Assignment 6: Portrait, Light Directions

Due: 3/6

Short Lighting

The first portrait project explores how placement of the key light can affect the rendering of the face. This is one of the most important concepts of portrait lighting design. Please read pages 193-206 for further discussion and visual examples.

Take your time. Correct exposure, appropriate f-stop, focus are all important.

Create portfolio worthy portraits that explore the following:

• Fairly tight framing that features head and shoulders, without cutting them off.
• Low-key background with well-considered spot. Hint: create adequate distance between subject and background material so that wrinkles are not sharp
• Thoughtful styling...put in some planning with outfits, hair, accessories and go for it. Move beyond silly mug shots. 
• Use of single light source, no fill light. Reflector encouraged.

For each of the following, use a soft box. Explore how the use of a reflector can be important

1. Explore 45/45 lighting, sometimes known as Rembrandt, achieving what is referred to in the book as the "key triangle."
2. Short Lighting
3. Broad Lighting
4. Front lighting
5. Side lighting
6. Beauty lighting

Long Project 1: Meaningful Object(s)

Proposal Due: 3/1, in class. Be prepared to discuss.
Preliminary critique: Wednesday 3/8
Final Critique: Wednesday, 3/22

Write a 1-page proposal for a still life project. Your proposal should consist of:

• An overall idea or concept for your images...reflect on some themes or ideas you hope to communicate.
• A description of the subjects that will express these ideas
• A description of the backdrop/background
• Any particulars regarding the set-up of the still life that you are considering that come to mind (e.g. need to build a stand to prop up objects)
• A brief description of at least two still life examples, by well-known, established photographers (choose two different artists) that serve to inspire the set-up and/or lighting design of your project. These examples should be properly referenced. Start with examples from the class blog.
• 1 page

Plan for several shooting sessions outside of class. Reserve studio time well in advance.

Over the course of the project you will be shooting many variations. Keep all of these, planning to turn them in. Create 5-7 strong finished images. Print all, letter size, for critique. The strongest image will be printed full size to at least 16" x 20". Shoot RAW and focus carefully to ensure that the image will hold up through enlargement.

Assignment 5: Photographing Glass

For 2/27

Referring to class demo and the textbook for technical set-up, create expressive explorations of white-field/dark-line glass and dark-field/white-line glass. Be selective with glass choices, arrangement and lighting design to create something exciting. For this exercise, stick to transparent glass objects only.

Proper use of light meter is important for this project. Use reflective meter readings when the light source is also the background, as in white field/black line, and the "hidden light behind" method for black field/white line (method covered in the book). For side-light black field/white line, use incident meter readings.

Examples:

white field/black line (background=light source)

black field/white line ("hidden light behind" method)

white field/black line (background=light source)

black field/white line (side-light method)

Assignment 4: Metal and the Family of Angles

Due: 2/20
Create a visually appealing, single-plane still life, exploring three variations of direct reflections, with respect to the family of angles:

• In the family–maximum direct reflections
• Partially in family–varied direct reflections
• Out of Family–minimize direct reflections

Addendum. Whoops! I missed introducing a nice variation that we will explore this week, along with glass. Extra credit opportunity for this coming week (Due 2/27). This will be a two-plane still life with metal objects.

Assignment 3: Two-plane still life

low-key background

(relatively) high key background (with active shadow play)

In general, the "key" of a photograph refers to its general graphic range. Does the image read as dark or light? The tone of the background determines this, primarily.

Two plane still-life with horizon and two light sources (primary and background lights)

Goals to explore with your shooting:

• Gain understanding of how to balance intensities of main light and background light
• Incident versus reflective meter readings
• Key: create both high and low key backgrounds
• Active versus passive background
• Quality and placement of horizon line
• Still life building and composition

Reveal this exploration in your images.