Evaluation

For this project, I was aiming to do various shoots spanning across several different genres of photography that require studio lighting. For the product shoot I chose to photograph samosas and organic bread.
I was also going to do a locational fashion shoot of standard and unusual portraits eg the feet shot whiuch is intended to convey a story rather than just product alone, as in this case the shoes have body language presented with them to fill in the story line behind the individual’s wearing of them.For my portrait shoot, I was going to do a locational shoot of a carpenter and his workshop (being very careful to represent him in a masculine and dominant way in his environment). Another shoot I envisaged is the ports photography one for which I chose to do skateboard photography.
In preparation for my shoots, I was going to allocate slot times eg. One week for each shoot to allow time to arrange props, lighting and equipment. I found the equipment hiring quite simple and easy as I pre-booked my equipment well in advance. I made sure, before I left the college, that I had all the sinc leads and that the equipment was fully functional. For one of my skateboarding shoots at “The Works” the sinc lead did not respond and therefore I had to work out how I was going to solve this problem. Also, for Tom’s shoot, we had the same problems as the sinc lead did not respond. Therefore, we had to construct a way, by using the wireless transmitter at the same frequency channel of the Ellamcrom internal slaves instead of using the sinc lead directly to the camera. Another problem I faced with the equipment was with one of the D30 cameras I got out. The colour calibration of the raw format file had been changed and therefore, when I got to the editing stage process, I had to adapt the editing around the colours that it had recorded. However, this was not so much of a problem for my raw files as it takes in more information on white balance than a normal J peg does. In all, for time management, I felt that I had done very well to do all three shoots in such a short space of time.

Technical Problems and issues surrounding some of my shoots
For my skateboarding shoot, I experienced the most difficulties as I was using a medium format Mamiya RB 67 for which medium format skateboarding photography is mostly done on due to the high sinc speed. The major problem I faced was that the wireless trigger sets did not respond due to the high shutter speed at 400th of a second. Therefore, on one shoot, I only achieved 2 out of 10 on the reel. However, on the plus side, I did do digital shoots as I was able to do test shoots to make sure that the wireless triggers were sinking.
Evaluation.
For this project, I was aiming to do various shoots spanning across several different genres of photography that require studio lighting. For the product shoot I chose to photograph samosas and organic bread.
I was also going to do a locational fashion shoot of standard and unusual portraits eg the feet shot whiuch is intended to convey a story rather than just product alone, as in this case the shoes have body language presented with them to fill in the story line behind the individual’s wearing of them.For my portrait shoot, I was going to do a locational shoot of a carpenter and his workshop (being very careful to represent him in a masculine and dominant way in his environment). Another shoot I envisaged is the ports photography one for which I chose to do skateboard photography.
In preparation for vmy shoots, I was going to allocate slot times eg. One week for each shoot to allow time to arrange props, lighting and equipment. I found the equipment hiring quite simple and easy as I pre-booked my equipment well in advance. I made sure, before I left the college, that I had all the sinc leads and that the equipment was fully functional. For one of my skateboarding shoots at “The Works” the sinc lead did not respond and therefore I had to work out how I was going to solve this problem. Also, for Tom’s shoot, we had the same problems as the sinc lead did not respond. Therefore, we had to construct a way, by using the wireless transmitter at the same frequency channel of the Ellamcrom internal slaves instead of using the sinc lead directly to the camera. Another problem I faced with the equipment was with one of the D30 cameras I got out. The colour calibration of the raw format file had been changed and therefore, when I got to the editing stage process, I had to adapt the editing around the colours that it had recorded. However, this was not so much of a problem for my raw files as it takes in more information on white balance than a normal J peg does. In all, for time management, I felt that I had done very well to do all three shoots in such a short space of time.
For example, for the samosa shoot I had to think very carefully regarding which props and ornaments I should use to go with the set up so there would be cross cultural reference. I wanted it to appear as if it was a traditional meal. In the collection of my props, I had to go to an Indian wholesaler whose business provided crockery and ornaments for local Indian restaurants.I had to get the fabrics just right and so, for the Indian-style scene, I chose to use traditional orange and blue sequinned fabrics. I even located a genuine Indian elephant wooden statue. Most of the time for the shoot was taken up on setting up the scene and arranging the food in an appetizing manner as this was essential for the success of the shoot. For my carpenter shoot, I had to find a suitable location to portray the right environment and I had to gather up costumes and equipment to go with the scene in order to present a realistic view of the character in his workplace. Overall, I felt the location and the props worked in collaboration with each other to create a true living environment where the audience could use their own inferences to draw conclusions regarding the storyline behind each of the photos. For each of my shoots, I thought very precisely beforehand regardingf the conceptual ideas and approaches and how I was going to represent my subjects within the frame. Studio light specifically can emphasize mood and connotations of iconography.This was especially important in my carpenter shoot as I wanted to put across to the audience the connotations of dominance, strength and masculinity. Also, in the use of lighting I wanted to indicate the subject's God-like status and create biblical references by using lighting to produce a halo effect as Jesus himself was a carpenter by trade. I looked into various other photographers who shot workers in their workplaces - for example David Bailey's "Havana" book and Walker Evans work on the FSA , especially "The Sharecropper." These works by these two famous photographers gave me inspiration on how to compose the shots I attempted. I wanted my shoots to be both aesthetically pleasing and also conceptually relevant. I also appled this technique to my fashion shoot as I wanted it to be eyecatching and also meaningful and instructive. I tried to recreate a story behind my images and gave detailed representations of the characters in order to make them come alive for the audience. The aims and goals that I set out for my photographs are not just attractive but they also do reprtesent several whole lifestyles with implicit storylines.I am very happy regarding the outcomes of the final images due to the way in which they were lit. Also, I learnt a great deal regarding how light reacts to a photograph whether it is on digital or film and learnt still more technical ways to achieve problem-solving devices.I feel that I had worked collaboratively with my group and found this very useful to solve problems faster and more efficiently. I did not just focus on one area of photography. concentrated on various different aspects of photography - for example fashion, portrait, product and sports photography and I learnt how various different types of lighting set ups help to emphasize and promote meaning amnd understanding foir the audience.
bibliography

the world's top Photographers
and the stories behind their greatest Images
Portraits
by Fergus Greer

Cruel and Tender
the real in the twentieth-century Photograph
Edited by emma Deter

Bill brandt
Photographs 1928-1983
Edited by Ian jeffrey

Final Images

The Group Flyer

sp 250 f22 flash 45 at 1-1
my inspiration for this photograph came from sally samaes as she chouese to do portaits in low key lighting, where the face and body are coming out of the darkenss.

o
by Sally soames

tony 1997 by Sally soames

Samosas shoot

Here are the photos from the samosas shoot
Before the shoot I had to gather up all the items required including dishes and vases from the wholesale suppliers for local Indian restaurants and the food itself from the local take away.
The actual set up for the shoot took about one hour to organize due to the large number of props
I used the small infinity cone and a black backdrop to create a warm, atmospheric dark scene
My chief inspiration for the shoot came from Marks and Spencer's advertisements and also this opulent photograph of fruits by Ira Khan.
I tried to emulate this photograph by using a similar method of lighting
Flat lighting lit from the top with a fill in light at 90 degrees to the object

"hollar+reimers" by Ira Kakn

Lighting set up
Key light snoot lit from above the subject set at F 5.5
To create a spotlight effect to highlight the samosas which are the subject of this photo
My fill in flash was at 90 degrees to camera
Camera specks 250 shutter speed to make the background fall in to darkess due to the fast shutter speed using between F16 and 22 to create a large depth of field and show the samosas in detail. This helped to make the samosas appear crisp and fresh



In this photograph I wished to represent a whole life style to the purchasing public as they are buying samosas which have been handmade in the traditional way and this is what the photograph is intended to denote.
With spices in an ornate Oriental box flowing out onto rolling exotic sequinned fabrics covering the table on whivch everything is displayed.
Camera Specks F22 250 To let the background fall into darkness
An 18mm lens to create a wide angled shot of the samosas and the spices

The top photo is probably the best one for the Company to use for their purposes - i.e. selling samosas as it clearly shows the products.

Research into locational lighting set ups

In this video shown above, we can see how Alex Ivan has set up the wireless flashes in a way to create the dramatic image below and, as well as this, we can see the lighting conditions and maybe estimate the F Stop settings.
He placed the backlight fill in flash Mets at the top of the steps to create the highlights on the back of the skateboarder and for his key light placed a studio bulb flash in front of the skateboarder.
This photograph was taken on a Medium Format Haselblad camera 30 mm

In this video, we can see how Sam Ashley has set up the flash. Key flash sideways on to the steps
An intense bulb flash quite far away
Fill in flash 45 degrees to the steps to create this very dramatic image
What is very impressive about this shot is that he has chosen an extremely low angled shot which has incorporated the entire skyscape as fish eye is extremely useful in taking panoramic shots. As the sky is so far away, with fish eye, distortion is minimal.
on a Hasselblad 205tcc

As we can see from this video, Sam Ashley has placed fill in flash directly behind the hump , thus eliminating any flash flares
on a Hasselblad 205tcc

In this photograph, we can see how Sam Ashley has set up two wireless flashes using key flash and a fill in flash to create very dramatic lighting as opposed to the natural light that we can see in the video.

He has placed his key light at 45 degrees to the camera as we can see from the shadow which is evident in the video. He has placed his fill in flash at 90 degrees towards the camera , thus producing backlight on the skate board and the subject.
I e mailed Sam Ashley to ask him about his method of taking this photograph and he replied to me, telling me that he had used a Medium Format film Hasselblad 205tcc with 30m fisheye

Shots of the environment in the workshop.

Carpenter Shoot

for research for my carpenter shoot i looked into how, through the medum of photography, people are reresented and portrain their workplace throughout the 20th century, looking at david baily bill brand's friedlander's work in the 1980 focusing on walker evans work depicting workers in the mid of the Depression.


by BILL BRANDT
in bill brandt's investigation into social depredation in 1930's england, his series of photographs
portraying the working class in thier homes and work places, i notice throughout the series he did not just take standard studio portraits, he tookthe documentary approach of photographing them them in their environments to reprent the characters. for Example in the northumbrian miner at his evening meal, 1937, we can see this concept at work this approach is echoed in divid bailey's bailey's havana book,as we can see the shopkeeper's environment and his personality in how the shop is set out in clumsey and messy way. his body lamguage is open and friendly and the camera is positioned at eye -level

david baily

by
by david baily

james "son" thomas



in this series of photographs by lee friedlander,he has not photographs by lee friedlander,he has not taken classic portraits, where the subject is in eye-contact with the audience he has taken a more instant moment shot, where it appers that the photographer is not even there to create a more truthful image.




For this shoot, I chose to use the Ellam studio lights as this would allow me to use a high aperture due to the higher watts output than the Ranger kit
For this shoot, I tried various different types of lighting to create different moods and atmospheres, placing flashes behind the subjects to create back light and key focal points for the audience using up to two studio kits and two metz flashes that produced higher output light than the normal flash gun.
In this series of photographs, I intended to represent the carpenter as a very dominant masculine figure. In order to introduce Biblical connotations, I created a halo of lighting around the carpenter's head just as Jesus the Nazarene carpenter is portrayed in Biblical illustrations.


The Holy Grail Chalice




here is the light set up for these photos




I chose to use this photo as one of my final prints as I believe this clearly demonstrates the character of the carpenter and the connotations of his role
As we can see, his tools are laid out in front of him, demonstrating his craft and the carpenter is elevated above the audience thus empowering him. The lighting further helps to emphasize all the connotations I have mentioned as the halo effect is produced by the method of lighting which gives the character a God-like appearance.
Lighting Set up
Key light 90 degrees to the camera set at F4.5 Backlight set at F6 Due to it being extremely high
F stop this helped to create an over-exposed halo effect behind the character
Shutter speed 250 to create high contrasting shadows as the light is not given time to diffuse
F22 to create the intense level of detail and greater depth of field as I wanted to focus on the subject and his tools and the room itself

here you can see one of my light set ups key light f5.4 metzs 1-2 fill in light



To create this shot I used two lights - one a back light that was my key light at 180 degrees towards the camera set at F.6 to create over-exposed edges around the silhouette. The fill in flash is set at F.4

Here is another one of my final prints. I set up the lighting to produce a very atmospheric mood as the lighting comes from behind the subject and to his side a fill in flash
I feel that the expression on the carpenter's face helps to anchor the story and gives more meaning to this than to other photographs.
I feel that the low anglke helps to emphasize connotations of the representation of the character as a dominant patriarchal figure.


Here are some examples of some medium format photographs that I took on Mimaya RB67
on HP5.
This medium format camera enabled me to take more detailed photographs than would a standard digital camera. I was not able to place the wireless transmitter on the camera and this created less light but I feel that maybe it did not cause massive lighting problems.

In this photograph, I feel I have created a very inviting portrait to introduce the audience to the carpenter's workshop and his world.The fish eye helps to create a very open feel as the photograph appears to literally come out towards the audience inviting them to enter into the environment portrayed. Also, the fish eye helps to create an olde worlde lifestyle as the beams on the desk are made to appear as though they have become curved and twisted with extreme age.
The props on the table help to create a dramatic stage and conjures up the story within the photograph as we see the axe standing chopping into the wood, the chisel on the table and the haphazard arrangement of all the other tools awaiting their being put to use .
The composition of this photograph was a key factor as I wanted the subject to be positioned in the centre directly behind the beams creating a cross and the halo behind this suggesting the Biblical history of carpentry
With one side highlighted and the other in darkness, an atmospheric mood is created in the photograph
In editing, I chose to create very pictorialist colour tones, a pale, dusty, ancient palate with many touches of sepia coming through so that the photograph looks like an ageing painting
Camera Specks
Shutter speed 250 F Stop 22 to create the intense detail and depth of field. As you can see, the sawdust on the shoulders, the dust on the hat and the dirt on the hands.
D30 10mm fish eye equivalent to 17 in full frame