Lighting in photography is essential, it is the key element whether it’s in terms of high quality or visibility. Without lighting there would be no photography. The word photography itself originates from Greek. Phōtós, meaning light and graphê meaning drawing, writing. Together the two words mean drawing with light. Whatever the subject of the photograph, it is the light that initially creates the mood and emotion. I have decided to pick this topic for my essay as it is initially what I want to explore more and learn more about. In this essay I will cover the two types of light which are ‘Artificial’ and ‘Natural’. I will talk about how different types of lighting has a different effect on the photographs. Also I will mention the photographers who inspired my photographic work and how my research links in with my photographs. This idea for a title of my essay originated from when I was at a wedding in Cyprus in October. Cyprus is a very hot and Sunny place. When I was there I realised that the Geographical location of Cyprus affects the way the sunlight is perceived. In the part I was in there was a huge amount of deserted places and the sun made the terrain look almost golden. Most days there was not a cloud in the sky. I knew then that light and the effects of colour is something I want to focus on. The way I’m going to approach this is that I am going to research the different types of lighting in photography and I will select photographer’s work similar to the idea’s I have in mind.
To understand the use of light properly, you first have to separate it into two categories which are : Natural Lighting and Artificial Lighting. Natural light is the light we see on outside during daytime and nighttime. The two sources of natural lighting are the sun and the moon , technically there is only one source of natural light and that is the sun. However if it weren’t for the moon, the sun light would not be capable of reflecting itself onto earth at night.
Unlike Natural Lighting, there are a lot more types of artificial lighting sources. Just to name a few: Incandescent Bulb, Halogen Lamp, Ballast, Led and many more. Everywhere you decide to venture , especially in rural areas you are guaranteed to come across some form of artificial lighting. Whether it is a streetlight or a car head light, a store sign or a police siren. Without light either cameras or eyes can’t function. Most popular form of artificial lighting among photographers seems to Studio Lighting. There is a lot of opportunity for expressing creativity to its full potential. With the use of white backgrounds you can transport the subject of your photograph , virtually anywhere. Portrait’s seem to be the most effective with the use of Studio lighting. This is because you can set the light up directly where you want it. This can lead to very high quality photographs with very fine detail.
To understand the use of light properly, you first have to separate it into two categories which are : Natural Lighting and Artificial Lighting. Natural light is the light we see on outside during daytime and nighttime. The two sources of natural lighting are the sun and the moon , technically there is only one source of natural light and that is the sun. However if it weren’t for the moon, the sun light would not be capable of reflecting itself onto earth at night.
Unlike Natural Lighting, there are a lot more types of artificial lighting sources. Just to name a few: Incandescent Bulb, Halogen Lamp, Ballast, Led and many more. Everywhere you decide to venture , especially in rural areas you are guaranteed to come across some form of artificial lighting. Whether it is a streetlight or a car head light, a store sign or a police siren. Without light either cameras or eyes can’t function. Most popular form of artificial lighting among photographers seems to Studio Lighting. There is a lot of opportunity for expressing creativity to its full potential. With the use of white backgrounds you can transport the subject of your photograph , virtually anywhere. Portrait’s seem to be the most effective with the use of Studio lighting. This is because you can set the light up directly where you want it. This can lead to very high quality photographs with very fine detail.
WORK OF OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographer 1: Studio Lighting(ARTIFICIAL)
John Rankin Waddell
John Rankin Waddell, also known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer.
The work of Rankin portray's a lot of abstract emotion. I came across his work during my research when looking for fashion photography. His work is outstanding . The range of colours presented in his work is Amazing. He really portrays a big potential of photography, his work is very imaginative and you can see in his work that there has been a lot of hours put into it. This piece of work in particular portrays people with make up and paint as a disguise. The use of photo editing in his work is mostly around the light and adjustments of colour.
The work of Rankin portray's a lot of abstract emotion. I came across his work during my research when looking for fashion photography. His work is outstanding . The range of colours presented in his work is Amazing. He really portrays a big potential of photography, his work is very imaginative and you can see in his work that there has been a lot of hours put into it. This piece of work in particular portrays people with make up and paint as a disguise. The use of photo editing in his work is mostly around the light and adjustments of colour.
The two full frame photographs were my favourites because of the creativity and the amount of work put into them. They are both great photographs, the use of make up creates an abstract and surreal photograph. The unusual style of the photograph makes it stand out. The facial expression seems to be content, it seems very scripted. If those images were to be taken without the make up on the person, the final effect wouldn't be as great as it is. It goes to show that the use of disguise in a form of paint can be an effective way to make a photograph come to life. I looked at Rankin's other work and I came across his Destroy Project. The gallery presented below shows some of his best in that project.
Rankin Destroy
The photographs have a very striking style to them. Literally as the title states, they are 'Destroyed'. But the way they are destroyed is not in a bad way what so ever. Rankin's original style is a great way of expressing emotion as an artist. I think that the reason these photographs have been manipulated in that way is to show two sides of life. An ordinary portrait may be striking and show emotion, but it doesn't show the other side, that is the emotion on the side. Although a lot of the time we can work out an emotion of a person from the outside, we never truly know what's inside. To me Rankin's Destroy portrays the inside feeling, some people are confused, others are happy and even the happiest may actually be broken. The
Destroy project to me represents the unspoken emotion's and feelings that we hide Deeply within us.
Destroy project to me represents the unspoken emotion's and feelings that we hide Deeply within us.
I have deconstructed the photographs and pointed out key codes of them . I explained how the photographs had meaning to them. I have also expressed my own opinion about the emotion and the feeling
My own Photographic Work
BLACK AND WHITE EDITS
Experimentation
Experiment 1
Experiment 1
For my first photograph I decided to do a simple destroy, where all I did was draw on the photograph. I ended up coming up with the idea to turn the photographs of my friend Adam into a gothic style album cover. The features such as dark black hair and the eye liner create a gothic style. I then decided to experiment in photoshop, below you can see my experiment presentation. What I did was, I printed the photographs, then I manipulated them by hand drawing on them with colour marker. I then took a photograph of the finished product and edited it in photoshop.
I use the brightness tool to decrease the brightness slightly
and I used the contrast tool to make the photograph
detailed
and I used the contrast tool to make the photograph
detailed
Finished Product
I decided to use this photoshop technique on a few more photographs. I believe that this style is very effective and in fact striking is I created a gallery.
Original
Experiment 2
The first step I took in this experiment was to print the photographs. After printing I decided to burn them to make them stylish, and the effect was very good. The photographs turned out to have a horrific yet striking effect. I've also turned them black and white.
The first step I took in this experiment was to print the photographs. After printing I decided to burn them to make them stylish, and the effect was very good. The photographs turned out to have a horrific yet striking effect. I've also turned them black and white.
I then decided to experiment with all four photographs at once. I did different variations of putting the photographs together, blending them with one another and the final effect turned out to be interesting and striking.
I created these effects in photoshop by cropping the original photograph, I then took the following steps:
Use the gradient tool to make the photograph black and white.
Use the Exposure tool to expose the photograph and corrects it's gamma.
I then used the Brightness and Contrast tool to make the photograph clear.
Colour balance was the next tool I used. I have adjusted the red colour and in other photographs I made some of them more blueish.
Use the gradient tool to make the photograph black and white.
Use the Exposure tool to expose the photograph and corrects it's gamma.
I then used the Brightness and Contrast tool to make the photograph clear.
Colour balance was the next tool I used. I have adjusted the red colour and in other photographs I made some of them more blueish.
The black and white photograph's worked fantastically. They have a lot of mood to them. Combination photographs seem very original and creates meaning. What I tried to portray in my work was an independent and unique approach to Rankin's destroy project. I believe my photographs perfectly fit in with my title. They portray the use of Artificial Lighting in a Studio , and I showed how turning the photographs black and white can make it very effective.
WORK OF OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographer 2: Projection (Artificial)
Photographer 2: Projection (Artificial)
Projector Photography
I decided to research projection photography because it perfectly fits in with my title. . The projections completely distort the reality of the photographs . The projector can show anything a person wishes, it's a perfect opportunity to create style and mood in a picture. The photographs really stand out because of the colours used and the light in the room . For most of them it seems like the projector light is the only source of light in the photographs. This Project can be approached very creatively. With the projector background I can transfer the subject of the photograph anywhere I want, whether it's the galaxy or a forest. I want to experiment with this type of photography as it's something I haven't done yet and I think it will be very effective. For this piece of work I decided to look at the work of an artist named Jake Hicks, his work remarkably resembles where I want to go next in terms of my photography.
Jake Hicks Photography
Jake Hicks is a light photographer, his work is considerably dominated by artificial light
I looked at his work in order to get inspiration in terms of the use of light and how to set up the lamps in order to get very high quality and dramatic shots. There is a lot of emotion portrayed in his photographs, although his work portrayed fashion/modelling photography, I am going to focus just on the modelling side and maybe add a few things of my own. I love the effect the colour has in his work, the photographs look very high quality, almost as if they were glowing through the screen.
Jake's work inspired me to produce similar photographs yet they will be unique rather than copying exactly what he does. His work made me think of disguising the subject of my photograph with masks and makeup. I don't have access to make up or pain however I do have masks that would be suitable for this part of the project.
MY OWN PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK
Experimenting with light and projections.
Experimenting with light and projections.
The gallery of the pictures above particularly worked well because of the horror style woods in the back. The photographs make the model seem psychopathic,unpredictable and mysterious. No emotion is show from the person yet the mask is smiling. In this case what I'm trying to portray is that a lot of the time people hide who they are. But other people also make assumptions about one another, which are almost never true. The background represents the thought or feeling, in this case it's loneliness. The mask represents the fake emotion of happiness. A lot of the time us as people throw on a mask to hide our real feelings. Sometimes it's a sign of strengths but a lot of the time we are scared of expressing what we truly feel.
What I did in order to achieve these photographs? One of my friends owns masks and I asked him if he could bring them in for this photo shoot. I got two of my friends to model for me in front of a Promethean board. It is a projector board. I then typed in on the internet things like spooky forests, galaxy , abandoned house because I believed those settings would work the best with the masks provided to me and I wasn't wrong . The photographs turned out atmospheric and although at first glance they don't look very attractive an colorful, I knew that with the help of tools like Photoshop and Light room, I can make these photographs look phenomenal.
At first glance I can see a link between my photographs and the other photographers research. I can see similarities in the use of color, also the light shines on the person in a similar way, giving the photograph a great style. The one major difference applied is the use of mask. But the masks worked fantastically with the background setting.
At first glance I can see a link between my photographs and the other photographers research. I can see similarities in the use of color, also the light shines on the person in a similar way, giving the photograph a great style. The one major difference applied is the use of mask. But the masks worked fantastically with the background setting.
My Own Photographic Work
(Edited)
I really enjoyed the final effect of my Lightroom editing on the photographs above. They have an Artistic and horrific mood to them. The composition of the suited up person with a mask and the forest setting in the background worked very well. The Photographs are dominated by the colour green, this makes the photograph seem abstract, as if if it was drawn .
The Photographs look very effective. Some of them look cinematic. The promethean board used for these projections created a great visual effect in the end. But what really creates the mood is that the masks were used on the suitable background, also the post editing contributed to the mood. After I took the photographs I used Lightroom to tweak small bits and bobs such as the contrast, brightness ,saturation. I have also used clarity in the photographs, this effect gave a lot more detail to the edges but at the same time it slightly desaturated the whole photograph.
The photographs above are particularly effective. I typed in google 'mystical forrest' and I made one of the images full screen. I then projected it onto the promethean board and I placed my model Adam in front of the board. The light projected onto him created a great and moody feeling, it felt like Adam belonged there. The three photographs seem to be conveying a lot of positive energy because of the smile of the mask, the mask is actually disguising his true emotion and initially changing the emotion of the whole photograph. The next set of photographs will show the contrast of emotion.
The photographs above are of Adam. This time he is not wearing a mask and he is conveying real emotion. I took those photographs in the same way as all the previous ones. I used the promethean board and placed Adam in front of the projector light.The effect of light in this photograph makes it seem as if Adam is standing among the trees and the Sun is shinning through. The background image for these six photographs is the same as the previous three photographs. As you can see, a photographs emotion can be manipulated in just two simple actions, the mask is now off and I used black and white rather than colour. This changed the photographs dramatically. These photographs convey emotions such as 'deep thought', 'sadness' , 'confusion' , 'hope' and 'regret' . This is not something that would be possible with the use of mask, mask portrays only one emotion. There is a deep meaning to this and that is , people often tend ton wear masks, not physical but actually they use their face to portray emotions they don't truly feel . Sometimes they may be sad but still throw a fake smile.
The three photographs above worked very well. This time in order to get the background image I typed in google 'galaxy and space'. Some of the images struck me but I decided to go with the blueish background
The Photographs above were taken by me, they are photographs of the same style as the previous ones. I photographed them using the promethean board, it was really fun. This time for the backround projector photograph I used an abandoned house. This worked very well, the shirt my model Kane was wearing worked extremley well with the background. The dark red shirt disguised itself well with the proejection and composed well with the golden mask. Once again these photographs convey a lot of emotion, the mask drastically changes the mood and feeling of the picture to uncertainty.
Natural Light can be affected by a number of factors. Clouds and overall weather play a huge part to the way the light is perceived by the eye and the camera. On a cloudy day the natural lighting appears grey and dark, as if the life has been sucked out of the Earth. The photographs taken on a day like this usually turn out very moody and at times grainy, nevertheless they are still equally effective photographs due to their uniqueness.(Insert Photographs Here) A perfect edit for photographs on that day would be to contrast the photograph in order to highlight the subject of the photograph. Also a very effective way of editing this type of photo would be to turn it black and white. Photographs taken on a sunny day can be affected by a lot of factors, one of them is buildings. Big tall builds are a great source of shadow and can make the photographs very effective. For example a great idea for a portrait would be: stand in the shadow while taking the photograph, but keep the subject of the photograph in the sun, this will create a great glowing effect. The subject of the photograph will be well lit up while keeping the exposure to the sun low because of the position of the Camera. A great place for photographs on a sunny day is any type of park with trees or a forest. A very unique look of a photographer can lead to some fantastic photographs. The photographs you would take there would be of a high quality due to the great light.
The next set of photographs were taken in Cyprus. The Reason I didn't do research for this part of the essay is because I just decided to go out and shoot. These are the photographs that actually inspired me to construct my work the way I did. When taking those Photographs I started question a lot of factors such as the effect of light and colour, and the effect of places and how they make certain photographs stand out. I absolutely loved taking those photographs. Out of all the
The next set of photographs were taken in Cyprus. The Reason I didn't do research for this part of the essay is because I just decided to go out and shoot. These are the photographs that actually inspired me to construct my work the way I did. When taking those Photographs I started question a lot of factors such as the effect of light and colour, and the effect of places and how they make certain photographs stand out. I absolutely loved taking those photographs. Out of all the
MY OWN PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK
Experimenting with the effects of Natural Lighting
(Cyprus)
Around October time I was fortunate enough to be invited to a wedding in Cyprus. My close friend's cousin was getting married and it was a perfect opportunity for me to take my photography to another level. Cyprus was still very hot around that time so therefore it was a great opportunity to photograph beautiful views and to make them look even better thanks to the clear skies and lots of sunshine. The next few sets of photographs will be a variety of different styles of photography , from portraiture to landscape and more. This set of photographs will fit in perfectly with my title of 'Atmospheric use of lighting and the effects of colour' but also it will fit in with the oroginal title of 'Costume, Identity and Disguise'. Travelling is and is going to be a huge part of my future, it definitley will have a huge impact on my identity.
These Photographs were were taken near the resort I was staying in. This building looks like a church but I'm not sure because I weren't able to find much information about it, nevertheless the photographs look absolutley astonishing. The brightly shining sun creates a great atmosphere and makes the photographs a very high quality. Due to the sun, the colours look very clear and effective. Some of the photographs reached as high as 23mb therefore I had to change the size of them so that I could upload to weebly. Cyprus is a beautiful place and it greatly fitted in with my title. We can see how the colour fantastically contrasts the building away from the sky and also the green plants look very bright.
The next set of photographs was also taken in Cyprus, this time I use Kane as my model for some of the photographs. The photographs were taken on a hill near the resort in which we were staying in. The views in Cyprus are absolutley beautiful and they create a great atmospheric effect in a combination with the natural light produced by the sharp sun. The shining sun creates a great cntrast between elements and subjects in the photographs. The colours are also very well contratsed and it makes the photographs very clear and hogh quality.
I particularly like the photograph above. The sun is directly behind this palm tree and we can trly see how sharp the sun is by how overexposed the sky behind the tree is.
I particularly admire the photograph above. It was one of my favourite I took while I was in Cyprus, the photograph was taken on top of a small hill. Even though it was small, the view was extremley broad and it felt like heaven on earth beaing there. It was such a beautiful place to spend time on and relax. The time of this was around 6 in the afternoon , it was near sunset.
Slight Overexposure and Silhouettes
The Photograph above shows that the choice of how the landscape is capture is up to me. If i was to point the camera higher then the windmill would become blacked out and so would the land in front, the camera would create a silhouette effect.
Capturing the Sun as bright Orange
I was very surprised at some of the photographs I took. I didn't expect to capture such detailed and beautiful photographs go the sun, I was never great at photographing the Sun, or at least get a good photograph that isn't over exposed. I feel like when I was in Cyprus I learned a lot about photography and different ways of setting up the camera and look for angles.
I really enjoyed capturing the Sun sets while spending my time in Cyprus. The colour of the sun creates a very warm yet darkish feel to the photograph. The plants shown in the photograph above are actually green but the position of the camera and the angle have created a sillhouette styled photograph.
Capturing the Reds and Pink in the Sun
To conclude, this project was one of the most challenging experiences for me as a student and photographer. Long hours of preparation and research led me taking some great photographs. I really wanted to create diversity in my photographs and I managed to achieve that. I focused on three separate sectors and they all came together well. The artificial light projects were greatly contrasted by the natural light photographs. I'm really glad I took photographs in Cyprus, if it wasn't for them, this project wouldn't turn out the way it did.
Author Name: John Rankin Waddell
Sources of information for JRW:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankin_(photographer) / written information was inspired by this article
2. www.artnet.com/artists/rankin/biography / written Information was inspired by this article
3. Google Images (All of his photographs were imported directly from there)
4. www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/5791/1/destroy-by-rankin / Destroy Project / date of publication: 10/11/2009
Author Name: Jake Hicks
Sources of Information for JH:
1. Google Images (All of his photographs were imported directly form there)
2. jakehicksphotography.com/ / written information was inspired by this article
Bibliography:
1. Phaidon. The Photo Book. 1997. Pages 436,438,442,448
Sources of information for JRW:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankin_(photographer) / written information was inspired by this article
2. www.artnet.com/artists/rankin/biography / written Information was inspired by this article
3. Google Images (All of his photographs were imported directly from there)
4. www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/5791/1/destroy-by-rankin / Destroy Project / date of publication: 10/11/2009
Author Name: Jake Hicks
Sources of Information for JH:
1. Google Images (All of his photographs were imported directly form there)
2. jakehicksphotography.com/ / written information was inspired by this article
Bibliography:
1. Phaidon. The Photo Book. 1997. Pages 436,438,442,448