Let your light shine!

"In photography there are no shadows that cannot be illuminated"                                         August Sander.

A recent aspect of our course was a practical day workshop focusing on the use of studio lighting for both still life and portraiture.  Although the prospect seemed rather daunting to someone who had never used studios lights before, it was a great opportunity to try out the use of lighting in photography and being very ably supported by our tutor who had provided a plethora of resources, the class enjoyed a fun-filled practical learning day in the various studio workstations which he had set up for the class.



Resources included light stands which position the light sources away from the camera and support the flash heads.  It is usual to work with more than one flash head, with the modelling light connected to the camera by a cable from the hot-shoe which in turn triggers of the 'slave' light.  A brolly is used into which the light is directed from the flash and then reflected on to the subject, with a brolly having a white, gold or silver reflective surface.  A soft-box is a tent-like device and is more advanced than a brolly, giving better illumination and a softer light.


Other tools available were a snoot which narrows the distribution of light and a honeycomb grid which spreads the distribution, both which help in focusing light and isolating part of an image being photographed.  I found it useful to learn the labels for the various studio lighting items by having hands-on experience in using them.

changing a background for a still life 

Backgrounds were also set up using stands and different backdrops provided in the form of specialist material as well as simple materials brought from home (e.g. table linen, shawls, sheets) in addition to card, white paper and perspex.

miniature china teaset on black shawl background

Students were asked to bring along appropriate items artefacts to photograph.

Corgi model truck photographed in light tent on table-top

A small light tent, which is translucent and sits on the table-top, which creates even light for small product photography was also provided.











When using studio flash your camera should be set to manual mode and the shutter speed set to the fastest flash sync speed available own your camera, which for most cameras is 1/200.  A low ISO such as 100 should be used and an aperture middle value such as f/8 chosen, though this is usually adjusted in accordance with the overall exposure.

Blue glass photographed on white background using side lighting from soft-box

Flowers in ice reflected on black perspex using snoot to focus light

Tutor posing for low-key portraiture

Crofting artefacts on black velvet background 

I found this workshop very valuable as it was a great introduction to the use of lighting equipment for studio photography with the interactive experience enhancing the learning process.  I now wish to add a light tent to my photography kit as an inexpensive way to harness even natural light but also to make me consider lighting more in the photographic process.

"Light makes photography.  Embrace light.  Admire it.  Love it.  But above all, know light.  Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography."   George Eastman

"The most important thing for a photographer to learn.."

"If you are not your own severest critic, you are your own worst enemy".

The above quote is from my recently purchased book on Light, Gesture and Colour and author Jay Maisel is not only known as a gifted photographer but also a mentor, teacher and trailblazer to many photographers.  So based on this statement from him, I now think that perhaps being overly critical of my own photography may lead to improvement (hopefully!).

Certainly the outcomes from the experience outlined in my last post made me rethink the homework task and restart it using the genre of Advertising.

My neighbour Alex is a car enthusiast and
I enjoy the fact that he is wearing deep pearl
blue which matches the car!

panning shot

what's in the boot

fast shutter speed

wheel section dressed up

F4 with shallow dof

f22 with greater dof

under the bonnet with the R32"s designer brolly!

So these are some of my photographs of the VWR35, a type of photography previously alien to me (having spent the last couple of years taking "nice landscapes")



I managed to captured two pics on aperture settings of F4 and F22 and then two motion pictures, using a fast shutter speed and also with a slow shutter speed and panning.


Great to have a young neighbour who was willing to share his hobby with me so thank you Alex and hopefully I have fulfilled the task requirements. Not sure whether I should consider a career in advertising or indeed find out whether I could get my course fees refunded!  The task required evaluation and I identify the need to get some tuition re focus systems and the D600 (and use of filters and layers in Photoshop).   I feel that I am the only person in the class who does not understand hyperfocal distance but my desire to learn overrides my embarrassment and I seek help. Actually, I worry too much and I now realise that:-

• hyperfocal distance is simply focusing 1/3 into picture, hold the focus by pressing shutter halfway down and then taking the shot at f22 - simple when you learn how!
• ISO - do not be afraid to INCREASE ISO indoors even to 3400 if needed on FF camera
• using flash is not BAD (i always try to avoid flash as think pictures are harsh (but now considering Martin Parr - hey, he's another photographer with which I am familiar) - last weeks' Powerpoint lecture of 139 slides is a powerful resource which has been shared digitally with us
• DUH - I have found out how to sort camera when I inadvertently set it to DX mode (cropped sensor (this will show as 16 x 24) when I press and hold front right button and move the dial which I regard as aperture wheel)

My next challenge is the Assignment entitled 'Ruraltopia' - (should be easily accomplished by a crofter's daughter who lived through the experience so why do I use the word challenge?).  I'm  still anxious about technical skills but I am enjoying the journey.   I am now hoping to feel that I am in control of the camera but I must learn to look and see and then capture the magic.  It's not all about nice views in my 'Ruraltopia'.

“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz

YOU'RE LOOKING BLURRED .....

.... YOU MUST BE DRUNK!

      And no, this is not another famous photographer quotation - it is indeed my cheesy joke which is usually rolled out at Christmas to much groaning from family members when it appears and a reminder to share it, if it has not.  But being mindful, I should focus on the now which is the submission of the first photography assignment.

        Blur was very much part of my focus this past week as our homework exercise required the submission of four photographs, two from aperture exploration and two from shutter speed exploration, the former requiring the use of a slow shutter speed that records the subject's motion as a 'blur".  This is known as panning which is the action of following a moving subject with a camera to create motion and the end result being a picture with a blurred background and a crisp subject.  A monopod is a good choice for panning because it gives you freedom to move the camera laterally while preventing vertical movement.  So my recent purchase of a MeFOTO RoadTrip Travel Tripod which  quickly converts into a monopod was put into use for this task.

http://www.mefoto.com/uk/products/roadtrip.aspx

     So after a few attempts I was able to capture some images of the morning traffic (not quite city rush hour) coming in to Sleat.  The secret is to make sure you follow the shot through after depressing the shutter half-way and continue to follow the subject even after the  shutter has been depressed. This involves moving your hips with the camera which could be construed as a gentle morning exercise for those of us who are less fit!

Some images captured

showing the blurry background
which is effective in portraying motion.

       However, I discover a problem with these images as the shutter speed exercise required you to photograph the same subject by freezing the motion, but of course the afore-photographed vehicles had now escaped in a motion blur! Of course, the secret is to READ the exercise task thoroughly beforehand!

     That was not my only challenge - the 'mini' exercise also required that an appropriate photographic syle/genre be identified in which to locate the photographs taken. I'm not sure whether it is being a West Highland Gael that makes me have difficulty with the word GENRE, starting with its pronunciation.  Is it SHAW-RUH or indeed SHAUN-RUH and whatever it is I needed to choose one. Perhaps in the style of Lewis Hine (Social Documentary) with Powerhouse mechanic working on steam pump in the 1920s or Richard Avedon (Portrait) famous for his 1981 Ronald Fischer Beekeeepr portrait and a cracking shot of Bob Dylan.  The choice was endless and agonising but I decided I could attempt a surveillance style and go as a sleuth to see what UHI students ate for lunch by spying on them with panning shots from two floors above the refectory, resulting in this image:-

Panning was difficult from up above and not sure whether my shot was mean and moody to fit the genre

Anyway, when it came to Friday evening and careful consideration of my input so far, (while partaking of wine to help anaesthetise negative feelings of not having met the task requirements) I decided that indeed my pictures so far were exploration and that I needed to start with deciding on a photographic genre.  The following afternoon, it happened - a eureka moment and I became an advertising/product photographer on a photo-shoot!  So my, four digital images are being submitted, my journal has been written up with evaluation of the images and I am about to set off for my class.  I am hopeful that I have met the criteria although I took the long way round to get there! (My photography progress with this will be documented in my next post.)

"If I have any 'message' worth giving to a beginner, it is that there are no short cuts in photography"  Edward Weston

PS  My list of photographers and genres has grown now that we have studied the styles of at least twenty and seen some amazing photographs.  

Check out Sebastiäo Salgado, the greatest living photo journalist and his Bombay Train Station (framed print now valued at about £4,000).