Understanding Studio Lighting

Monday, February 6th schedule

2012-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder:

Photo 34 meets in the studio at noon, where you'll be getting the lecture to your next project.

Photo 33 meets in the studio at 1:30, where you'll also be getting the lecture to your next project as well as additional photoshop instruction.

NEW Shooting Groups - you may have changed.

2012-02-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

The schedule in the syllabus remains the same...but there's a good chance you're in a new shooting group. Note your group and then circle your shooting dates on your syllabus.

NEW GROUPS

Group A: Tuba, Michele, Danielle, Dianna N,Shelby, Crebin, Pat, Amanda B, Debora, Ryan D,

Group B: Pierre, Ashley C, David K, Sanjin M, Alan M, Lauren M, Nicholas, Khianna, Michael, Whitney,

Group C: Jeen Na, Lisa, Nate, Roz, Trevor, Christina D, Lucas L, Azalea M, Bret,

Here are the groups. If you are not listed, notify me immediately at amitchell@lbcc.edu

Phot 34: Narrative Photography

2012-02-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

This section you'll be working with two very interesting visual genres: Film Noir and Surrealism. Here are links and notes for both, please note that these links are just a start...do more of your own research as well.

Film Noir
1. Subject: crime dramas and betrayal were prime subjects for these films, while Edward Hopper explored loneliness and isolation in his paintings.
2. Lighting: very defined used of light...usually a hard light has been used to create strong shadows which further illustrate the storyline.
3. Shapes or Visual Motifs: tunnels, doorways, windows - often the scene is framed in some kind of shape.
4. Camera angles: strong and dynamic use of diagonals or other unusual angles such as high overhead or from below. Really fill the frame

Mildred Pierce: note the great use of camera angles, shadowing and a fun tacky storyline.

The Third Man: this is one of the great Noir stories, wonderful use of framing.

Double Indemnity: a man narrates his own murder...

Blade Runner: a contemporary version which brought Noir into the future.

Rocky Schenck: a commercial and fine art photographer.

Edward Hopper: a painter who utilized photographic style lighting to portray the isolation of modern (1920's-50's) life.

Surrealism
Exploration of dreamlike themes and the collage of opposites or non-related objects are main features. Magritte used collage to combine elements such as day and night in one image, or a giant apple in a room...things that can't happen in the "real" world, yet they feel very real and photographic.

Notes for Digital Compositing:
1. Previsualization: you've got to plan out BEFORE you start shooting to make sure you understand how you want the pieces to fit together, or how large you need to shoot each item.
2. Camera Angle: each item must be shot with relatively the same angle so they'll feel connected when you're putting them together.
3. Lighting: the lighting needs to be the same for all objects...and I would be careful of strong shadows going over the objects which might make it hard to blend together.
4. Propping: think about the use of color and style.
5. Photoshop: we'll be using Layer Masking and Quick Masks to bring the elements together.

Rene Magritte: a link to images for the surrealist painter

Hugh Kretchmer: a contemporary photographer

Phot 33: Traditional Still Life

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

In this section we'll be exploring an historic approach to still life, studying the still life paintings of the Dutch Masters. For this shot consider the following elements:
1. Use a straight-on viewpoint/camera angle. You can come up a bit more than we've previously used, but we're not looking down.
2. You'll be controlling the light on 3 areas: the front of the table, the surface of the table and the objects on it and the background.
3. You need to use more than one light.
4. Work with a large depth of field - we want the entire shot to be in focus...only the background can be soft if needed.
5. You're not restricted in your use of colors...but really consider how the props are going to work together.
6. For props: we're looking for balance - hard/soft, curve/linear, short/tall.
7. Composition: lead the eye through the image, break the line of the front surface, begin and end the composition within the frame- only the table surface may be cropped.

Dutch Master: after going to this link, scroll down until you reach the "Still lifes" heading.

Pieter Claesz: chose domestic themes with a beautiful handling of light and texture.

Francisco de Zuberan: Spanish painter with very stylized composition.

Jean Simeon Chardin: small domestic themes.

Laurie Rubin: contemporary editorial and advertising photographer.

Photo 33: Glass Glow - Choose an interesting object

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is a fairly simple looking shot, in that we want to have a translucent object made of glass and we're going to light it primarily from behind. Things to remember are:

• If the object if full, you'll light to show the liquid by having some light from another direction. If it's empty you can just create a silhouette with it's shape by lighting from behind.

• If the object contains another material such as metal, we'll need to light that separately.

• Since the light is coming directly at the lens, we need to watch out for lens flare.

• Don't use the hot lights under the glass surface as it will crack from the heat. Bring a shiny surface so that if the glass is already being used, you'll have something you can shoot on.

• The shot is about the glass object - so choose an interesting one!!

Color Relationships - Photographer Sandy Skoglund

2012-02-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Photo 33 will be introducing the use of Color Relationships into their projects - but using color in a thoughtful manner is an essential tool for strong image-making.

In the following image, the majority of the colors used are red and green...which are across from each other on the color wheel and therefore are complimentary.

Sandy Skoglund (the photographer, continues the complimentary

color relationship with blue/orange.

When using a fairly neutral environment, adding a single bold color

is using "a touch of color" method, which is used very often in

commercial photography.

The use of a single hue (color) is called monochromatic. In this case, you could

also call this a "warm" color environment - all the tones are on the warm

side of the color wheel (yellow, red, orange).

Warm or Cool color relationships do not have to be

monochromatic, as we see in this image.

Monday: 1/23/12 Schedule - Field Trip for Photo 33

2012-01-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Photo 33:

On Monday, January 23rd, Photo 33 will be meeting outside of Bristol Farms at 1:00pm. Bristol Farms is located at 2080 N. Bellflower Blvd.

Remember to bring the print-out of your first assignment. It was to review the photographers and painters listed in the Required Reading paragraph of the syllabus - from this group, select a still life (no people - just stuff) image that interests you, make a print-out of the image and on that sheet write a short paragraph about why you chose it.

Here's a great link to understanding how to write about design: Elements

Bring it to the field trip - I'll be collecting them there.

Photo 34: You're scanning your layouts and should have a full-sized transparent file with just type on it ready to use on Wednesday at your shoot.

Phot 33: White on White

2012-01-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

White on White
This first project can be complex or fairly simple. To end up with at least 7-10 elements in the shot that work well together, you'll need to bring at least double that since it's often hard to say how things will work together. A still life with only a few objects in it is actually much more difficult because each part has to really work perfectly - there's no room for error.

All white objects, a few light wood or other natural tones are fine. The purpose is to really see what's happening to the light without getting distracted by colors.

Photo 34: Shooting to a layout

2012-01-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

This was the original cover. It was scanned and everything but the text was removed, then that file was saved with a transparent background. The student then created a new image and we brought the text layer into the file.

When you're setting up the shot you need to remember that it may feel a bit unbalanced, but that's because the type and layout becomes another compositional element. Consider the style of the magazine and the color of the text that you'll be working with.

The finished shot has the type and feels balanced. Note that the empty areas had type over them and now work fine.

The key to these shots is planning BEFORE the shoot.

The Brief: Assigned Layout: Most of commercial photography involves shooting to a pre-existing layout. You will need to select a magazine cover or an advertising/editorial layout that you like. You will scan this and make a digital overlay file to use in Photoshop when we proof the shoot. Remember, you’re not copying the image, you’re just working with the type and design layout. You will use the digital file to overlay on your finished file when making the print.

Assignment: • Advertising or Editorial layout (can include a cover)

Method:

1. For this you’re going to need to work out the sizes BEFORE you scan. Decide on the size you’d like the finished print to be.

2. Scan the layouts: 100% scale, 300ppi, 8 bit, rgb, Descreen for magazing printing. Save the file as a tiff.

3. Remove everything but the type. Make the background a layer so that when you erase you’ll end up with clear rather than white.

4. Make sure you bring the files to the shoot as I will need them to drop into your files as we proof the shoot.

An Important Note about your files.

Make sure that your file has Adobe RGB 1998 as its embedded profile. In Photoshop with the file open: Edit > Assign Profile. This will prevent your files from changing color.

Safety Test

2012-01-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

In this class we're using strobes made by Speedotron and a variety of cameras. Here are the operating manuals for both the types of packs we use. Please review the manuals and after the demo, fill out the Safety test and bring it to class on Wednesday, January 18th.

Brownline: these are the smaller strobe packs we looked at.

Blackline: these are the newer, larger packs we looked at.

Safety Test: please download, fill out and bring to class.

Still-life Photography

2012-01-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

I've always had a real love for still-life photography, it's this incredibly difficult and lonely thing, creating an entire world out of the nothingness of a studio is not for the faint of heart. Just like large format, it requires mad photo skills, you've got to master lighting, working with props and composition, and it's all got to be in service to a concept.

For the most part, even early 20th Century masters such as Paul Outerbridge worked as commercial photographers long before their work was discovered by the art world. I first saw his work in the early 1980's at the G. Ray Hawkins Gallery. Hawkins had recently purchased a large portion of the Outerbridge estate and had started to promote the work. Outerbridge brought his love of Modernism to advertising photography and was an early adopter of color photography - back when you had to create your own color.

Jo Ann Callis was deeply influenced by the work of Outerbridge early in her career at Cal Arts. She loved "his interest in images that appear to be beautiful and mildly seductive, before you realize something is not quite right." I could say much the same about her work - Cheap Thrills manages to be tempting and slightly unnerving at the same time. Callis also chose to work in color and integrate performance into many of her images.

In the late 90's American Icons, by Carrie Mae Weems, explored domestic still lives by using stereotypical racist figurines such as Uncle Tom and Aunt Jemima to "endeavor to intertwine themes as I have found them in life - racial, sexual and cultural identity and history - and present them with overtones of humor and sadness, loss and redemption." Her use of b&w imagery also brought a nostalgic quality to this series.

Irving Penn, who died in 2009, was the "holy grail" for editorial photography still-life. Unafraid to bring art into all aspects of his imagery, his exploration of still-life elevated his editorial work for Vogue and in many ways his work was ahead of its time. In After Dinner Games he moves the eye throughout the image while incorporating his use of the neutral but still textural backdrop know as a "Penn Drop."

Laura Letinsky's work combines a contemporary minimalist approach with a luscious use of lighting. Starting in 1997, this series, Hardly More Than Ever, creates "observations of forgotten detail, remnants of daily subsistence and pleasure." I love how she allows the space to be such a strong element of the composition - like an actor who's not afraid to be silent.

Stuck for ideas?

2012-01-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Folks - you've got to come ready to shoot on your scheduled shoot day. It can be tough thinking of a shot, so if you're completely stuck, then find a shot for inspiration and bring in props to try and "copy" it. It's better to be in here working, than to shoot on your own, since the actual learning happens when we're working on your shot together.

Remember when you review these sites that some (maybe most) of the images may be too "simple" for our purposes. Also, if you're choosing a fairly simple shot, make sure you bring in multiple strong ideas for the surfaces and backgrounds. Simple shots are actually fairly difficult because each object has to be perfect.

Here's a good resource:

The Workbook is a source book for creative artists. This link should take you to the portfolio pages, check off the boxes you're interested in (try still life, food, product etc.) and you'll find pages of great ideas.

The Photographer's Showcase at Photo-Eye is dedicated to fine arts and has a search by subject matter.

1x.com is a Swedish photography social media site where all the images have been picked by professional curators.

Creative Editing is a blog post with a wide range of surrealistic and fantasy-oriented imagery. Well suited for advanced students.

If you do decide to "reference" an existing shot, bring a printout so we know what we're looking for.

Lighting and Studio Terms

2012-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Studio photography has it's own terminology - much of it comes from the film industry. We'll be using these terms on a regular basis...

Lighting

Ambient Light: the lighting that exists within the space. This can include natural and artificial light sources.

Accent light: a smaller light used to draw your attention to a specific area in a scene.

Main (or Key) light: the main source that sets the mood of the shot. Can be from any direction and any type of light.

Fill light: lighting for the shadows within a scene. Can be done with a light, mirror or reflector.

Hard light: a light source with defined shadows. Can be from any "focused" light source.

Soft light: a light source with diffused shadows.

Directional light: usually a harder light coming from a defined direction.

Hot light: tungsten continuous light source

Strobe light: burst lighting source, usually daylight balanced.

Color temperature: the Kelvin degrees of a light source. A lower number indicates a warmer light. Daylight is approx. 5500, tungsten is approx. 3400. A digital camera's White Balance is set based on the temperature of the main light source.

Equipment

C-stand: metal stand that holds items in place. Important to use (instead of having someone hold the reflector or light) because you're sure everything is exactly the same each time you shoot.

Cookie: a device that is placed in front of a (hard) light source to break up the light (looks a bit like light through tree leaves). Can be solid with cut-outs or "celo" made of screen.

Cutter (aka Flag): an opaque device placed in front of a light source that "cuts" (strongly reduces) the light. Works best when placed close to the subject rather than close to the light.

Silk: a device of diffused material (like parachute silk) that softens and reduces the light. Works best when placed close to the subject rather than close to the light.

Net or Scrim: a net or screen-like material that reduces the amount of light. Can be metal (for hot lights) or fabric (for strobes. Changes the amount of light, but not the quality of it.

Reflector: any method of "reflecting" a light source. This can be a matte foam core board for a diffused light, a mirror for a very hard, directional light - also the metal "collar" that surrounds a strobe light is called a reflector because it reflects and directs the light from the head.

Barn doors: black metal flaps (doors) that changes the shape of a light source. Usually used with hot or other types of focused light sources.

Snoots: black metal tube that changes the shape of a light source.

Gridspot: a honey-combed grid that fits over a strobe reflector light to "focus" the light into a spot.

Softbox: a box with black sides and a soft diffused material on the end that fits over a light source (not a hot light) and changes (modifies) the light source into a very soft diffused but directional "window" light. The larger the box, the softer the light. The closer the light, the more contrasty the light. White interiors are softer than shiny ones. More interior baffles makes the light softer.

Umbrella: a light modifier that can work similar to a softbox (but less directional) used with a strobe light. You can shoot through the silk of a white umbrella, or bounce off of a black exterior with silver/white interior.

How to use this blog

2012-01-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

This blog will have information for both Photo 33 and Photo 34. The second heading on the right column is listed "Find your class". Click on your class and it will display just the posts for your group.