For this part of the assignment, we were asked to produce at least 10 images different to show our understanding of the different characteristics of studio photography.
I will now review my own studio photography images below as well as evaluate these characteristics
Research:
• To achieve maximum image quality with minimum noise the camera should be set to the lowest ISO setting available, usually ISO 100 or 200.
• Shooting in RAW so that the maximum amount of picture information is stored for later is always ideal.
• Setting White Balance to Daylight to enable easy batch editing later is always ideal
• Using single shot drive mode, rather than continuous is highly recommended
• Using small apertures to maximise detail – at very close range, even the smallest aperture can result in depth of field measured in millimetres.
• Using wide apertures to emphasise a sharply focused subject against a blurred background is also ideal
1).Flower Photography
For this particular photograph, I used a wide-angle lens to do the job. It enabled me to include the plant as well as the background hence there’s more information available for the viewer. Depth of field was also greatly increased, so my image was nice and sharp all the way from the foreground to the background.
For this session, we used different lighting techniques to reflect light from different angles of the reflectors in order to capture every detail of the image. For this particular image I was mainly interested in capturing the front of the flower therefore soft light on a very low setting in front of the flower was ideal.
This session was also particularly interesting because we got the chance to experiment with different gel sheets, for example greens, orange, reds, and purples. Some colours worked slightly better than others, for example the blue. It is evident from the image above that the blue gel sheet worked perfectly to bring out the flower's vibrancy. At one point I experimented with at least 3 different sheets (see image below) but it did not have the same effect as having one sheet on the reflector.
2).Textures
I found photographing texture particularly difficult. I did not want to give an impression that I was photographing glass and therefore I tried as hard as I could to bring out the textures of the flowers and glass rather than the glass itself. Using a macro lens for this particular shoot would have enabled me to focus up close and to really fill the frame with my image. A macro lens produces images recorded on the sensor at life-size or larger. The only downfall is that when using a macro lenses, great care has to be taken when focusing on the image as depth of field is very limited when up so close to the subject. Therefore, it would still not have been ideal for this shoot as I was trying to capture everything in the image
Shooting in manual
Shooting these images for my task on textures in manual enabled me to choose the aperture and shutter combination that gave me the results I really wanted. I also discovered through editing some of my images that checking the histograms will show if there is any need to change a setting in order to produce a correctly exposed image. Bright flowers can fool the camera into underexposing, so shooting in manual and checking histograms helped overcome some of these problems.
3). Low Key
Low Key refers to the different tones which are used in a image. It is also made up mainly of dark tones and this part of the assignment, I experimented with diffrernt tones including high key inorder to achieve the look below. I would like to point out that I am not particularly excited about the potrait belowbecause it has burned out highlights on the guy's face. Perhaps I should have underexposed by two stops which would have possibly corrected the different exposures on my camera to get the perfect balance for this shot.
For this shot I used 1 light suorce (see below) I aslo experimented without a reflector to bounce light back into the subjects’ face. Perhaps I aslo allowed light to reach the background and hence the burnt out highlights.
I have just added some images of what it is I was actually doing when I was preparing the set for my model. These are not the final images, but however it was part of my research and planning. I was tring to get the correct exposure, ISO, etc before actually beginning the shoot. The low key image above was the final shot, but howver as mentioned earlier, I was not particularly happy with the final results. I rectifid exactly what it is I needed to do to improve the images.
4). Still Life
This was probably my best day in college. I really enjoyed the lesson on still life photography. For me personally, I enjoyed looking into Jan Groover's still life photography work, and below are some of the examples of the work she has carried out over the years.
Jan Groover is noted for her use of emerging color technologies. I rememebr when we asked to research on different photographers who specialised in still life photography and Jan Groover was my number one choice no doubt. I love how some of her images are just very simple but at the same time are very beautiful to look at. I chose this image in particular beacuse this is where I got the inspiritation to do my still life shoot. The image looks similar to mine, although this one was done by a professional photographer.
Jan Groover
I wanted my image to appeal to the public so I put a few things into consideration when I was taking this image. For example, for this particular image, I used a table with the ligthing shininmg through from below and behind the it. If you look closely at the image, inorder to be creative I added a pice of wood I picked up on my into college which has made a huge difference to the final outcome of the image This also gave it a pure white background which made the shells look more vibrant in the image. Furthermore, the colours and textures in the image complemtnt each other very well, hence this beautiful pice of art work. Well Done me!!!
5). Jewellery
For some inspiration I looked at work done by Jim Duncan, personally I did not enjoy this particular lesson because I found it really really difficult to get the correct exposures for the shoot.
Using a reflector however, really helped to boost the appearance of my jewellery and I also learnt through doing this shoot that when the reflector is positioned closer to the subject, depending on the its angle, it actually directs light into shadow areas to reveal detail and reduces uneven contrast.
For this shoot we used a honeycomb lighting and tried using different backgrounds in order to make the jewerelly stand out more.
6). Portrait
For this shot, I used two soft boxes which I just set slightly over the height of my model. I set one on either side with my model in between them to help highlight lighten up my model's face.
I also used a reflector and this has helped reduce uneven tones and shadows which may have affected the end result of the final image. The reflector also highlighted my mode;s face beautifully and every detail of her face is highly visible. Beautiful image, I am impressed with the end result.
For the shoot below, I was keen to learn how you would do the set up in a studio. So with the help of a few classmates we managed to gather around a beauty dish, frame, snoot, reflectors as well as poly boards.
This is the end result of the shoot I did. The first image is nice I like it, and the tones are blending well with each other. On the other hand however, I do not like the second image because my model's hands are partially cropped off and yet the image itself is actually better than the one above. I am not impressed at all.
7). Commercial
Although this image was not shot in a studio, I chose it for my commercial photography. I shot this image outside and it was actually snowing and freezing therefore the causing the camera to shake a little. I just like the idea that despite all this, I still went out there in the freezing cold and actually attempted to take the photograpth. Of all the pictures I took, this is the best one, although it is still not good enough. I have learnt that weather can affect how an image can be taken and also how it comes out. I have also learnt that it is important to plan for a shoot before hand because regardless of the weather, a shoot can tyrn out great depending on how well you have planned for it. On this particular it was someting I had to do on short notice to show our different skills if I wre a professional photographer, so it did not turn out as graet as it could have done had I got given more time ti do the shoot. If I were to to this commercial shoot again, I would definitley do it differently, for instance, I would consider things such as the lighting, the background, the place I am carrying out the shoot, the type of camera and lens to use for this sort of shoot, the subject itself as well as the audience.
Research:
Below is some of the studio ighting we used throughout the course especially when we were doing anything to do with studio photography. I really had a lovely time during studio lessons because it meant we had the chance to do hands on work. I personally do not have a studion, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to gain more experience within a studion setting. It also meant that we could set up our own lighting which made us learn from the mistakes that we were doing throughout the whole process. I will miss this course greatly.
Studio Lighting1
Studio Lighting 2
Studio Lighting 3
Studio Lighting 4
This is me experimenting with the different lighting in today's lesson and below are the resultsof potrait photography
