Exercise 4: Lighting

After the project submission we did another exercise about lighting. We are asked to look for photos taken in a studio within 1940-1950 on the internet. We then need to choose one photo that has been approved by Mr. Vinod and replicate the shot in terms of lighting, hair, makeup, outfit, and so on. We were given a week to prepare for the photo shoot. On the day of the photo shoot, Mr Vinod gave a  short lecture about lighting, followed by a short session on how to use the studio in the correct way. After that he did a demonstration using me as the model to show others how to position the lights and direct the photo shoot. We then took over and directed the shots after that. I find this exercise really interesting. I also learnt that it takes so much effort and time just to take a good studio shot.

Rationale

My Rationale. 

‘The Modern Violinist’

I chose ‘The Modern Violinist’ as my subject for this photography assignment.  I initially have a thought on having a typical violinist dressed in a white dress playing the violin in a park or locations with nature in it. Later on, I changed my mind and decided to do something different instead. I thought of having a violinist closely related to the present. My concept for this photo shoot is to have a violinist taking her violin around the streets. The mood of the photos will be dark, lonely, and gloomy. I wanted to make the subject closely related to teenager’s problems such as depression, lack of attention span, stress and so on. Some teenagers or young adults use abusive ways like drugs, alcohols, and many more ways to give them temporary pleasure and forget about the issues they are facing. For this photo shoot I used the violin as a substitute to represent the abusive materials. For a violinist, playing the violin can ease all worries in the mind, just like a teenager using abusive materials to ignore their difficulties. My good friend agreed to be my model and we took the first few shots for tutorial. I showed the photos to my lecturer Mr Vinod, he said the subject was acceptable but the model needs to change her outfit and the location of the photo shoot is not suitable. We went to a place nearby with beautiful graffiti walls the following week. We also did the photo shoot in a park with a lovely wall and a stunning dome. The photo shoot was done in the late afternoons so that the pictures would look gloomier and darker. We went back to the same locations after each week’s tutorial until I manage to select my final 5.  

Project: Part three (finals)

After a few more tutorials with Mr. Vinod, I finally manage to select 5 best photos as my finals.

So, here are the finals! :

Project: Part two

I picked an outfit which is a black dress from my model's wardrobe and asked her to put on some high heels. I came across this very nice graffiti wall in SS15 a few days before the photo shoot and decided to locate the shoot there. Though the weather was pretty uncomfortable and the fact that I am a little paranoid about our safety shooting in the quiet alley, thank God we manage to go through it safe and unharmed. 

These were some of the photos I showed Mr. Vinod for the tutorial:

Mr. Vinod said the photos could be better if there weren't 'distractions' in the photos such as houses, lamps, cars, and other aspects. I agreed with his comments and tried again. 

Project: Part one

For my final assignment we had to choose a subject of interest, I my case I chose 'The Modern Violinist', and capture a series of 5 pictures and print them. We then have to edit them using Adobe Photoshop and print them as full frame pictures with a white border around the image and Size 8×10” Matt.

My friend Ke Li agreed to become my model and I used my violin for the photo shoot.

For my first tutorial I showed my lecturer (Mr. Vinod) these few pictures that I took:

He said that the subject is acceptable but I have to change the location and the model's outfit. I was glad he agreed to the subject and started planning my next photo shoot after the tutorial. 

Exercise 3(b): An Ansel Adams like exposure

This exercise requires us to take a photo with an Ansel Adams like exposure (with all the 9 zones). 

Here is the photo that I took: 

Exercise 3(a) : Highlights, Middle Tones, and Shadows

For this exercise, we were asked to take photos of 3 subjects which were light, middle and dark tones. The same subject has to be photographed twice. With one right exposure determined by the camera and one right exposure determined by me.

These are the photos I took:

Exercise 3: The Zone System and The Rule of Thirds

For this exercise, I learnt about the Zone System and the Rule of Thirds.

The Zone System's goal is to expose film/ccd for optimum image quality. Tones in scenes and prints are divided into 9 zones numbered from 1 to 9, from dark to light. Zone 5 is the middle gray.

Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist best known for his black-and-white landscape photographs.  He developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulting clarity and depth characterized his photographs and the work of those to whom he taught the system. Adams primarily used large-format cameras despite their size, weight, setup time, and film cost, because their high resolution helped ensure sharpness in his images.

Source: wikipedia

Ansel Adams

Here are some of his amazing works:

Exercise 2: Exposure Exercises

Exercise 2(a)
For this exercise, the shutter speed and ISO is maintained, but the aperture is changed for every picture.

f4.5     1/800     ISO200

f.5.6     1/800     ISO200

f8.0     1/800     ISO200

f11     1/800     ISO200

f16     1/800     ISO200

f22     1/800      ISO200

Exercise 2(b)
For this exercise, the aperture and the shutter speed is changed to the right exposure, however the ISO is maintained.

f4.5     1/640     ISO200

f5.6     1/400     ISO200

f8.0     1/200     ISO200

f11     1/100     ISO200

f16     1/50     ISO200

f22     1/25     ISO200

Exercise 2(c)
For this exercise, the aperture is maintained. The shutter speed and ISO is changed to the right exposure.

f4.5     1/15     ISO200

f4.5     1/30     ISO400

f4.5     1/50     ISO800

f4.5     1/100     ISO1600

f4.5     1/200     ISO3200

Exercise 2(d)
For this exercise, the aperture and shutter speed is maintained but the ISO is changed.

f4.5     1/13     ISO200

f4.5     1/13     ISO400

f4.5     1/13     ISO800

f4.5     1/13     ISO1600

Exercise 2(e)

For this shutter speed exercise, the shutter speed is changed from 1/1000 to 1" for three different fan speeds. Aperture and ISO are adjusted accordingly to the right exposure.