Objects

28/09/11
In our first Objects lesson, we began by learning about Kelvins - a measurement of colour temperature used to describe lighting. Below is a chart showing various types of light and their temperatures on the Kelvin Scale.

We were also given the brief for our Objects module, which stated;
"You are required to produce a paper-based portfolio of six 'objects' photographs. Whilst there are no strict instructions on the type of photographs you must take, you should try to respond to each of the following study areas:
  1. Close-up/macro
  2. Mini set-build
  3. Commercial product
  4. Highly reflective subjects (chrome, glass, etc.)
  5. Historical objects and their narrative (with Blackburn museum)
During the work carried out for Unit 01 Systems and Processes module, you will learn several important lighting techniques. You should attempt to use these acquired skills to help you create atmospheric and expressive photographs.


You must accompany each photograph in the portfolio with a written evaluation of the work involved in its production (research, design, treatment, post-production).Try to limit each evaluation to no more than 150 words.

Your portfolio size you be A4 minimum with images printed on suitable print media. Accompanying evalutions should be placed behind each photograph.


05/10/11
Today we brought in perfume bottles and had to photograph them in different lighting situations;
  • Daylight
  • Flash
  • Tungsten
  • Flourescent


This image was taken using natural lighting, outdoors. To be totally honest, I don't think the bottle stands out very well from the backdrop, and there isn't really enough detail on the lid, especially compared to the image below. Overall, I feel the entire image is ineffective and boring, perhaps due to both the angle of the light and the way I positioned the camera.

Above is my favourite image of this perfume bottle. I took it using natural light, coming through a glass wall within the uni building. The sheer size of the window allowed for efficient lighting of the subject, rather than just being focused on one point, i.e. coming from a bulb/through a light fitting. I love that the natural light brings out the id details as well as lighting the bottle in a shape-defining way. I also really like the subtle reflections of the light off the contours of the bottle - I feel they add to the image without being distracting.

Here is an example of camera flash, in a darkened room. I tried to get the reflective surface I used in the background to light the subject better, but it seems to have just reflected the image of the subject rather than make much of a difference to the lighting of it. I think the image would have turned out better if I had been able to use a flash gun rather than the flash fixed to the top of my camera, as this would enable me to choose the position of the light to hopefully illuminate the subject better, e.g. from the top to expose the detailing on the lid.

Here is an example of tungsten lighting, using one of the modeling lamps in a darkened room. The image is pretty underexposed, despite the fact that I was using the widest possible aperture on my camera and a pretty slow shutter speed. I like that some (minimal) parts of the bottle have reflected the light, therefore giving shape and depth to it. However, I dislike the image as a whole, as I feel the underexposure ruins it. I would have preferred to use a bright lamp to light the bottle.

This is flourescent lighting - just using a bulb in the hallway at university. I think the bottle and the perfume look good in the white light, but there isn't much detail in the lid because the light is almost directly above the bottle. I would have preferred for the light to reflect off of the contours on the lid, so if I were to take the image again, I would position the light differently in relation to the bottle.

At the end of this session we were asked to each create a 20/20 (or Pecha Kucha) presentation. 'Pecha Kucha' is the Japanese for 'chit-chat' and the 20/20 format was created by two workers from a Tokyo-based company. The format consists of twenty slides shown for twenty seconds each. This limits the amount the presenter can talk about each slide, sharing out the time evenly. Our presentations had to be about research and experimentation with still-life photography and lighting techniques.


12/10/11
Today we each took turns to present our Pecha Kuchas to the class. Below are the images and notes I used for my presentation;

 
Slide 1

·        Presentation is about objects and lighting

·        Example of experimentation with  studio lighting (snoot), casting shadows across surface

·        Good because shadows create texture, esp. on right of image

·        Not fantastic, angle of light could’ve been better to cast more shadows on left of image

Slide 2

·        Example which I think relates to my work on prev. slide

·        Paul scharrf

·        Outside, so obv. Natural lighting

·        Angle of shot is just right so that all of subject has texture because of shadows cast


Slide 3

·        Piece of own work, more experimentation with studio lighting

·        Macro lens

·        Love the contrasts between the sections of the wood, i.e. where surface rises and falls

·        Perhaps a different angle would’ve been better, e.g. underneath where other crevices could be lit

Slide 4

·        Work by Andy Small, also using macro lens

·        Example of better angle of lighting for textured surface

·        Lit harshly from below front, maybe very softly from above?

·        Light can shine up through creases/crevices, etc. in subject, isn’t overpowering

Slide 5

·        Example of own experimentation with studio lighting

·        Using soft-box, & increased intensity of light

·        Love the crisp right edge of the shape against the non-reflective backdrop

·        Also love that the light travelling round the object gives both texture and depth, can see the spherical shape

Slide 6

·        Image by Andy Small, macro lens again, lighting looks natural

·        Reminded me of my work, textured sphere

·        Love how the light casts shadows towards camera, giving good sense of depth

·        Perhaps lit from below to avoid underexposure of underneath of sphere?

Slide 7

·        Image by jonathan Knowles, links to above images and experiments due to use of shadows

·        Studio lighting, obviously some kind of directive tool has been used, perhaps barn doors or snoot for narrower beam?

·        Love reflections created by jewels on subject, aren’t too distracting as light isn’t too bright

·        Also love shadows on & around image, simple yet effective, would like to experiment with similar technique


Slide 8

·        Own experimentation with lighting

·        Example of fluorescent lighting – just bulb in hallway

·        Bottle and perfume look good, however lid not much detail

·        Would have preferred light to reflect off contours on lid, so would have positioned light differently in studio

Slide 9

·        Own experimentation, tungsten lighting in darkened room

·        Underexposed, despite using widest aperture and pretty slow shutter

·        Like that some parts of bottle reflect light, giving shape and depth

·        Dislike the image as a whole, underexposure ruins it


Slide 10

·        Own experimentation, camera flash in darkened room

·        Tried to get reflective surface to help light subject better

·        Seems to have just reflected image of subject rather than help

·        Would have been better to use a flashgun as I could choose position of it & hopefully light subject better, e.g. from top to expose lid detail


Slide 11

·        Own experimentation, natural light coming through wall-sized window

·        Allowed for efficient lighting of entire subject, rather than just being focused on one point

·        Love that it brings out lid detail as well as lighting bottle

·        Also really like reflections off contours/shape of bottle, not too distracting, add to image



Slide 12

·        Own experimentation, natural light outside

·        Don’t think bottle stands out well enough from backdrop

·        Less lid detail than prev. natural lighting image

·        Ineffective/boring, perhaps due to angle of light AND camera


Slide 13

·        Image by Robert Golden, using studio lighting, white bg makes objects stand out nicely

·        Thought it linked to experimenting I did, bottles, glass, etc.

·        Light perhaps being shone down through glass?

·        Love how it bounces off contours of wine glass and gives subtle texture


Slide 14

·        Contrasting image (black backdrop) by Robert Golden, using subject itself as source of lighting

·        Interesting idea, also love how it stands out from darkness of black bg

·        Love how light is reflected by surface of bulb, perhaps used other lights to do this?

·        Such a simple idea, yet so effective


Slide 15

·        Image by paul scharrf, relates to prev. image

·        Again using source of light as subject matter

·        This time light does not reflect off bulb surface & instead finds another one

·        Interesting what different coloured lights can do, something I would like to experiment with

Slide 16

·        Image by Robert golden, relates to my experiments with bottle because of reflections of light

·        Looks like natural lighting used across surface of fruit

·        Light reflected by wet surface, shows the moisture in the fruit

·        Good as not reflected off the entire surface, but small bits of it


Slide 17

·        Own experimentation, thinly sliced fruit on a light-box

·        Love how light comes through subject and shows incredible detail within the fruit

·        Also love the contrast between the fruit’s sharp outline and the pristine-white bg

·        Did an entire set like this using various fruits, probably some of my favourite work


Slide 18

·        Image by Robert golden, pickled cucumber on a glass fork

·        Similar to my work from prev. slide, lighting allows us to see through subject

·        Very effective because of sharp edges of subject & contrast this creates on bg

·        Love the layers, i.e. the fork within the cucumber, can still see through


Slide 19

·        Another image by Robert golden, plum? Possibly on a light-box, cannot be sure

·        Love how the fruit is sat in its own juices, which create a nice pink-coloured tone

·        Ever-so-subtle contrast between this pink and the white of the light-box?

·        Also love how it has been torn apart, goes from see-thru to not see-thru


Slide 20

·        Image relating to those prev. as light is coming through subject

·        Lit from behind? One side perhaps as right side isn’t lit as well, cannot see thru it

·        Love texture that light creates on petals at right side

·        Also like how light allows us to see thru petals, gradually changing tones across subject


I thought my presentation went quite well and I am pleased with the work I did on it. However I feel I need to get more confidence when speaking in front of the class formally as I was extremely nervous this time around.


19/10/11
Today we had to bring in an object of our own to photograph. I chose a pair of sequinned shoes that would reflect light, in order to give myself a bit of a challenge. We were also given a brief to take our images under;
Stage 1 - get a correctly exposed image of your object in sharp focus with a considered composition.
Above is the image I produced for Stage 1 of the brief. I used two lights - a honeycomb basically behind where I was taking the image from, and a snoot to the left of where I was positioned in order to better light the background of the curve in which I had to take the image, with the heels positioned on top of a white crate.
I considered the composition and tried to create a shot that looks like it would be on a website or in a catalogue selling the shoes. I think my composition would be a little better if I had moved the camera slightly further down so that the tip of the shoe was inside the image and the back was closer to the top edge of the image. I am still pleased with the angle and I feel this makes the image quite dynamic rather than it just being; a shoe.

Stage 2 - Photograph the same object but change the lighting effect to create a different mood. Take at least three variations.
My first response to this stage  is the first image above - I have created a mood that would work when trying to sell the shoes. The above image is my second response to this stage. I feel here I have created a different mood by removing the light I was using to fill the background and make it appear brighter. I think this makes the shoes look more solitary and therefore creates a mood that engages the viewer.

Stage 3 - A hint of narrative - consider a narrative for the object you are working with - what might the object symbolise?
For me, the above image is reminiscent of the movie poster I have placed next to it. I feel that including only the heel of the shoe and showing how high it is illustrates power, power similar to that of the character referred to as 'the devil' in the film. The height of the heels would generally allow the wearer to tower over her peers, therefore giving her a greater sense of authority. I therefore feel that this object could be representative of a strong and confident woman.



02/11/11
In today's lesson we learned about lighting setups. We began by learning about 45/45 lighting. This basically just means having a 45 degree angle on the heads of the two lamps.
The above image shows a basic 45/45 setup. Technically, the two lamps should be at a diagonal across the subject, behind and in front for fill-in purposes. This type of lighting is suitable for 'pack-shots' - images used in advertising to show the 'package' of a brand.

Above is a second setup we learned - 'copy-lighting', in which the camera is generally suspended above and parallel to the subject using a stand.This type of lighting is good for if the surface detail of the subject matter does not need to be highlighted or brought out in any way.
Using the perfume bottles from previous weeks with the 45/45 setup, we placed a lamp under the translucent table in order to light the subject from undernearth, and saw that light passing through a subject begins to give it form.
We discussed specular highlights and learned that we should position a mirror near the light source so that it could reflect the light back onto the subject. This would allow for better highlights on the subject as it means you control the positions of them.
We also discussed backdrops and learned that placing black cards around the perfume bottle would allow for better edge definition as they give the subject black lines rather than reflecting a white backdrop.
We then placed another light at a 45 degree angle behind the subject in order to create some detail with a highlight on the bland and dark lid of the perfume bottle.
We tried to take a similar image using a darker perfume bottle than the first and so lifted the light underneath the table higher in order to better light the subject. We also brought the other lamps closer to the subject but still ensured they were at a 45 degree angle to it.
We also found it to be a better looking image if the light underneath the table was tilted toward the back of the subject in order to compensate for the top light at the back being tilted toward the camera/front of the subject.

After this, we learned about light ratios and what they meant. A lighting ratio is the value (amount of light) coming from a fill light in comparison to the main light on the subject you are photographing.
When the two lights are on the same 'power' setting, the ratio will be 1:1. When the fill light is on a power one stop below that of the main light, the ratio will be 1:2, and when the fill light is on a power two steps below that of the main light, the ratio will be 1:4. The second number continues to double as the difference in stops of power between the lights increases.

 Image sources: http://samadamsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/strobox-45.jpg
http://www.ppath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/KnowledgeBase/StudioLighting/CopyLighting.jpg

Image Experiments for Brief
^Historical^

^Macro/Historical^

 ^Reflective^

 ^Reflective^

 ^Macro/Mini Set-Build^

 ^Macro/Mini Set-Build^

  ^Commercial^

^Commercial^
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