In our lighting workshop we learnt about frameworks of lighting and working with just a single light. I was quite amazed at what one can do by utilising a number of different factors. I shot using an 85mm lens on a Nikon D60. I made a mistake with the background thinking it was black. It was only when I got to the edit where I realised my mistake. Nevertheless, I will document my progress.
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| Boy With Fruit Basket |
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| My interpretation of Boy With Fruit Basket |
I began by trying to recreate the Caravaggio style of lighting. This style of lighting is very famous as he liked to paint groups of people and light the narrow part of the subjects' face so that the shadows become more prominent on the broad side of the face. I decided to recreate Boy With Fruit Basket which was very challenging. I positioned the light rather high and directed my model according to the reference photo. I feel as though I messed up the direction of the head tilt but as far as lighting is concerned I did rather well. I particularly like the way the triangle under the chin of the model came out. I used the light naked with no beauty dish and no diffusion. This worked rather well as it created a contrast between the light and the shadows. However, in hindsight I would use a beauty dish which would enhance the contrast between the light and the shadow and make it more stark. I would love to get an actual fruit basket and make sure I get more light onto it more (as seen in the photo) by bringing the light forward and onto the other side of the face. Other than that I feel as though the shoot went well and that I could recreate this lighting setup if I was asked to do so.
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| Man in Military Costume |
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| My own interpretation |
For my second image I tried to recreate the lighting of Rembrandt. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter who would paint his own self-portrait as well as portraits of other subjects. Unlike Caravaggio, Rembrandt's paintings used much softer light which softened the shadows on the broad side of the face. This was owed particularly to Rembrandt painting next to very large natural light sources like large windows. To recreate this I used a soft box, mainly because it diffuses the light and creates incredibly delicate and soft shadows (which is the antithesis of the Caravaggio style of lighting). The distinctive mark of a Rembrandt original work is by using the light to create a triangle that comes over the bridge of the nose, creating a border between the broad side and the narrow side of the face. I decided to recreate Man In Military Costume. I feel as though I messed up the direction of the light is facing as well as the pose of the model. I also could have used a lighter background by getting some old green wallpaper. Next time I would clock the models' left shoulder so that it is pointing towards camera, have the Lightbox on the other side of the model. I do feel as though I got a faint bit of light on the bridge of the nose, but to improve I would bring the soft box to head height of the subject about 3 feet from the models' face. In conclusion I feel I have a lot more practice to do but as first set of attempts I feel like it is a good foundation to build upon
My final piece was inspired by a portrait by Richard Avedon. He seems to have employed characteristics from the Caravaggio style of lighting, creating a stark contrast between the whites and the shadows. He seems to have used more than one light, however the key light is positioned upper left (outside of frame) and slightly in front of the subject to further the starkness of the contrast. This makes for quite a striking image as it feels as though we have caught the subject off guard - as if we have walked in on them in a bathroom and this photo is the moment they notice you walk in. I wanted to combine both frameworks of lighting - casting the dramatic shadows on one side whilst retaining light on one to contrast the two. But instead of using the high angled, stark light as employed in the Caravaggio framework of lighting, I used a soft box so that I got a more flattering image of the model as the light is very delicate. I like the shadow under the models' brow; it makes the image seem slightly sinister but in a non-life threatening kind of way.
In conclusion, as a summary of this excercise I feel as though I learnt an incredible amount about the nuances of lighting and directing models and I definitely have a lot to learn and a long way to come and need a lot more experience in this area. However, if asked to recreate these frameworks and photos I would feel fairly confident in my ability to fulfil the request.
