Jamie Shaw

Photography Student

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Structure - Risk Assessment

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Live-

For my live brief, I incorporated the work I did as part of my ‘#catch’ project. For ‘#catch’ I took photos of the motor racing at Knockhill Racecourse during a Mini anniversary event. 

In order to have those images tie in with my ‘#Live’ brief, I got in touch with the people at Knockhill’s media team. I dropped them an email explaining that I was a college student, and asked them if they would be interested in using the images I took for on their social media page (Instagram).

Below is their response-

Complying with the email, I sent them 8 edited images from the day of shooting. I had to wait a few hours until I was home to edit and then sent the images, and I also had to compress the images a bit to allow them to be sent via email.

Knockhill ended up posting my images along with a few other spectators images from that day on their Twitter feed, and I received a response saying thank you for the photographs.

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Peace

What is PEACE? -

The peace unit is a photographic task that has been given to us with the purpose of exploring and displaying what the word ‘peace’ means to an individual. The idea is to portray emotion and personal beliefs through a photo, and to analyse the thought process behind that image in a workbook. We have been given this brief at the time of the 100th centenary of WW1, so our work should tie in with that and reflect the idea of peace that is associated with the end of this conflict.

The following post will show the possesses that went into getting my final image. That process includes things such as-

 Initial idea generation

Researching possible ideas further, and discussing in detail how that could be transferred to image

 Looking into the logistics of shooting an object in the studio in such a way that it has an impactful message behind it.

Planning out a lighting layout to accompany the decided upon object.

Getting the necessary equipment booked for this shoot (i.e. Tripod, Lenses, Gels, Lighting)

Gathering object(s) to bring into the studio

 Idea Generation-

Home- Comforts, Food, Bed, Family, Rest, Pillow, Post (piles of unopened letters)

Travel- Travelling home, Path, Boat, Camping

Quiet- Tranquil, Calm, Books, Fairy lights, Candle, Feather,

Clothes- Laying down the uniform, Pair of boots (dirty or clean?), Medals (final reward)

Nature- Green, Water, Plants, Flower (poppy), forest, Bodies of water (river / ocean)

Day/Night- Morning quiet, Animals waking, Mist / fog, Streetlights,

 Idea Development-

·         Post (piles of unopened letters)-

My thinking behind this idea was the idea of soldiers coming home to piles of unopened letters that have been delivered to their house while they were oversees. I would decide upon the colour of my background once I’ve gotten the letters to use as props. If the envelopes are white I’d go for a dark background to create contrast, and vice versa with darker coloured envelopes.

Something to add to this idea would be to have the background act as a wall of script, symbolising the words held within the letters. I would probably get someone with neat hand writing to just write fluff over an A3 piece of paper, of print of scanned images of existing war letters.

I would use a shallow depth of field to have the subject in focus but with the background soft. This would allow the user to notice that there’s writing, but not giving them enough detail to be able to read it.

  ·         Camping-

Camping can be seen as both a hobby and a practical thing. During WW1, soldiers were effectively camping out in battlefields; their living conditions were temporary and minimal. Because of camping’s link with both war, and being a hobby, I think it’ll tie in well with this brief.

To incorporate camping into a photoshoot I can capture in the studio, I could photograph a camping stove. I have an old style ‘meth’ stove at home which is the same type that would’ve been used by soldiers during this period.                 Photographing a stove is ideal as its going to be easier to work with indoors compared to a tent or something like that.

I wouldn’t be actually lighting the stove in the college’s studio. Instead I’ll use lights with gels on them to create a coloured glow similar to a flame.

 ·         Books-

Similar to my previous idea with the letters, I would pile up a few books to create the impression of a relaxing read. It was actually with this idea that I originally thought to have the background be a wall of script, but a now feel that that better suits the letters. Just because it works well with letters in the foreground, doesn’t mean I’m ruling it out as the background for books either. I believe it will work strongly as a concept for various subjects. The books would most likely be positioned with their spines facing away from the camera; that way they can stay anonymous. The idea isn’t to emphasis a certain book or genre, it is purely to portray the idea of peace and relaxation.

 ·         Poppy-

The recognised symbol of the first world war, the poppy is seen as a way of marking the end of the war and to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives. To shoot a poppy in the studio, I’ll just have the one flower for my subject. I’ll have a low key lighting setup along with either a white or black background.

I’m also considering implementing fog or mist into this image. I’d do this by creating steam, or by lighting an incense stick.

  Final Idea-

After going through my initial ideas, and analysing my favourite ideas individually, I have decided upon my final object to base this unit around. I’m going with the idea of camping, and will plan and produce a photoshoot which will tie in with that idea. As I mentioned above, I have an old camping stove that should be a good subject for my photoshoot.

Since this unit’s brief requires the final image to be taken in a studio environment, I need to try and find a way to portray this piece of outdoors equipment with only an artificial environment. To do this, I plan on shooting against a low-key background, and using subtle lighting to illuminate the stove.

I also want to use a coloured gel in my image to signify the heat coming from the stove. I’ll most likely use a red gel and have it positioned either onto the stove, or have the red light be around the stove. I’ll decide this in my photoshoot plan.

  Photoshoot Plan-

For my studio shoot, I plan on using low key lighting combined with a black backdrop and foreground. I want to apply a red coloured gel light so that it creates a slight glow effect around the base of the stove. I’ll also use a softbox that shines onto the stove from the front. This should illuminate the bronze material that the stove is made from nicely.

You can see in the diagram below, I’m wanting to use a large black backdrop and then have the stove sitting on a smaller black area. My reasoning behind this is so that I can have the foreground and background be one continuous tone. I want the stove and the area it’s sitting on to be raised so that I can have the red gel light source pointing up at it from behind. 

 Equipment-

·         Nikon D5300

·         Nikkor 50mm

·         Nikkor 18 – 140mm

·         ‘FOBA’ camera stand

·         Studio Lights (x2)

·         Coloured Gel (red)

·         Black Backdrop

·         Black Foreground card

·         Flash sync cable + hot shoe 

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Structure Evaluation-

Below is my final canvas for my structure project. All five of the images shown below were taken at the City of Glasgow College.

Each image presented its own challenge, and I used a few different techniques in order to capture the shot I wanted. I’ll list through each image on the canvas starting from the top left.

Left: Exterior (controlled perspective)

This image was taken with a telephoto lens at 34mm. I used a telephoto lens and stood as far away from the building as possible, I had to position myself so close to the building here that I took multiple images capturing different heights and merged them together in Adobe Photoshop. The photo merging tool in photoshop applies some of its own distortion correction, but I had to manually sort out the converging lines create from shooting at such a steep angle.

Top left: Interior 1

Taken at a focal length of 38mm, I framed up the camera here to show only a select area of the buildings interior. I also purposely had the bottom third of the frame be darker, in order to draw the viewers eye up through the image. I chose to shoot this angle because of the mix of different materials and textures. The bright light from outside came in through the glass roof, creating this look where the top of the frame is lighter fading gradually to the darker lit area.

Top middle: Exterior obscure perspective

Possible my favourite image that I captured as part of this unit, This photograph was taken from the side of the college looking right along the front towards the revolving doors. I had to stand here poised to shoot for about 10 minutes, as people kept walking through the shot or standing in the way while they smoked.

Top right: Interior 2

Like my other interior shot, this one was also taken in the College atrium. This time however I positioned myself so I could have the camera pointing flat on to an area. With my lens at 60mm, I got an image that looks close to how the scene looks in real life. The tops and bottom of the frames were purposely framed to act as empty space, so that the viewer focuses on the over-hanging corner.

Bottom: Exterior complete structure (controlled perspective)

While trying to capture a wide angle image of the college campus, I had to deploy a few tricks in order to get a suitable photo. The main challenge was trying to fit everything into the frame. I was able to just get the entire building in frame, but by doing so I ended up with trees and lamppost disrupting the shot. Instead of this, I opted to produce a photomerge out of multiple images stitched together. Doing a photomerge allowed me to stand closer to the building and gave me more freedom with where I could stand to avoid lampposts and such.

The issue with creating a photomerge of such a large structure from such a close perspective, is that when the images are stitched together there is a lot of distortion. I had to manually sort out this distortion in Adobe Photoshop, and it took be quite a few times before I got it looking perfect.

The image shown in the canvas below is was captured during a reshoot I did for this project. I had to re-do this image because my previous shot didn't have sunlight hitting the front face of the building. This was an issue as the brief requires that I take into account the position sunlight is coming from while shooting. I went back and replicated my last image, but this time waited until a bit later in the day to ensure the sun was going to be lighting the front face. 

Comparing my new improved canvas with my previous one, it does definitely look better now.

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Illuminate Evaluation-

After having to reshoot my Illuminate project, I am happy with the final image I produced. My original shot was a large scale landscape which I lit using a hand held LED panel. Although my idea did work and I liked the way the shot turned out, the very long exposure which were required for it mean that there was a lot of digital noise in the image which just wasn't removable. 

From my first attempt, I learnt the value of multiple short exposures rather than only a few very long exposures. It also made me re-evaluate what I wanted from this brief, which is why the image below is a totally different subject to my original idea.

The image below is what I produced the second time round. I planned this photoshoot out so that I was using much shorter exposures, and also chose a subject that was going to be easier to manage compared to my first shoot. 

I used a hand held torch to illuminate all of this subject, as that gave me more precise control over where was lit. Having the camera on a tripod, I could shoot multiple images where only a portion of the subject was lit, and merge the images on top of each other in Photoshop. I ended up using 7 images in total to produce the image shown below. 

I lit each side of the chimenea individually, and did the top and bottom portions individually. I then focused on the centre grill, and then also ran the light down the centre of the chimney to give it more even lighting once everything got merged together. My Ideas about lighting separate parts payed off, as it was fairly easy to merge in Adobe Photoshop, and came out looking as I expected.

I’ve really built on my ability to visualise a light painting image as its being taken, and have a sense of what a final edited image might look like with adjustments made when shooting. This ability has been gained from my experience shooting these kinds of images for a long while, and also by planning out what I can adjust before going out to shoot. 

Planning out the shoot means knowing the location and understanding any challenges that I’ll face when trying to achieve my shot.

The main challenge I had when doing this photoshoot was having to shoot at ‘twilight’. Shooting at just the right time is vital for a good light painting image.

The challenge however was having to go out and shoot so late at night to get the blur nights sky. Because this was a reshoot, it wasn't done at a time of year I'd prefer (like my first attempt), but was instead done pretty much at the time of year with the most daylight

Other than having to shoot late at night, I had a good time completing this shoot and I’m glad it turned out better than my first attempt.

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Structure - Distortion control research

Distortion is something that should always be addressed when shooting architectural photography. In some instances it can be used purposely to exaggerate the scale or shape of a structure; but in the majority of instances a photographer would aim to naturalise any distortion and/or perspective warp that occurs in an image.

The reason for wanting to get rid of distortion in architectural images, is to ensure that a photograph is showing the most accurate interpretation of how a building appears. The goal of producing an accurate image is to show a structure as closely to how the architect intended. 

Distortion is usually the term used to refer to effects caused by the camera itself. Things like ‘barrel distortion’ caused by the cameras lens, and refer to the way a the edges of a frame can appear to bend inwards. This is something that is extremely apparent on wide-angle lenses, and is what creates the signature look of fish-eye lenses.

Perspective isn't something that is different in-camera compared to real life, but is instead the actual way that humans interoperate distance. A good example of this is if you were to stand right at the bottom of a high-rise building, and look up at it. You’ll notice that it gets narrower as it goes higher. This isn't actually what the building looks like, but is due to your perspective.

Methods to control distortion:

Use the narrowest possible lens, rather than a wide angle lens

Using a more zoomed in lens, take multiple overlapping images of the structure. These can then be stitched together in editing software

Zoom out from your subject so that its placed in the centre of your frame, where the least distortion occurs

Using editing software such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, and apply the required warp adjustments.

Methods to control perspective:

Move further away from the subject, in order to reduce the appearance of distance

Position the camera at the centre of the building being photographed, as shown in the first image I analysed.

Using a ‘tilt shift’ lens will allow you to alter the way that vertices converge. This means you can have straight lines appear straight in camera, even if that not how it looks to the naked eye.

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Structure - Research

Below are five images of architectural photography that I’ve researched. In my analysis I will talk about what techniques these photographers have used, and how I could use these techniques in my own photography.

Alan McAteer:

Alan McAteer is a British photographer who is based in the West coast of Scotland. He is the founder of ‘McAteer Photography’, and the principle photographer of his company. He and his team of four focus on Architectural photography, but they also do portraiture, event and product photography. 

I chose this image off of their website because of the way lens distortion has been corrected. Normally with an image as wide as this, the edges of the frame would bend due to the optics of the lens. In this image however, McAteer has used post-production editing to correct any distortion. 

The image has also been done in such a way that the vertical and horizontal lines of the building are all straight. The fact that the camera is positioned at the centre of the building helps with this, but the biggest factor that has done this is editing to the digital file. It is even likely that multiple images were taken from the one viewpoint, which were then merged together.

This image of the Glasgow Science Centre takes into consideration the straight edges of the structures being photographed. The stand out element in the frame where ‘converging vertices’ have been considered is the Glasgow Tower, as it runs through the frame in a completely straight line. This is something that wouldn't happen naturally if shooting using a wide angle lens.

Something else to note about this Imagen is the depth of field, and how extended it is. The photographer has purposely used a narrow aperture so that both the Science Centre building is sharp along the entirety of the frame.

Graham Holland:

From North London, Holland is a photographer who mainly does interior architecture shoots for commercial clients. Some of his clients include Spar, Mecca Mingo and Honda. With over 18 years of experience in photography, Holland has travelled to many countries through out Europe and the Middle East. When in the UK, he mainly works in East England.

This shot of a Mecca Bingo hall uses a wide angle lens in order to present the interior of this building. Similar to the previous images, you can see that the vertical lines running through the frame are all straight. This leads me to believe that editing has been done to this image. Holland has said on his blog that he used a long exposure time in order to help him capture this image, because of the somewhat dim lighting. 

Another interior shot from Graham Holland, this one is of a house that was going up for sale. Holland has positioned the camera into in what appears to be the corner of the room; this allows him to get as much of the room into the picture as possible. A wider angle lens has been used, but not so wide that it makes the foreground look out of proportion.

The lighting in this image looks to be solely ambient, but you can notice that the room lights are on. The room lights probably don't add much extra light into the scene, and could very well be turned on solely to add a bit of extra detail.

Rick Fath-

Rick (AKA quizmo_penguino) is a Dutch photographer who now lives in San Francisco. Rick Fath is somebody that I’ve been following on social media site Instagram for many years now. His constant uploads and consistent uploads have allowed him to travel the world taking architectural images. Always showing the more interesting sides of buildings, Fath will either choose to photograph a unique structure, or will take an obscure image that becomes more interesting. 

This image I have chosen from Rick Fath’s Instagram feed, showcases some of what I mentioned above. He has intentionally cropped in his image to have the edges of the building perfectly inline with the edges of the frame. The clear blue sky in the background also helps the building to stick out and contrast against it. The large scale, yet minimal aesthetic of this shot works extremely well, and makes it one of my favourite images that I found while researching for this brief.

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Illuminate - Noise research

Noise occurs in both film and digital photography. In film it is caused by the size of the photo-sensitive crystals in the negatives. In digital photography, noise is created when the cameras sensor heats up.

A cameras sensor heats up more the longer it is in use. This means that continuous shooting and long exposure photography are most likely to cause noise. 

Methods to reduce noise;

Reducing ISO to it lowest possible setting

Widen the lenses aperture to allow more light in

Use a camera with a larger sensor, to allow more light into the camera in a shorter space of time

Shoot multiple shorter exposures, to then be merged together in editing software

Shoot in RAW format to allow better editing options

Apply noise reduction pre-sets to the RAW image in Adobe Lightroom

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Illuminate - Research

Below are five images that I’ve researched in which the photographer has controlled artificial light to show a scene taken in low light. 

Tim Simmons:

Tim Simmons is a UK based photographer who works from Norfolk. His work revolves around using artificial light to produce photographs where the viewer interoperates a landscape differently than how they would if it were lit from conventional ambient light.

In this image, Simmons has chosen to make the pool of water the main focus in the frame. He’s positioned in in the centre of the frame, and then used his light source in such a way that I looks like the light is coming from the water. They've also made sure to keep the light source low, down when its been shining into the water; ensuring that the highlights and shadows being cast onto the surrounding rocks continue with the idea that the light source is under the water.

Here the photographer has chosen a location where there is a city in the background, and because of this they've chosen to shoot with the sky completely dark rather than at twilight. Shooting under complete darkness ensures that the incandescent glow form the city can be seen in the shot, rather than it being overpowered by fading sunlight.

We can see light trails running above the pathway, showing us where the light that is illuminating the structure has originated from. There has however been additional light sources used to illuminate the path where it splits from the centre. There are no light trails here, but the ground is still bright from light being shone onto it.

Reuben Wu-

Born in Liverpool in 1975, Wu is a photographer, director and musician who has worked with clients such as Apple, Audi and Interscope Records. Focusing mainly on creating surreal images, Ruben Wu is someone who I’ve been following for a few years now after discovering there work for Interscope. I follow him on Instagram, and knew that his images would tie in well with the requirements of my ‘illuminate’ brief. Below are a few of his images from his series titled ‘LUX NOCTIS’.

It’s hard to get a sense of the scale of the landscape in this photograph, but here Reuben has captured a huge rock formation. Using a drone, they have been able to apply artificial light to a subject that would've otherwise been extremely difficult. It is likely that he has layered multiple images on top of each other, as this would make it easier to create a final image that is guaranteed to show the stars in the sky, along with having the rock correctly lit. 

If you zoom in on the night sky you can see that there isn't too much movement in the stars, as they barely have any light trail. This suggests that a relatively short shutter speed, of only a few minutes was used. This is what leads me to believe that multiple images have been layered on top of each other; as I doubt that the rock face was lit by a drone in such a short space of time.

Another image which I found when researching the work of Reuben Wu, was this photograph which is also from his ‘LUX NOCTIS’ series. Here he has continued to use a drone for lighting the landscape, but has also chosen a location with a large body of water in it. Using a long shutter, combined with light painting, has created the effect of the smooth water reflecting the illuminated rock face. 

Something to note about this image is that there are no light trails showing in the reflection of the water; this means that Wu took into consideration what would show up in the water, and made sure that the positioning of his drone didn't create any visible light trails.

The sky in this image is extremely impressive, as the photographer has captured the stars and gotten an orange tint in the sky. Again like I was saying with the last image, Wu has most likely layered multiple images over each other. This way he is able to choose the best features from multiple shots and combine them all.

James Mills-

An English Landscape and woodland photographer, James Mill aims to create images that make people appreciate the beauty of nature. Mills doesn't solely work with artificial light, but the example images I found where he does show great examples of how to incorporate artificial light into a natural location.

Using a seemingly wide angle lens, James Mills has captured an intricate and detailed scene, with trees surrounding the centre of the frame. He has chosen a framing that allows him to shoot through a gap in the trees, and with somewhere where he can stand to spin steel wool.

Although for my brief I will not be photographing light trails, I still chose to analyse this image because the use of light painting on the trees really stood out to me. The way that Mills has chosen to light only the trees leading towards the steal wool, insures that the viewers eye is drawn to the centre of the frame. 

The photographer also chose to shoot at a time of day just before it turns to dark, allowing him to get sky with a blue tint. 

The use of light painting on the tree trunks helps to show the detail in them, and helps the surreal look that the photographer has achieved from the steel wool.

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Cheap - Contact sheet + Evaluation

For my cheap unit, I chose a ‘plumb line’ as the object I was going to photograph. I decided on this as my product, because I thought the shiny metallic surface along with its varying textures, would allow me to experiment with multiple compositions and techniques in the studio. 

As you can see from my contact sheet I started off by photographing to fit the entire subject in the frame. I then decided that focusing on a close up area of the plumb line was the best route forward, as that would show the detail and texture in the metal much better.

Having now decided that a cropped in view was the way forward, I experimented with what areas of my subject would look best. My thinking was that the knurled texture was the most interesting feature to look at close up, but that it would only look good alongside the smooth part of the plumb line. This was so that the viewer could see the contrasting textures found on the product.

After trying out multiple different framings and angles, I then added in some coloured gels to see what effect they would have. The colours ended up looking quite nice on the knurled texture, but after reviewing my images decided to go with a monochrome aesthetic instead. 

I photographed my product by dangling it from a piece of fishing wire. I originally tried using the string that came with the plumb line, but once I decided to go for a cropped in look I switched over to fishing wire.

Because the subject was hanging by wire, it was prone to move and sway. I’ve worked with products hanging from fishing wire on multiple occasions already, so I was able to fasten in such a way that minimised movement; but because I was using a macro lens, and photographing such a close up area of the object, any small movements translate to large movements in camera.

To try and counter the movement. I used a ring light rather that the studio flashes. This meant I could use a faster shutter and not worry about the curtain showing in the image.

Using the ring light also allowed me to experiment with rim lighting, a technique that worked well with the metallic material.

Equipment used-

Nikon D5300

NIKKOR 18 -140 mm (test shots)

NIKKOR 105 mm

SIGMA 70 - 300 mm

Tripod (test shots)

Ring Light

Polyboard (x2)

Portable background bar

Fishing wire

Bulldog clamps

Final Image-

My final image is a monochrome conversion of a shot I took using the 105mm macro lens. This photo has been cropped to a square format, and is rotated to have the subject running diagonally through the frame.

I was experimenting with different crop sizes for my final images, and then thought that I could try rotating the whole image to change the way the object sits on the page. Having the subject run from one corner of the frame to the other helps make the photo stand out. The monochrome subject shot against a black backdrop also helps everything tie in together, and ensures that the viewers focus remains on the textures of the object.

Overall, I am happy with how this image came out, and I had fun working on it. Product photography is definitely something that I enjoy, and working with a budget of £1 was a good way of testing my ability to photograph under certain parameters.

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Cheap

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5 Artisan video examples-

Arty video about drinking coffee in the morning. The use of different locations works well to progress the narrative of the video. The time of day that each scene has been shot at was also considered, as the surroundings get brighter as time goes on..

https://youtu.be/Kam8gN7IKIo

A simplistic video that shows the steps that went into producing a canoe. The main focus of each shot is to clearly show the process being done, and the development in the canoe. Unlike the previous video, there is no narration in this. Instead only music. This, along with the general aesthetic of the video tells the viewer that the emphasis is more on the building process, rather than an arty message.

https://youtu.be/pBeiFVHFRRg

Making of a specialty knife, commissioned for an Antarctic mission. There is no narration or music over the top of this vide. Instead the video focuses solely on the crafting processes. Techniques such as a shallow depth of field are used to ensure that the product is the main focus to the viewer. 

All of the scenes have been planned out to ensure that the camera has a good view of the crafting process. Factors such as framing, and the duration of scenes, are thought through before shooting begins by using a storyboard.

https://youtu.be/DQUxFFON5Lo

Behind he scenes at the New York Times printing house, This video shows what work looks like for the machinist in charge of keeping the printing presses running.

The mix of interview footage with footage of the workers maintaining the machines works well in both progressing the narrative and keeping the film interesting.

https://youtu.be/tGHStfuLdyY

Well polished video showing a mix of interview and driving footage of a Lancia Stratos. The contrast between narration and car footage helps to accentuate the power behind the car.

Subtle music is used in this video, to set the tone during the narration scenes, while maintaining the sound of the cars engine when it is driving.

https://youtu.be/mtZ8Ph7lt3o

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Movie Poster - Research

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Reciprocity Law (and failure)

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Block 1 Portfolio - Evaluation

After producing the images for my block 1 unit (minus catch me if you can), I can now go back and analyse the photos that I handed in.

I will discus the technical aspects behind each image, and what I would do differently next time round if I think there could be any improvements.

Who Am I :

I took these three images on location during a sunny weekday in Gourock. I had already been to the location before hand to suss out how it would be best to frame my shots. This research can be found on elsewhere on my profile where I linked to my Adobe Spark. 

I used both my 50mm lens + my 18-140mm lens. I used the 50mm lens for the two top images, and the telephoto lens for the bottom image. I used my 18-140 lens in the bottom image so that I could better control the field of view. unlike the other two images where the camera was positioned outside the car, for the bottom image I had my camera on a tripod inside my car. This meant that once I had tripod secured, it was down to adjusting my lens to get the perfect framing.

If I was going to shoot this again, there isn't too much that I would do differently. I was very pleased with hoe they came out, and was glad that my previous research helped me out. My only issue was that my car wasn't cleaned beforehand, something that i’d do next time round.

Clean White :

This is the digital half of my ‘Clean White’ unit. I also produced a darkroom print that captures the same subject with the same lighting set up.

We started off this unit by first researching already existing photographers that are known for their clean white portraiture, and analysing some of their images. From that analysis we were to chose one that we could base our photoshoot around. I chose a photo by David Bailey that captured Michael Cane with harsh lighting hitting one side of his face. this image, and my analysis of it can be found linked on my Tumblr.

The main focus of the unit was to try and emulate a chosen image by manipulating the lights in the studio. Below is an image of the studio set up that I used (f.t. Scott Caldow)

I used two inner polyboards to reflect and flag the light hitting my subject, and two outer polyboards to prevent my backlights from shinning onto my subject.

My final image is slightly different when compared to David Baileys original photo, but that's because I decided myself that I wanted to soften the light hitting the right side of my subjects face.

If I was to do this again, there honestly isn't anything different that I would do. I had an understanding of what lighting setup I was going to require before entering the studio, so it was just a case of putting the lights in place and experimenting with the backlight exposures until they were perfect. The only issues that I ran into for this unit were encountered when working with film.

Seeing The Light :

My ‘seeing the light’ canvas is made up of four images. All of these image were lit purely from ambient lighting and the assistance of either a handhelp reflector of flag. 

The main technical challenge of this unit was having to use a reflector in every shot. Although using a reflector can increase the quality of your image by introducing more light to your subject, for this task it was difficult to implement a reflector. The reason that using a reflector for these images was difficult was because we had to shoot at least three of the images with subjects that we didn't know. That meant we had to roam he streets and ask strangers if we could take their photograph.

I used a 50mm lens on my camera, and switched about between different reflectors. The reflector that I used had a gold shiny side and a white translucent side. this allowed me to change between different lighting styles quickly. I also opted to not use a tripod, to allow me to easily move my camera around on the fly.

There were two big issues that I encountered while trying to shoot for this unit. The first was the weather. Because I could only use natural lighting on my subjects, and the use of a reflector was mandatory; direct sunlight was pretty much a necessity.

The other big problem that I had was asking stranger to model for me, and getting knocked back. I ended up learning that asking groups of people was more successful, but even then it was a struggle to get all of the shots that were required.

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Catch me if you can - Research

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Seeing the light - Research

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