22.11.14 (Week 15)
Jasmine Yeoh, (0321190)
Introduction to Photography
Introduction to Photography
Studio Lighting
Lecture:
There was no lecture this week but we laid out all the printed out studio portrait pictures and examined them. We then went on to learn about lighting with softboxes beauty lights.
Pictures from the session:
Reflection:
While we were looking at the developed and printed pictures, I learned quite a few things on what to do and what not to do that might help me for when I go to print my final theme based pictures. Don't over edit your pictures because it will be very obvious and unnatural. Being asian, and if the subject's eyes are completely dark, they might look lifeless. To avoid this "catchlight" may be used. It is when the the the reflection of the lighting can be seen in their pupil.
As for the lighting exercise, the class tried using the softbox lights to create a rim lighting effect. It was extremely difficult to get the lighting on each side of the face to be equal because the position of the lights have to be equal so we had to keep adjusting them and then taking a picture to check how it looks like as well as take the reading from light meter. I had to hold the light meter at the exact spot every time because if it I moved even just a bit the reading would be different, therefore making it an inaccurate reading.
I observed that a softbox lighting gives a more even and soft lighting effect compared to the main light that we used during the previous classes. I noticed that the main light is used to create more shadows. i also learnt that flash lights emit can emit more light compare to main lights because it is using power for only a flash, therefore more power can be used to make the light source brighter.
Theme Based Project
Theme: Lines
"The Parallel Universe"
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Rationale
“The
Parallel Universe”
About the Photographer
Jasmine
Yeoh (born 2nd April 1998) is a student at Taylor’s University
Lakeside Campus who is currently studying Foundation in Design. When I was put
in the position of picking an elective for this course, between the two
options, “Photography” was the obvious choice for me. I was automatically drawn
towards this subject. To me, it was like painting a picture and creating a
piece of art but instead of using paints and pencils, you have a camera and
your surroundings. I was eager to learn how to use a DSLR camera because for
years I’d always watched my sister use her camera to produce beautiful
pictures. She would let me have a go every once in a while but I’d always use
the auto settings so it was interesting to learn how to adjust the settings
manually.
About the Photographs
My
series of pictures have the theme of “lines”. I titled it “The Parallel
Universe” as a play of words since all of my pictures have an emphasis on
parallel lines. All of the pictures were
actually taken on the Taylor’s University Campus but it is almost
unrecognisable. I went around the campus to try to look for the hidden pieces
of art that I usually walk past everyday and this project allowed me to look at
the campus in a completely different way. I saw everything as an art piece. I
framed the picture at specific angles to convert the ordinary into repetitive
patterns, and geometric shapes.
When
taking the photos, the settings for my camera varied for each picture because they
were in different lighting scenarios. The first picture was taken in the
basement car park, where the lighting was rather dim so I set the ISO at
ISO1600 which unfortunately pixelates the picture slightly. The second picture
was taken as the sun was setting and the natural light was fading but the
artificial light gleaming at the top corner of the picture adds more tonal
value. The third and forth picture were taken with significantly more natural
light available than the other pictures in the series which gives a totally
different vibe in comparison with them. The rest of the pictures also have a
deeper depth of field while picture 3 and 4 have a shallower depth or field.
For these pictures, I wanted to create three dimensions instead of it just being
flat and two-dimensional. Therefore, the geometric structure of picture 3 almost
looks as if it is an optical illusion and the stripes of picture 4 look as if
they are going further away from you. The fifth picture is contrasting in two
senses of the word. There is high contrast between the line and the dark floor,
and it is the most simplistic of the series with the single line and dot, which
creates variety in the series. The last picture features elements from the
other pictures in the series, with the repetitive lines like picture 4, the
single line from picture 5 and the corner of the picture that is similar to
picture 2. Therefore, I think that it is an appropriate picture to wrap up and
tie together the entire series. While editing the photos, the cropping and
straightening tool played a prominent role in helping me achieve the look I envisioned.
That, and I tried to follow the Rule of Thirds very closely to give a very
clean-cut finish to the pictures.
In
summation, I definitely do not regret taking this subject as an elective as it
has taught me so much and has turned love for photography from a small spark to
a burning fire.
