Photography lighting and studio notes:

Photography lighting and studio notes:

   I was in the studio today doing some experimentation with my own photography and realised that I needed to do a blog post on lighting. We are told that lighting is the most important thing in a photograph-it came to my attention today that I don’t just want one type of lighting in my pictures but also lighting is a way of potentially portraying or symbolising meaning?

Different types of lighting:

Hard and soft light

• ·         Hard light refers to whether the edge of the shadow that is cast is hard or an abrupt transition from park to light
• ·         Soft-soft gradual transition of the light

   Light that comes from a single point source such as a naked light bulb and falls directly on the subject from one direction without being reflected off another surface-known as hard light-causing to cast dark shadows and can produce high contrast pictures with deep blacks and bright highlights-not as flattering on the person or object- you wouldn’t use this for portraiture photography unless it is an intentional thing to portray something

   Soft light-light that falls on the subject come from multiple sources, multiple directions or from a single very large light source-quite close to the subject and usually reflected off something-does not cast deep shadows-more complimentary on a person

   Soft light: If the direction of your light source can be changed, such as when you are using a small desk lamp, you can often redirect it to bounce of another surface before it hits the subject. E.g- point the desk lamp at a wall, pointing away from the subject, this will effectively create a larger light source (the wall) which will cast a softer shadow. This method can also be used with dedicated flash guns with rotatable heads, where the head is adjusted to point at a white ceiling or a reflective wall. In the studio, this principle is used when the light is bounced of a reflective umbrella.

Shading the light

A lamp shade reflects some of the light coming from the bulb into a wider area, and effectively increases the size of the source of the light, and in doing so softens the shadows that it casts. This technique can be used on any light source. All you need is a large enough semi-transparent, diffusing material, such as tracing paper or a thin white sheet of cloth, to hold in between the point light source and the subject. This will effectively increase the size of the area of the light source to that of the diffusing material. In studio flash heads, this is normally achieved by means of a softbox.

What about hard light?

Hard light, as we have noted above, does have its uses. It creates hard edged shadows that will highlight the texture and form of the subject. Unfortunately it is much more difficult to create hard light if you are starting with a soft source. In a studio, you may be able to move your subject further away from the light, thereby effectively decreasing its size, or you may be able to substitute the large light source for a smaller one, such as by removing the soft box, but if you are working outside you may not have this control over the light and its distance from the subject, so the only option may be to wait until the clouds part and the light changes.

   From these notes it has made me think why I would like certain lighting for my photos. My photo shoot with un sexed objects I want soft lighting as if it were a cover girl esc shoot advertising for makeup or something along those lines. I want think to be the same for lots of my photos however I would also like harsh lighting for my shoot for women as products when they will be ‘wrapped up and packaged’ I want hard lighting for this to show women victimised and not always looking soft, but rather constantly watched.