select an f stop that allows everything to be in focus. This is useful in many situations especially when used alongside leading lines as the audience can see everything in the photo. It also provides a sharper image as most lenses tend to be soft around large apertures but as they get smaller the image quality becomes sharper.

Aperture Range

The series of photos below were taken on a tripod and the exposure was kept the same. I was taking a shot each time I increased my aperture by a stop. The results is several images showing the graduation between small and large DOF. The first image was shot at f1.4 and as you can see there is only a very small part in focus. As the shots go on and the aperture increased up to f16 the background elements become more in focus. This is easier to demonstrate outdoors where there are several objects along the focal place that I can throw in or out of focus. This will be my next experiment.