Studio Portraiture
Flash Heads:
Light Stands:
Diffusers:
A diffuser is used to scatter the light entering the camera or in the region of the shot.
As the light is scattered it creates soft light where the shadows are muted without hard edges.
Soft Boxes:
A soft box is an enclosure around a bulb comprising reflective side and back walls and a diffusing material at the front of the light.
Soft boxes work by confining the light from a lamp into a closed chamber and releasing it through at least one layer of diffusion material. As the light passes through the translucent fabric it scatters, producing a very even and soft result.
Shoot Through Umbrella:
This type of umbrella shot uses a white umbrella. The flash is directed into the underside of the white umbrella, but some of the light passes through it to illuminate the scene.
This diffusion is therefore direct rather than reflection-diffused.
This is used to create harsh light and hard shadows.
Reflective Umbrella:
A flashlight is fired directly into the underside of a black umbrella with a white or silver lining.
The light is reflected back on the scene. The open parabolic shape diffuses the light over a wide area. The light is scattered from the shape by spreading it out.
Snoot:
The snoot is a tube that fits onto the front of a studio light,
The tube is long compared to the width of the light source face.
Snoots can be perfect cylinders. However they are more often conical cylinders where the tapered end emits the light.
Sometimes the tapered end of the snoot is also fitted with a honeycombed grid to further direct the beam of light leaving the end.
Honeycomb Grid / Diffuser:
The honeycomb grid is a tight structure of a similar shape to the honeycomb made by honey bees. It’s affixed to the front of a studio strobe.
The light shines through the grid and creates a tight beam of light. The aim is to create a focused beam with little diffusion.
It is effective in creating such a beam, but it is not as intense or focused as a snoot.
Beauty Dish:
The beauty dish is essentially a method of creating a soft light. However, the high sides and parabolic shape creates quite a focused beam. The beauty dish works using two reflectors. The first is immediately in front of the light source.
This little reflector is placed in front of the light so it can reflect all the light out to the sides of the main dish. The reflected light hitting the sides of the main dish is then reflected out directly at the subject. Most of the light is directed forward because of the high sides of the dish.
Positioning:
Types Of Lighting:
Split Lighting:
Here the subject face is directly in line with the camera and the light is placed directly to one side of the subjects face
Split lighting is a straightforward description of how the light appears in an image. The light source will split the subject with one side illuminated and the other falling to shadow. The effect can be very dramatic, or it can be used to a lesser degree depending on your preference.
Butterfly Lighting:
Commonly used in fashion and beauty photography (and seen as one of the more flattering ways to light faces.)
Butterfly Lighting: The light source is placed just behind and above the camera. You should almost be shooting from directly underneath the light
Loop Lighting:
Loop lighting is probably the most widely used lighting set up in contemporary studio photography. It is widely used in portrait images creating small shadows on the subject’s noses and cheeks to add definition to the face.
To achieve this set up the light source is angled at approximately 35 degrees from the camera, towards the subject.
Rembrandt Lighting:
Rembrandt lighting, so name because it looks to replicate the quality of light that Rembrandt (the Dutch Master painter 1606 - 1669), used in his most famous works.
It’s recognisable by the triangle of light it produces on one side of subject.
Tip: If you don’t own a reflector, use a piece of white poster board or have an assistant hold up a white cloth instead.
Richard Avedon:
Richard Avedon was one of the leading mid-20th-century photographers, noted for his portraits and fashion photographs.
Avedon began to explore photography on his own at age 10 and was immediately drawn to portraiture. His first sitter was the Russian pianist-composer Sergey Rachmaninoff, who then lived in the same New York City apartment building as Avedon’s grandparents. Avedon studied photography in the U.S. merchant marine (1942–44), where he took identification card pictures, and at the New school for social research. He turned professional in 1945 and became a regular contributor to Harper’s Bazaar (1946–65) and Vogue (1966–90), in addition to working on many advertising campaigns. In 1992 he became the first staff photographer at The New Yorker. Avedon’s fashion photographs are characterized by a strong black-and-white contrast that creates an effect of austere sophistication. In his portraits of celebrities and other sitters, he created a sense of drama by often using a stark, white background and eliciting a frontal, confrontational pose.
Description:
-Photo is in black and white,
-Model is female,
-Models position is central,
-Models face is partly shadowed,
-Make-up is natural,
-Upper body is lacking any clothing,
How was it made:
-Studio setting,
-Split lighting,
Where would it be seen:
-Old and stereotypical make-up magazines and advertisements,
-Gives a old fashioned vogue feel (sharp features with a bold lip,)
How does it work:
-The black and white contrasts facial features to sharpen them,
-Bold lip and beauty mark brings a 1950's Marilyn Monroe feel to the image and look,
Mario Testino:
Mario testino is a great photographer born October 30, 1954 in Lima. His photos have made the headlines of many magazines like V Magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue Paris, or GQ.
Mario testino collaborates with many brands in the luxury industry such as Versace, Chanel, Gucci, Burberry, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Estée Lauder and Lancôme.
His photos demonstrate the immense scope of the photographer who passes with unparalleled talent from conventional photos to the avant-garde and the most difficult subjects. Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss are his muses. Over the years, He never stopped working with them, helping to magnify their beauty, and building deep relationships with them in a very fickle and often superficial fashion industry.
Description:
-Shot is a face close-up,
-Shadowing around jaw and face shape,
-Model is female,
-Background is a bright blue,
-Make-up is colourful and bold,
-Models face is central,
How was it made:
-Straight on shot,
-Studio setting,
-Loop lighting,
Where would it be seen:
-A modern day make-up magazine,
-Bold make-up look, not everyday make-up,
-Would be seen in todays Elle beauty and vogue magazines or something similar.
How does it work:
-The bright lighting and loop lighting brings out the colours seen in the make-up look,
-Colours pop and stand out,
-Blue background contrast and draws attention to the red, white, green and blue face make-up
High & Low Key Lighting
Low Key Lighting: Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting uses a key light, a fill light and a back light for illumination.
High Key Lighting: High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood.
Beauty & Media Students Shoot:
We were placed in small groups and we each given a beauty and media student to photograph, to present their make-up look in the way they requested.
Reflecting upon this task, I enjoy a couple of these images, as I feel they show the skill of the students make-up. I also enjoy some shadowing I have created on the face by the use of loop lighting, which I believe adds definition to the face and make-up. However, some images I do not enjoy as much as, I feel the positioning of the photograph is off. Moving forward I would like to practice my studio skills a little more, so I feel completely comfortable and aware of the studio's space and items. Overall, I believe I was able to capture a couple of good portraits using different techniques to fully portray this student's work in the studio.
Above are my chosen portraits, I feel as these images present the make-up look best. I think the first image to the left is my best image due to the shadowing used, I believe this sculptures and defines the face.
Before & After- Photoshop editing
Below is the before and after of the photoshop skills we were shown in lesson, to improve in a sense the photograph taken. The spot healing brush tool and gaussian blur were used in the second image to achieve a smooth finish on the skin and in general the photograph itself.
