Exercise 3: Experimenting with light

The brief for this exercise was to photograph a subject in different lighting situations to observe the differences the light has on the resulting portrait. I have used head & shoulders shots for all the photos.

Photo 1. Studio light setup (ie indoors, with mains flash and shoot-through umbrella).
This photo has nice even lighting over most of the face, though the right side is slightly darker than the left. The light is (relatively) easy to control indoors, and (due to the large diffuse light source) doesn't leave any harsh shadows on the face, and results in attractive catchlights in the eyes. Feature lines on the face are seen because the light is not coming directly from the camera and there are small shadows as a result. The angle of the light is quite important though, and I have not experimented with this in this case.

From Exercise_3

70mm, f/6.7, 1/125s, ISO200

Photo 2. Indoors, with 580EX flash with diffuser fitted.
I have used a simple setup with the 580EX mounted directly on the camera, shooting vertically towards the ceiling with a bulb-type diffuser fitted to create a pleasant lighting effect. In this case it has given a fairly even coverage of light over the face. Catchlights are present in the eyes but also on the nose and wine glass which is not so appealing.

From Exercise_3

24mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, ISO400

Photo 3. Full sunlight with strong reflection from nearby building
I noticed a very strong reflection in the early evening coming off the building, so I positioned my subject in the full sunlight but close to the building so his face is lit on both sides - his left by the sun directly and his right by the sun via the building. This actually makes for a nicely balanced portrait, though the sun is obviously quite bright in his eyes. The creases on his face are emphasised by the strong light, more so than the indoor lighting portraits.

From Exercise_3

62mm, f/16, 1/60s, ISO100

Photo 4. Full sunlight with no strong nearby reflections
This photo is taken in strong sunlight with no nearby strong reflections. The difference with Photo 3 is marked. Here the whole right side of the face is in shadow. This makes for a more dramatic portrait, which in the right setting could be quite useful.

From Exercise_3

60mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO100

Photo 5. Shade with no strong light reflections
Instantly this photo is much more gentle and balanced than the previous two, much more like the indoors portraits. The light is diffuse and even across the subjects face, though the right side of the face is lighter (when looking around at the scene - there are a number of buildings reflecting sunlight at a distance in that direction). Shade is good for gentle balanced light with no harsh shadows.

From Exercise_3

70mm, f/2.8, 1/125s, ISO100

This was an interesting project. I also had a play around indoors with my husband using the flash bare and diffuse and the differences are marked. This project shows how important careful use of light is in portriature, but also how different effects can be used to advantage. I often get 'scared' of shooting in full sunlight, but I will try to do this more to create some strong shadows and more dramatic photos.