Sculpting with light in studio work

Knowing how to sculpt the models face with light is a must for a photographer. People have different shaped faces, so there in no formula for the perfect light setting for all profiles. It's smart to start off by asking your model, what they would like to emphasis and what they don't want to highlight when taking a portrait. It is really important to find that setting for your model, to make them feel good about them-self. Getting it right is also good for future collaborations and for getting new clients. Mostly it should matter to YOU, it is rewarding to do something right a little confidence boost never hurts. Next of course to really emphasis curtain parts of the models face and tweak minor beauty mistakes it's good to use Photoshop. I have realized it is good to analyze the before and after to really get an overview of how you are progressing. Here is what i came up with.

 ISO-800  F/4  1/100 sec.  40 mm

I also tried out using light for visual effect. I was surprised of how easy it really is to create this effect. There certainly is a lot of room for improvement. I got inspired and am planning on using this technique in my future work. 

ISO-100  F/8  1/3 sec. 40 mm (with flash)

ISO-100  F/9  1/2 sec.  30 mm (with flash)

High Key & Low Key

Every time i get to go to the studio i get to do something i have never done before and i really love it. This time i got to try taking high- and low key portraits. I have accidentally taken low key photographs before but never done any high key photos. I enjoyed working in a team. Setting up the lights was not actually that hard, our team kind of had a scheme in mind, it seemed so logical. We decided to only use softboxes in this task. Now thinking back it might have been quite interesting to use more harsh lighting in the low key setup to really bring out more details. Overall i am pleased with the photographs i ended up with. I think my team did good in the high key setup, but i do think next time it would be more interesting to try other lights. 

The light was not set to be harsh. In the end we got the best result when the back light was not actually turned on. The side softboxes were both set on medium intensity.

ISO-100  F/22  1/30 sec.  40 mm

 ISO-800  F/4  1/60 sec.  40 mm

For the low key photos we decided to turn the intensity of the light up a little bit to get a picture with more contrast. I think we could have turned up the intensity even more and used other light sources other than softboxes for a more desired result.

Playing with light

This time we played around with different light placements. We wrote down the schemes we used and it was also a good practice of team work. A good light scheme can be difficult to create, if you don't yet have a clear picture in your mind of what you want. It is good to turn to the internet to find inspiration. Once you find something you really like it would be wise to try that particular scheme out til you start feeling comfortable with light. It also helps you to prefect how you place your lighting. I feel that i am not ready yet to try out complex schemes, i find that i prefer simplicity and soft lighting the best. Of course it is necessary to try out lots of different light settings and it also keeps it fun but i personally want to get to know my light first.

ISO-800  F/4  1/125 sec  35 mm 

ISO-1600  F/4  1/125 sec  40 mm

ISO-1600  F/4  1/100 sec  40 mm

Planning a light scheme

Planning how to use lights in a shoot is pretty important. You have to consider many aspects, how many lights to use and how to use them. How will it all together compliment the models features and does everything suit together with with your overall plan. It is definitely not easy to plan all this when you are just starting off. I am still pretty confused of what i had to really do in this task. I felt a little lost. Working in a group made it even more confusing for me as we did it too fast and my thoughts couldn't keep up with my hands. So i did some shots. How i understood everything was that it should make planning light schemes in the future easier. Today i was back in the studio with my model and i felt as i didn't know what to do. I do think it is much better to try playing around with the lights by yourself. I might have not followed the rules but i did think about what i liked about how i set up the lights and also what i didn't like. I want to try doing this more to really start feeling comfortable in the studio.

Notes from the task in the studio - Main light was set under a 45 degree angel and the intensity of the light was 3.4. Fill light was set on the same level as the face and the intensity of the light was 1.4. Back light came from a lower angel and the intensity was set on 4.4. 

 ISO 800  F/4  1/50 sec  40 mm

ISO 200  F/11  1/160 sec  40 mm

Light schemes for portrait photography

It is quite interesting how many ways you can make portraits, endless ways to play with lights, try out different light setting schemes and make your owns set for the perfect portrait. I really like how many choices there are, it is hard to get tired of shooting portraits when you can approach with a creative mind. Best way is to plan out what you want your picture to be, look for inspiration because when you have an idea you can look at other photographers work and look what you yourself want to make different and how you can make an even better photo as probably somebody has already done it before. Planning a shoot is one of those things i am still getting used to, i know in my head that it is the most efficient way to get a good photograph but i have to put that theory to use more often. I tried out using different schemes (photos below). 
I definitely feel this needs a lot more practice, i know you can not get the perfect picture at first try. I feel i should have used different settings on my camera to make the light pop a little more. So i am not really liking how they came out but i think i wouldn't have noticed these things if i had not done them as i did. So i still learned from my experience.

ISO-1600  F/4  1/125  0 step  36 mm

 ISO-1600  F/4  1/100  -1 step  40 mm

ISO-1600  F/4  1/100  0 step  20 mm

How important is light?

Choosing the right kind of lighting can me tricky if you are just starting out. From my first time i found out that the safest option is a softbox. It does not create harsh shadows on the face but rather spreads the light evenly yet it is not too overpowering with the light so the skin does not shine too bright mking it the perfect light source for beginners. 

I tried playing with the light testing out how can i use it for the best outcome. Moving the light the model and finding a good angle. I did not do any extreme shots but you can still see the slight difference in the pictures below. Softbox is pretty fool proof, if you get it really close to the model it does not really ruin the photo with over lighting it. If you move it too far off then it's normal that you loose the intensity of the light. If i were to use a softbox again i would put it around 2-2,5 meters from the model i think that enables the best outcome. It is also important to place items that reflect light on an angle that stops it from reflecting unwanted light for example my model was wearing glasses. But of course there are no certain rules to how you use the light and reflectors it is more of a question of taste.

ISO-400  F/4  1/60  -2 step  38 mm

 ISO-400  F/5  1/50  -2 step  19 mm

ISO-400  F/4  1/60  -2 step  28 mm

I heard about the beauty-dish for the first time and it was interesting to try out however i still prefer the softbox more. The beauty-dish leaves the shadow pretty soft as does the softbox, but it can definitely make the face shine. I do not think i quite figured it out how i am supposed to use it as i'm not very pleased how my photos came out with using it. I will have to do more research on the beauty-dish and try it out again, i want to get it right. Every source of light has it's pros and cons.

 ISO-400  F/4  1/100  0 step  40 mm

 ISO-400  F/4  1/100  0 step 40 mm

ISO-400  F/4 1/30 -2 step  40 mm

Main Assignment - The art of the famous

To capture the essence of master painters, I shot outside the lines. A collection of photos from the perspective of 6 famous artists, i wanted to feel what they felt painting them. I did a lot of research before choosing my victims. I got a lot of inspiration and i let my mind run wild on how i wanted to see these famous creations of masters of their time recreated. I planned every single picture and even got a bit carried away. I had planned to create more work from famous painters but got stuck in the lack of time. I had to do them well enough to share them with the world. As i finished this project i set for myself, i really got inspired to do more. I am craving more. While doing this assignment i learned a lot of new things about technical aspects of making these pictures and about myself. I love being creative. Here is my take on creating famous paintings.

 Inspired by Grant Wood - American Gothic

 Inspired by Johannes Vermeer - Girl with a pearl earring

 Inspired by Andy Warhol - Marilyn Monroe

 Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh - Self-portrait

 Inspired by Edvard Munch - The Scream

Inspired by René Magritte - The son of a man