Review of 3 Point lighting

From watching  'Opale - sparkles and wine teaser' video I can see just how affected the face and emotions can be just by simple lighting.   In the video the woman stays still and the the light around her is changing and moving positions, therefore making it appear as if she is changing facial expressions but she is not and I like how light itself is able to do such a simple thing.  Although I am not capturing faces I can still use a similar lighting technique used in this video.

Because I am using macro lenses and the light that is let in is very limited I have decided to use 3 point lighting using constant lights.  I may have to move the lights a lot closer to the hands I am photographing so the image is not so dark.

Key light - Shines on the subject from the front, acting as the main source of light.

Fill light - Shines on the subject from the side usually at the level of the face, creating shadows.  Not as bright as the key light.

Back light - Shines from the back, this light outlines the subject and creates a separation between the subject and the background.

Glossary

Reportage Photography - A technique where you document something that is happening through the use of images.

Constructed Photography - Plan/form before you shoot a specific image in order to portray a specific concept or narrative.

Pixel - The physical point in an image or the smallest addressable/recognisable element, the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen/image.

Film Grain - the optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles.

ISO - The measurement of how sensitive a digital cameras sensor is to the light.  The lower the ISO number the slower the response to light.

Aperture - The size of the diaphgram opening in a lens regulates the amount of light that passes through onto the film, measured in f-numbers.

F-number - The numbers that the size of the lens aperture opening.  The standard scale is f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22. The larger the f-number, the smaller the lens opening. f/22 is the smallest number.

Shutter Speed - The length of time the shutter is open and the amount of light that reaches the film.

Raw Image - A file of an image that contains minimal processed data from a digital camera.  Therefore allowing you to alter the properties of the image in post production.

Artificial Light - A source of light that does not come from a natural source, generally coming from flash lighting or constant lighting.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/aboutus/page.asp?n=50

Chiaroscuro - The use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts.

Macro Photography - Extreme close up photography, making the size of a very small object appear much larger.

Macro lens - Lens providing continual focus to extreme close ups

Depth of Field - A range of items in focus in an image.  A large or wide aperture gives a shallow depth of field (with not much in focus) and a wider/larger aperture gives a large depth of field (much more in focus).

Exposure - The amount of light that hits the image sensor of film which is controlled by the aperture and shutter speed.

Light meter - A device used to measure the amount of light, to determine the correct exposure for a photograph.

Overexposure - When too much light reaches the film, producing a very bright or light side of the image.

Cyanotype - a printing process that produces a cyan-blue print using two chemicals - Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide.

Tungsten Light - Light from regular room lamps and ceiling fixtures, not fluorescent. Images produced under this light source can be extremely warm.

UV - Ultra violet ray. This is beyond the visible spectrum, it's invisible electromagnetic radiation of the sunlight.


Available light - Natural lighting, the light that is already on the scene, such as moonlight or sunlight.

Macro Photography

Macro photography is extreme close up photography generally  of very small objects where the size of the image turns out to be larger than the original size.
Macro lenses specifically designed for close up images, which is capable for of reproducing (reproduction) ratios that are bigger than 1:1.

"Macro lenses of different focal lengths find different uses:

• Continuously-variable focal length – suitable for virtually all macro subjects
• 45–65 mm – product photography, small objects that can be approached closely without causing undesirable influence, and scenes requiring natural background perspective
• 90–105 mm – insects, flowers, and small objects from a comfortable distance
• 150–200 mm – insects and other small animals where additional working distance is required"

Lighting can be an issue when using macro lenses so close to the subject because the closer the lens is  to the object the less light there is on it, as it has further to travel to finally reach the shutter.   Therefore I will have to take this into consideration when taking my pictures and either make sure there is enough light so it can travel up the lens or I will have to alter the aperture and ISO in order for the images not to come out too dark.
Depth of field is also an issue when using macro lenses.  "A small aperture (high f-number) is often required to produce acceptable sharpness."  Due to this I may have to turn up the ISO. 

Canon 50mm macro lens

Canon 65mm macro lens

Oil Printing Workshop

I then took part in an oil printing workshop and thought that this was one of my favourites.  I got told about the different techniques and methods that are used when using oils these include:

Intaglio print - etching

Relief 

Mono-printing

Embossing

Photopolymer - intaglio 

The first method we tried was a simple text poster using the metal letters and a thin layer of ink.  This was quite fun because we had to lay out the letters backwards so they would appear the correct way when we turned the paper around.  The magnets are very strong and hard to move but we used them so that the letters would stay in place when we pulled the roller over it.  We used rollers and a very thin layer of ink on the letters and made sure that it was even, then we carefully places some paper over it and two other thick pieces so that there would be more pressure when rolling over it.  The first couple of prints weren't too great as some of the paint was patchy so we tried it again with another thin layer of paint and made sure it was more evenly spread the next time around.  After testing out this technique we tried some prints using a giant press machine, I really liked how these ones turned out, again we put a thin layer of ink onto a small transparent screen and layed out some fabrics.  Then I layed it out on the machine and out some tracing paper over it then the large fabric and turned the wheel.  When I took the fabric off of the screen there was a perfect print of it in the ink and after that I put the fabric with ink on and put it on a separate piece of paper and it printed it pattern of the fabric.  

Even though I really enjoyed the workshop I do not think there are many ways I could incorporate it into my images.

Bottom image is the printed version

Screen Printing Workshop

Screen Printing - "A technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink blocking stencil to receive a desired image.  The stencil forms open areas so that the ink is able to pass through revealing the image."

Another workshop I took part in was for screen printing,  this workshop was very beneficial to me because this could be a technique that I use when it comes to printing my pictures, as a way to make them larger, which will contrast with the fact that they are macro shots.  Screen printing you also have to use a negative of something and then use the lightbox to transfer the picture onto the screen.  I found this workshop required a lot more preparation than when I did the cyanotypes, but the results from screen printing are a lot clearer rather than patchy areas of blue around the picture, with this method you are able to control the colours and the intensity of the image by using the squeegee.  The screens I used are silk-screens and using these is like a stencil method.  The whole of the screen is covered with emulsion and then the negative image is transferred on, so the the ink/acrylic paint (which we mixed with a gel to make it not as thick) is then pushed through the holes. One colour must be done at a time.

Silk screen

Cyanotype Workshop

Cyanotype is a printing process that produces a cyan-blue print using two chemicals - Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide.

I took part in a cyanotype workshop which I really enjoyed.  I took a few negatives on acetate with me and one positive so I could have one where I could compare which one worked the best.  

I liked this printing technique because I like how you are bale to control the texture of the background to either completely covered in the chemicals or where there are some areas left un-painted as well as some brush marks, leaving them white which leaves a nice comparison between the dark blue.  I think the cyanotypes that worked the best are the ones that were exposed to the ultraviolet light for 200 light units, because I feel that 400 light units was a bit too dark when we washed off the chemicals.  I think that I could use this method when I begin to print my images because the gaps in the paint and chemicals will add to the texture of the skin.

Bibliography

First draft of my bibliography:

book on edmodo about photography??