Studio Work- Lighting Workshop

Last week we worked on some different shots in the studio in small groups looking at lighting techniques and how changing the lighting altered the image. We looked at direct unmodified light, light diffused through a screen, light bounced off a reflective surface and light focused through a piece of paper. Then we looked at multiple exposure a technique using a light to create several exposures of a subject within the same image. We also looked at lighting different types of products, doing light drawing and multiple exposure. All these images look better quality if you click on them. 

In this first set of images we looked at lighting different products in different types of lighting to see what effects it gave and how it made the product look.

In these three images of the teddy we used an aperture of f5.6 a shutter speed of 2.5 and ISO of 100. In these images we tried using different coloured lighting to see what effects it gave. I think all three of these images work really well and that the lighting really helps you focus on the main point which is the teddy.

Next we took pictures of this polystyrene head. In these images we experimented  with just a normal white light but moved the head to different kind of angles to see what kind of shadows we could get. Then we tried using a slower shutter speed so we could use another light to draw around the head and see what effect we could get.

Then we took pictures of this glass bottle which was different to light because of it being transparent. Again we tried using different coloured lights and seeing what kind of shadows and effects we could make. The last four images are my favourite because they really make the bottle stand out and I think the lighting works really well. 

Next we tried using different types of lighting and modifying the light on a jug to experiment with light on a transparent object.  

 

For these first few images we wanted the effect of a quite bright lighting and I have we have achieved this with what we did. For these images we used one single bright light and a reflector, but while the main light was still on.

Then we turned the main light off and again used one single bright light and a reflector, doing this made the colour of the image less bright and had a pink tone to it. 

Then we tried the same kind of thing but using a diffuser aswell, this making the image even darker. I like how in these images the top of the jug really stands out. 

We next decided to make the image even more darker by using a snoot around the light, doing this focused right onto the jug giving a really nice effect highlighting all the lines and curves of the top of the jug and making it the main focus.

This is my favourite image out of them all, on this image we used a snoot and reflector to capture just the right lighting. I love how it completely highlights the jug and your eyes are focused only on that. I also love how its made the curves and shape of the jug stand out having the top of the jug have strong sharp lines then going down into the bottom half with it blending in and having not as harsh lines.

After experimenting with using lighting on the jug we went on to experimenting with lighting on a non transparent object and for this used a cheese grater. 

These first two images were took with the main light still on, which gave a blue kind of effect to the picture. 

In these images you can see the colour of the image again and how its changed, these are still using the main light. 

 In these images apart from the first two we just a portacube to put the cheese grater in and used two lights to create the shadows. We experimented by moving the lights around to get different types of shadows from subtle to harsh. 

In these four images we decided to try and make really dark shadows to see what effect it gave the image as a whole. I really like the second image because having the shadow gives a nice effect but also having the extra light making the cheese grater stand out and attract your attention to focus mainly on that.

Next we looked at doing light drawing and by using a long shutter speed was able to capture the lights moving making us be able to draw and write using it.

In the first two images we tired experimenting with drawing around ourselves and highlighting ourselves. Then we tried to create shapes around people and around a manikin, I really like the last picture because it really highlights the manikin and the effect works really well. 

Then we tried using a reflector to see what would happen but it didn't do much to the light drawing itself. We also experimented writing and drawing shapes, having the long shutter speed really helped us to do that, also on some pictures we used the 'bulb' setting which meant we could have as much time as we needed and long as someone was holding the button down to capture it.

On these pictures we basically did the same as before but had a go at drawing different things. I think the attempt at drawing Amy sat on a bike worked really well and it came out a lot better than we expected. Then again we had a go at using the reflector, which again didn't do much to the image. 

The first three were the same kind of idea again. The last one I think is my favourite because of the effect of it and how it looks like the light is wrapped around the manikin, I also like the shadows and highlights from the light. I think these make the image really interesting. 

Doing all these pictures and experimenting really helped me understand the shutter speeds and apertures more. Also taught me how to use 'bulb' which I never knew what it was before, some of these images worked really well and some not so good, but we learnt something from them all.

In the next part of the workshop we looked at using flash and doing multiple exposures. Multiple exposures is a technique using a light to create several exposures of a subject within the same image. 

When doing these images we used a flash gun, sometimes one sometimes two at once. When doing this we had the camera set on bulb so while one person held the button down someone or two people would move in the allocated space and either one or two people would use flash guns to set the flash off. We kept clicking the flash all the time the person moved (while still holding the button down on the camera) and then when they stopped if we had all the settings right we would end up with the multiple exposure picture we wanted. 

I think in all these images we created the effect we wanted and was looking for and it worked really well, I especially like the ones where the two people look like they blend in together. 

Out of these images I like the one where theres only two of us facing straight on but you can see two of each person with a slight change to there face and I think this is really effective. 

This workshop really helped me understand new things I hadn't done before like the multiple exposures and also helped me improve on things I had done like light drawing. Lighting up the products was also really helpful. Overall I think that this workshop has given me a lot more understanding on certain elements of photography I wasn't so sure on before, and also helped me learn new things.