Studio Photography
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Research
Irving Penn
Irving Penn was a photographer who primarily focused on fashion and portrait photography, where he was one of vogue's top photographers for 60 years. He was also one of the first photographers to place his subjects in front of a grey or white background, I really like how he did this because it helps bring a viewers attention to the model rather than whats going on around them. My favourite image he has created is the photograph on the far left, I really like this one due to the high contrast that has been created, I think this makes the models facial features stand out more. I think he has used lighting that is directed onto her face so there are no shadows, which makes her face feel flat however this is used to possibly bring out the accessories around her face. When I create my images, I want to take inspiration from how Penn uses lighting to help bring out certain aspects in his work, as well as hopefully creating simple portraits.
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George Hurrell
George Hurrell was a photographer who primarily focused on creating romantic portraits between 1925 and 1950. I really liked how he filled the frame with the model, trying to include as little background as possible. By photographing the models up close, it makes sure that they are the only subject matter as well as making the images feel more intimate which I think really suits his romantic portraiture way of working. Out of the 3 photographs shown, my favourite is the middle photo, this is because I really like how Hurrell has positioned the model, it's more visually interesting. I also really liked how he has used the light to bring the attention to the models face, he has created a shadow go across her torso whilst also allowing a soft glow of light cast on her face and the head piece, which are the key features of the photo. When I go to create my own images, I want to take inspiration from how Hurrell takes close up photos of his model, I hope that this style will help to make the makeup the model will be wearing stand out.
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Equipment and Experimentation
Flash Head
A flash head is the light in which different pieces of equipment are mounted onto, for example diffusers. Without it, there wouldn't be a source of light illuminating a models face, resulting in an dark photograph.
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Light stand
A light stand is used to support the flash head. The stand can be used to adjust the height of the light, however the 3 stands at the bottom must be pushed down all the way to prevent it from falling over.
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Diffuser - Reflector
A reflector is a large sheet that is held underneath a model to reflect a soft glow of light onto their face. We have 2 of these available here at college, both being double sided, with white on one side and silver or gold on the other side. The gold creates a warmer glow on a models face whereas the silver creates a colder and harsher glow on her face.
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Diffuser - Softbox
A soft box is used to create a soft glow on a models face, it is primarily used in professional portraiture. I used a soft box in this image, where it was positioned to the right of me at an angle, facing the models face so it created a soft glow on her face.
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Diffuser - Shoot through umbrella
A shoot through umbrella is where a flash is directe through the umbrella to illuminate a scene, causing harsh light and shadows on a subject. I used a shoot through umbrella in this photograph, I positioned the light facing the model with the umbrella inbetween.
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Diffuser - Reflective umbrella
A reflective umbrella is where a light is fired into it, reflecting off the umbrella towards the model. The light and umbrella face the opposite way to the model, scattering the light onto the scene from the shape of the umbrella. This is what I used in this photograph, it created an even glow on the model.
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Diffuser - Snoot
A snoot is a tube that is fixed directly onto the flash head, it directs the light onto a specific area of the scene. This is the fixture that I used in this photograph, I directed it at my models face which I think illuminated her face very nicely.
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Diffuser - Honeycomb Grid
A Honeycomb grid is a fixture for a flash head which creates a focused, tight beam of light with little diffusion. It is very effective in creating a beam, however it isn't as intense as a snoot.
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Diffuser - Beauty Dish
A beauty dish is another fixture for a flash head that also creates a soft light, however the curved sides work as reflectors, which also create quite a focused beam. This is what I used in this image, it created a a soft yet focused beam of light on my models face.
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Catch Light
A catchlight is the light that is reflected in a subjects eye, that light comes from an external light source. The beauty dish is what is being reflected in my models eye, which i really like because it creates an even circle within her eye.
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Types of lighting setups
High Key
Low key lighting is where two lights are used on the models face to create even lighting, as well as lighting up the background to create a bright photo. To create these images, the set up consisted of two flash head with soft boxes placed on either side of the models face at the same exposures, with a white background behind the model. The result is even lighting across the models face, creating a bright photograph, which I really like because it makes the image feel lively and happy.
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Low Key
Low key lighting is where one light is set up at a 45 degree angle facing the model, with a black background behind them. When creating these images, I used a snoot to direct the light onto the model to make her stand out the most. I think I was successful in creating these images because only the models face is being light up, not the background, which I really like.
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Short Lighting
Short lighting is where the light is directed to the side of the models face the furthest away from the photographer. In this image, my model was sitting at a slight angle, where the light was placed at a 45 degree angle so it was only facing the side of their face that was the furthest away from me. On the flash head, I used a beauty dish so the glow on my models face was soft and not as harsh. I think I was successful in creating this image because I was able to light up her face very well, however I don't like how some of the light was spilling into the side of her face that was the closest to me.
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Broad Lighting
Broad lighting is where the light is directed onto the side of the models face that is closest to the photographer. I again used a beauty dish on the flash head to create a soft glow on the model face, where I instead had the model facing away from the light. I found making this photo quite difficult because I struggled to position the model, however in the end I think I was successful as I was able to somewhat light up the majority of the side of her face that was closest to me.
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Split Lighting
Split lighting is where a light is faced directly to the side of the model, so only half of their face is illuminated. In this photograph, I placed the flash head with a snoot attached to it to the right of myself, in line with the models face so only half of her face would be light. I think making this photograph was successful because I was able to distinguish the light and dark side of her face very well.
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Butterfly Lighting
Butterfly lighting is where the light is positioned behind and above the photographer, facing down onto the model to create a even light across their face. In this photograph, I again had a snoot attached to the flash head, where they were both positioned above me on a light stand, facing down onto my model. I decided to use a black background so my model would stand out, as well as using black and white to hopefully show the even light better. I think I was successful at making this photo because the as well as the model standing out against the black background, the light is very even across her.
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Rembrandt Lighting
Rembrandt lighting is where a light is placed at a 45 degree angle facing the model, with a reflector being held to the left of the model at an angle to reflect the light, where the aim is to create a triangle on the side of the models face that is the furthest away from where the light source is placed. I found making this photograph quite challenging because I couldn't create a perfect triangle, however I think I was somewhat successful in attempting to create the effect.
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3 point lighting
3 point lighting is where 3 lights are set up, a flash head with a softbox attachment to the left of the model, this is the main light because it has the trigger attached to it. The second light is to the right of the model, it also has the softbox attachment however this one is called the fill light because it doesn't have a trigger attached to it. The third light is placed behind the model with a reflector attached to it, this is called the hair light because it illuminates light onto the back of the model. I really like how the model looks slightly different in each photograph because of which lighting was used in each. I prefer the photos where only the main light was used because its slightly darker, to me it makes it feel more ominous and mysterious.
Main light
Main light and fill light
Main light, fill light and hair light
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Photoshoots
Inspiration
Before the photoshoots, I decided to look on pinterest for inspiration on different poses, angles and lighting setups I could do. I really like how each of the photos posed their models in various different ways to achieve a different feel to the photograph, I also want to attempt this so I can hopefully help divert a viewer to the makeup that would be on the models face. Even though quite a lot of my inspiration is in black and white, I will not be shooting like that because I don't want to ruin how the makeup is viewed if it is in colour. However, I might change my photos to black and white in photoshop so I can see how it would've looked if I shot in that way. I will show this to the makeup and media students so I can understand how they want their looks to be presented.
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Photoshoot 1
In each photoshoot, we were given 30 minutes to make as many photographs as possible which displayed the makeup well. I started by using 3 point lighting which captured the makeup with even lighting, a main light to my right, a fill light to my left and a hair light at the back right. All lights were pointed at a 45 degree angle at the model, however I decided to not use the image where the hair light was used because I felt as if it created a harsh point of light on the side of the models face. Further into the shoot, I experimented more with different types of lighting, next behind a snoot attached to the flash head, point directly on the left side of the models face so only half of her face would be illuminated. Even though I thought these photos created quite a moody image, I also felt as if it was appropriate in capturing the makeup, so i decided to not develop my use of this lighting setup. Next, I switched the snoot for a beauty dish, moving it to my right, pointing at the model at a 45 degree angle, with a soft box to my left with its power quite low, as well as experimenting with the soft box turned off. I really like how the photos from both of those lighting set ups turned out because I felt as if it really made the makeup stand out more. Finally, I decided to use a red gel over the beauty dish, with the soft box turned back on. I also really like how those images turned out because even though there was red and blue lighting, I don't think it affected/washed out the makeup that much as it was black and white.
For each of the edited images, I used similar adjustments, being curves, colour balance and exposure. I decided to use those adjustment tools because I knew they wouldn't affect the looks of each image too much and because I shot in RAW, I knew that I would easily be able to bring back certain aspects of each of the 4 photographs. In some I also decided to use the spot healing tool to remove marks that were on my lense that I didn't see beforehand, as well as removing some frizz from the models hair that distracted from the makeup. If I were to have more time in this shoot, I would attempt to get close up images of the makeup, as well as getting the model to close her eyes so I would be able to capture the white of the eyeliner better.
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Photoshoot 2
To begin the second photoshoot, I started by using a snoot on a flash head to the right of myself, facing the model to create a split effect. As well as this, I also moved the models position and where the stand was to create different effects with the snoot. Keeping the stand in the same place, I also switched the snoot to the beauty dish to create a soft glow on her face so the shadows wouldn't be as harsh. Keeping the beauty dish on, I moved it behind and above me to create butterfly lighting as well as experimenting with a ladder to test different positions. Keeping the ladder, I brought in two more flash heads, one being the fill light with a softbox and another being a hair light behind the model with a reflector attached. I decided to experiment with just using the soft box, and just using the soft box and hair light however I didn't like how dark the photos turned out.
For each of the editing process, I decided to stick with curves, exposure and colour balance for each photo because I didn't want to manipulate the image too much, which could wash out the makeup. I decided to not use the clone stamp tool on any of the edits to remove frizz because I thought it wasn't needed. I really like how colour balance brought some colour into each edit, without it I felt as if the image seemed green in a way but by using the colour balance it made each edit feel warmer. If I had more time in this shoot, I would experiment with different camera angles because I feel as if I only stayed at eye level throughout the shoot, as well as experimenting with going closer to the models face.
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Photoshoot 3
To begin this photoshoot, I again used 3 point lighting, experimenting with a snoot on the hair light as well as soft boxes on the fill light and the main light. I also experimenting with only using the main light an hair light. I decided to experiment with different gels on the hair light (blue and green) as well as moving sync to the other soft box. Next, I used the reflector on the main light pointing at the model, with a gold reflector placed to the other side of the model to reflect the light. I also experimented with different angles, including going slightly below the model. I liked how these images turned out but I felt as if they didn't make the makeup stand out at all. Finally, I continued to experiment with the snoot, moving it to be the main light, facing the model to my right at a 45 degree angle.
When editing these images, I again stuck with curves, exposure and colour balance to create warm images that would compliment the makeup. I really like how the colour balance tool made the image feel warmer because before using it the image seemed quite green and cold, as well as this I feel as if it makes the makeup stand out more. When picking the images to use for my edits, I felt as if I didn't experiment with poses and where I placed myself when taking the photos because they all look and feel the same. Despite this, I was able to make each photo feel different by changing the lighting set up however if I were to have more time with this shoot in the future, I would experiment more with different camera angles and I would also use the models hands in some way to frame her face to make the makeup stand out more.
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Photoshoot 4
To start this photoshoot, I began by using 3 point lighting (2 soft boxes on either side and a hair light with a reflector behind the model), experimenting with different poses, as well as turning the hair light on and off. I also experimented with the hair light and main light, positioning the model to face towards them, this created a soft glow on her face to illuminate the makeup. I then decided to include a blue gel on the main light, switching the hair light on for some images and off for other to experiment with how this effected the lighting. I really like how some of those images turned out because I think they make the white of the eyeliner and in the models eye lashes stand out quite a lot. Next I brought the black background down, experimenting with the beauty dish to the left of myself, where I went closer to the models face to isolate her face. Next, I experimented with a red gel over the beauty dish and even though I thought the results looked very cool, the red washed out the makeup too much. Finally I brought back the soft boxes onto two flash heads, placing them on either side of me, facing the model. Here I experimented with the models hand placement around her face to frame the makeup, as well as different simple poses.
To edit these 4 chosen photos, I used curves to bring more contrast as well as using colour balance to make each edit feel warmer. With the edits where it had blue however, I used colour balance more to make the blue stand out more. In the first edit where the model is using her hands to frame the makeup, I also used the clone stamp tool below her left hand to cover up some distractions, using the black nearby to create the shadow onto her arm. I found editing these photos quite easy because of how I had previously set up the lighting, it wasn't too harsh and I didn't need to make drastic changes to any of the edits. I really like how these edits made the white aspects of the makeup stand out alot, especially her white eyelashes, I think looks really cool because the makeup is against such a blank background.
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Photoshoot 5
I started this photoshoot by using 3 point lighting again, a soft box on both the main light and fill light, and a reflector on the hair light. I kept this lighting set up for quite a few images, where I experimented with only using the main light and hair light (adding a yellow gel on top of the main light) and experimenting with just using the main light. I also moved the sync to the fill light, where I positioned myself to the left side of the model where the soft box was to the models right, creating the short lighting effect. Before switching to the black background, I also used butterfly lighting to create an even soft glow on the models face to compliment the makeup. Switching to the black background, I used the snoot in some images and a beauty dish in others to create 1 point split photographs to highlight one side of the makeup on the models face. Continuing to use the beauty dish, I then placed a red gel over it to cast a pinkish glow on the models face, continuing to use the split effect, positioning myself differently to also create broad images.
To create these edits I also used curves to enhance the highlights, shadows and midtones in the images to create more contrast. Next, I then used exposure to make sure each images wasn't too bright, before then using colour balance to bring some sort of warmth into the edits so they complimented the makeup. When I was editing the photograph where I used red gel, I found it quite difficult to make the red softer because of how high the brightness was on the flash head, but despite this I really like how its colour stands out against the other 3 edits. If I were to have more time within this shoot, I would experiment more with different camera angles and positions the model could've done, including possibly using her hands to frame the makeup.
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Evaluation
Overall, I'm really happy with how this project went because I was able to learn how to use the studio, as well as how the different lighting fixtures work and how I can use them to create different set ups, which in return helped me create really cool portraits. Throughout the project, I was also able to learn from my mistakes, improving from where we tested each fixture and lighting fixture, as well learning from mistakes I made in each shoot, using what I learnt to improve how I set up the next shoot. I also really enjoyed using photoshop to enhance my images, using features like colour balance to make the edits feel warmer to help the makeup stand out more. Throughout the project, I also attempted to take inspiration from George Hurrell and Irving Penn, with how they positioned themselves, the model and the lighting. Even though I wasn't working in black and white because the main focus was the makeup, I think I was somewhat able to take inspiration from them, using my own style to make the images my own. My favourite edit from each shoot are the ones above, I really like those ones in particular because as well as showing the makeup in a clean and effect, I feel like they show how I placed myself, the model and the lighting to create the photo. This project also taught me how to communicate with people I have never met before, working with them to showcase their makeup skills in a professional way, which in return helped me feel more confident. In the future, I would research more photographers because I feel as if I didn't have enough inspiration going into this project, I think this would help me understand how else I could take my photos and how else I could position the model. Despite this, I really enjoyed this project and I hope to return to studio photography in the near future.
