Low Key Lighting TE Work Diary

In this lesson we were given the task of taking portraiture photographs using Low Key Lighting. We used a shutter speed of 1/125, F-stop 16 ad ISO 200.

As previously said, I really enjoy human photography, I like to be able to explore the vulnerability, the purity and innocence of it all. Sometimes those aspects cannot be displayed, however, in this portraiture lesson I found themes of distance, natural beauty and hidden emotions.

In order to take this photos we were given the ask to set the studio up. Here is a photo of the setup:

After correctly setting up, We proceeded to take the photos. Here is one photo I really liked:

This is the original. 

This is the Edited.

I really liked this photo because it is deadpanned. Her eyes are sharp, focused. To me, it looks like she is trying to tell me something; she is trying to convey an emotion that words couldn't possibly do justice, yet I am to find out which emotion that is. 

I think the edited version is much better, I lightened it up a little bit just so you can see her face a little clearer. I made it black and white because I think that portrays purity a little more.

Unfortunately, I did not like this photo:

The reason I did not like this photo is because the girl is half blinking. I also do not like the lighting in this. Because of the bad lighting and blinking it makes the photo looks unprepared and disorganised. To me, looking at the photo makes me a little nervous, I can just keep picking imperfections out which I should not be able to do. The girl in the photo, is pretty no doubt, however she herself looks too caught of guard.

Progression

Next time, I would like to experiment with using more than one person at a time, maybe making the shots a little more fun rather than just being deadpanned or sad emotions. I would also like to try and explore innocence and human form more, however I know this would be hard to do since most people are not comfortable in their own bodies, and it would not be appropriate to shoot in college. This would have to be an out of class project.

Here are some photos I would like to use as inspiration for next time:

Low Key Lighting Contact TE Sheet

Low Key Lighting TE Straight Images

This image was one of my top 5, the reason or this is because I like the way that the girl is staring out, into distance. She looks natural, though I know the picture is posed, it also isn't. I asked her to just be neutral, and whilst she knows someone is capturing her, it also shows someone trying to cover up a feeling in front of others.

Completely different to the first photo, in this one the girl is  deadpanned. Her eyes are sharp, focused. To me, it look alike she is trying to tell me something, she is trying to convey an emotion that words couldn't possibly do justice, yet I am to find out which emotion that is.

I really like this photo; the hair is curled to  perfection although it is natural. I like the fact that only from the nose down is visible. This to me lets the viewer, view the photo however they wanted. The eyes are the window to the soul, but without any eyes penetrating you, it is up to you to decide on the emotions of the person. And what you decide, is a reflection on you. 

Distance, distance is a common theme though out this shoot. I believe there is something very intriguing about people looking away, consciously or unconsciously. To me, if I cover the eyes, her mouth posture looks happy/posed, however, when I cover her mouth, her eyes seem to be fearful, reserved, looking a little lost. 

This is another photo I liked. I like this one because though you can only see half of the girls face, and whilst her eyes are suppose to be lost in the shadows, the iris (coloured part of an eye) is piercing through. Her eyes look blue, which would be due to the effect I edited in (in actual fact, her eyes are a dragon green).

Low Key Lighting TE Image Bank

I chose this photo because I like the fact that the women is looking up into seemingly oblivion, it allows the viewer to create a whole scenario of their own. I also like the way the womans hair is highlighted in light white tones whilst half of her body bends into the negative space.

I liked this photo because I think it makes the lens stand out really well. It looks bigger than it most probably is, the red lined rims stand out whilst the structure looks strong.

I love this photo because again the woman is staring out into what only she knows.  The shadowing enhances her cheek and collar bones, also her jaw line , though her jaw line is only visible from halfway and out as the start it hidden in the negative space. This photo to me screams vulnerability, but the beautiful kind.

This image stood out to me quite a lot. This is because I feel like the mans stare is hard,  cold, strong, it feels as if he is looking right through me and whilst that fascinates me it also shows how much emotion the photographer was able to capture.

Again, I really like this picture because of , mainly the eyes. The cats eyes area a yellow/ lime, which stand out strong against the ginger fur and negative space. The cat looks focussed, undisturbed and I think that kind of concentration can be hard to capture.

Touch Up Skin TE Editing

Touch skin.

image mode, CMYK colour, (in the channels not layer)  select yellow layer, cmd A, cmd c, go back into layer, cmd alt Z (step back) cmd v,  re name flaws, cmd I (inver), (blend mode) soft light, opacity, add layer mask (invert mask) alt add layer mask, make sure background is white, select brush, make it big, 50% opacity, paint the skin. Cloning out wrinkles and blemishes cmd j, re name-wrinkles and blemishes, spot healing brush, alt and drag, go over any imperfections, reduce opacity, fill colour mask with grey.

 On the left is a screen shot of the patch tool which allows me to rid of wrinkles or blemishes. This tool was very useful and enabled me to strip away any unwanted marks such as eye wrinkles. On the right is a picture of the layers I have.

At the very top of the page, my unedited picture is on the left whilst the edited picture is on the right. Although the photo clearly shows a beautiful girl with next to no flaws, I was still able to void any marks that wouldn't be counted as the societies ideals of 'perfection'. Granted I do prefer the most natural look someone could possess, however, the edited image; I guess is an enchaining media accepted photo. I like the fact that she still looks natural despite the edits, which is more of a reflection of the girls ability to remain naturally beautiful. 

Low Key Lighting TE Definition Post

Low-key lighting makes the most of dark tones and shadows to create images with drama and atmosphere. Unlike high-key photography, which requires plenty of natural or artificial light, a low-key lighting shoot requires very little. The backdrop needs to be mostly hidden in the shadows, while particular features on the subject are illuminated to make them stand out. This means that when you’re shooting low-key portraits you don’t need much in the way of lighting kit – a single flashgun mounted off-camera will be adequate.

Portraiture Straight TE Images

Depth Of Field TE Contact Sheet

Depth Of Field TE Straight Images

Depth Of Field TE Work Diary

In todays lesson we were assigned the task to take pictures with Depth of field and wide depth of field. We done this in the studio using objects and students as our focus.
I had trouble with my camera as it kept failing to focus, so in the end I had to borrow one of my friends and take the photos. It was hard to try and get the right focus however I did enjoy it.
I found it difficult to grasp the different depth of field concepts at first but after going over it, it was ok.

Here is a photo I liked.

I like this photo because the main focus is the eyes and tip of the camera. I find that not the whole face nor the whole camera is in focus but, rather half and half. We are looking at two different things combining instead of one simple.

Here is the photo I liked edited.

To do this, I selected around the body, going into hue & saturation. Then i clicked Colourise, then started to mess around with the levels.

Here is a photo I did not like.

I did not like this photo because the Image is completely out of focus. Neither camera or girl is in focus.

Progression

Next time I think I would like to try using more creative inspirations. My favourite type of photography is defiantly taking photos of people. I like the natural beauty we hold and how we can be o oblivious to our beauty. I would like to go somewhere that has simple but beautiful backgrounds allowing my soul focus to be on the person I am capturing.
I will also need to understand Aperture and Fstop more. In order to understand I will revise it over.
Here are some examples of things I'd like to try.

Depth Of Field TE Image Bank

I like this photo because i think it shows the depth really well.

This shows the essence of beauty and the
natural environment. The camera settings would have been  a wide angle lens. With a  

I like this photo because it shows the world through  different pov.  

This photo shows a curved building that could be a church. The effect is glowed, making it look like night or evening although the sky is light. The sky has an ombre of blue and whites.

I think this photo is naturally beautify. Although it is probably edited it feels neutral, tranquil and calming.

Depth Of Field TE Definintion

Switch the wheel to ‘A’ which is Aperture Priority Mode. For shallow depth of field and nice blurry backgrounds choose a large Aperture (the smaller the number the larger the aperture) - taking a few shots at different apertures and see how it affects the background of your shots. Shooting at the 55mm end of the lens is best. This means you can stand further back (making your subject more at ease and pushing your background even further away from your camera). You’ll probably still get nice blurry backgrounds if you use the fastest aperture available. The other good thing about zooms is that they enable you to really fill up your frame with your subject which can give it more prominence and your background less. 

Depth of field is the measurement of how much the picture is in focus. A lens can only focus on one plane at a time.

Wide Depth Of Field 

Wide Angle