Fashion Photography - Lighting (Part II) P2/Q1: Printing/Compositions

Note: All prints are in size 30*40cm, too large for the scanner, so final prints as shown here are only portions of the actual final prints.

Overall, these prints show fashion shots. Some have to do with practical fashion, like muddy boots, and some show how clothing makes people tend to label people, like "jock" and "preppy popped collar." While these show stereotypical clothing of these so called "types" of people, the model is the same for each shot, thus showing that the fashion shouldn't define the person.

Shoes - Print One: "After Apple Picking"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 6/8/10



I started out with these settings, only to result in a print that is too gray as well as too light. But it shows promise, because despite these flaws, you can still see some detail of the mud and texture of the ground.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 8
Time: 6



For the next test strip I closed the aperture to try to create more contrast between the boot and the mid on top. This test strip succeeds more, showing the gravelly ground in the background with pepper like texture, as well as the slick boot in the front. Now the image is more clear, as you can see the clumps of dirt on the front of the boot, especially around the tready part.

Test Strip 3
Aperture: 8
Time: 7



This time I increased the time to try to make the shade of the boot darker, and hence look slicker. This worked better in this print. Or it could be the larger view of the boot that makes it look like a smooth black boot muddied with texturized dirt.

Final Print
Aperture: 8
Time: 7



The final print shows the same characteristics as the test strip, just a larger view. In hindsight I wish that I had moved the paper to the left a bit more to get more of the bench in the image and hence create more balance. Next time.

Shoes - Print 2: "In the End"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 6/8/10/12



The first strip already showed decent contrast, which I think was already a feature of this particular shot due to the slanting light and the textured ground. The shadows provide a nice break from the monotony of the ground. Overall, however, it is too gray.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 12



This test strip provides a slightly larger view of the image, and proves more useful for determining how the image as a whole looks. In this case, okay.

Final Print
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 12



Overall I think that this print turned out alright. It is simple, but the shadows are prominent and the texture of the ground is very precise. I personally like this image because it tells a story of when we went off apple picking.

Shoes: Print 3 - "Gillian's Boot"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 8
Time: 5/6/7



The first test strip came out much too gray. The curvy lines of the pattern on the boot look faded rather than sharp. The lack of variation between the boot and between what appears to be the region beside the boot makes the image look dull.

Test Strip 2 and 3

Aperture: 5.6
Time: 2/3/4

Aperture: 5.6
Filter: 3.5
Time:4/5/6





I opened the aperture and decreased the time for the second test strip, hoping to make the dark regions stronger, and to leave it in the developer longer to achieve this. For the most part, the resulting test strip looked almost identical to the previous test strip, so I knew I had to try something else altogether.

So for test strip 3, I added a filter and kept the aperture at 5.6, hoping to enhance the contrast this way. This showed improvement, for in comparison to those test strips without a filter, the designs on the boot are much more sharp and defined.

Test Strip 4
Aperture: 5.6
Filter: 3.5
Time: 5



This larger test strip shows a larger region with some of the same settings: 5.6 aperture, 5 filter and the chosen time of 5 seconds, as selected by the last test strip. this came out well, as the image is clear, and especially towards the bottom of the boot, although the image begins to get out of focus, there is still contrast between the mud and leaves on the ground.

Final Print
Aperture: 5.6
Filter: 3.5
Time: 5



I tried a full print with these settings, hoping the rest of this image would look alright. I was a little worried that it would turn out to look worse in the areas surrounding the test strips, since they only looked at the areas in focus, and the other bits may not look right. It worked out thought, as the print looks uniformly sharp and contrasted throughout. I think that the settings are right and the contrast is good, though I am not wild about the print as a whole. I think that the composition is not interesting enough and that the pose looks contrived. This is one of my least favorite prints from the project and if I had shot more images of shoes, I probably would've selected a different one.

Clothing - Print 1: "Jock"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 8
Time: 6/8/10/12



This was my first print, and I got a bit lucky with it, as I was pleased with the 8 second portion of my first test strip. Already from the settings in the test strip, there was detail in the wrinkles of the hand and the texture of the ball. The shadows that are the folds of the sleeve are also quite defined, which gives the clothing depth, and I particularly like the contrast of the arm against the richly dark colored body of the jacket.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 8
Time: 8



I did this test strip to see if the contrast carried over to other parts of the image, and how the region to the left of the model, my brother Matthew, looked. I saw that it looked fine, that it is a dark background bordered by a curtain. The dark background was also nice to make Matthew, and particularly the ball in hand, to stand out.

Final Print
Aperture: 8
Time:8



As I said before, this is my favorite print, and I am very pleased with how it came out, both developing-wise as well as composition-wise. It is nice in the large size, as even the t-shirt underneath shows and especially the details that make it obvious that it is my brother, even without seeing his face: the wrinkly hands and the rip in his t-shirt. Though I hope that the print is good besides this fact, I think that I like this one because it is quite personal to me.

Clothing - Print 2: "Preppy Popped Collar"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 11
Time: 4/5/6/7



The first test strip was not exposed for enough time, as the image looks old and faded. The contrast looks promising, in fact in this case, the image looks too bleached out, so I opted to close the aperture to accompany an increase in time in order to make the dark parts more pronounced, partularly the pattern in the tie and the stipes in the shirt.

Test Strip 2

Aperture: 8
Filter: 3.5
Time: 8/10/12



I added a filter to help along the contrast, as the image does not look sharp to begin with. This made the shot more grainy, which I am not really opposed to, and made the range of shades (especially with respect to where the right side of the tie meets the white shirt) much greater. Still, as the time is increased, as seen between the 10 and 12 second segments, this effect is lost as the test strip gets darker, or dark enough.

Test Strip 3
Aperture: 8
Filter: 4.5
Time: 16



I increased the filter, since the 3.5 filter helped, but didn't add dramatically to the quality of the print in comparison to the test strips without a filter. I focused on the tie since the rest looks okay anyways and this region is where I want the priority of contrast to be judged from.

Test Strip 4
Aperture: 8
Filter: 5
Time: 19/20/21



Since the 4.5 filter helped more than the 3.5, I decided to use a very high filter to continue to improve the image. This had a more drastic effect, making the dark areas, especially the neck area, quite dark. I focused on a larger area to see the effect n the rest of the collar area, rather than just the tie,and also to see the coloring of the skin, which is fine.

Final Print
Aperture: 8
Filter: 5
Time: 20



The final print shows good contrast and a nice compostion, showing off the patterns and fabrics of the clothes without showing Matthew's face. I am starting to like these shots that show only a portion of the whole, zoom in on a detail and give it more focus than it probably deserves.

Clothing - Print 3: "Matthew the Model"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 8/9/10



I started with the settings used for some other prints taken in the same lighting, and so the first test strip already showed promise, with contrast easily visible. The pattern in the tie is clear, and the stipes of the shirt nicely visible as well. I especially like that the wrinkles in the shirt have dark shadows, due to the lighting. The face is quite dark, which could be fine since hte purpose of the image is the clothing, but which could also be a non-issue since this side is the dark side of the face due to the lighting anyways.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 5.6
Time:6.5



The second test strip shows a larger portion of the print, showing that the face is indeed visible on one side. The time is decreased, which softens the shirt somewhat. The contrast is very pronounced. Perhaps too much, for the face looks odd, but in this case, I kind of like it since it just makes the patterns all the more noticable.

Final Print


The final print turned out nicely, except for the part of the hair that has a chemically blur. While the pose is a bit too typical, it still makes for a somewhat interesting print.

Accessories - Print 1: "Messing Around"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 8
Time: 6/8/10



This test strip shows that the image is too out of focus. The soft shading, due to not enough exposure time, makes this obvious. I decided the keep going with this one although it may be out of focus becuase the composition was nice.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 6/8/10



I closed the aperture to make the image less bleached out and more uniformly shaded, to make the hat more pronounced. In this case, the nose and lips look better, still out of focus, but tolerably so, like it was done on purpose. The hat is too dark, but that is because the settings at 10 are too dark. Since the face region looks best between 6 and 8 seconds, I decided to try a full print at these settings in hopes that the hat would lighten up and be more detailed.

Test Strip 3
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 7



This print I left in the developer too long, for even though the hat now is in focus and visible, the face is too dark that it just looks awkward.

Final Print
Aperture: 5.6
Time:7



When I didn't leave it in the developer too long, it came out much nicer, as the cheek bones and details in the face are now visible.

Accessories - Print 2: "Margotje and Bea"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 8/10/12



I started with the times that were similar to other prints. This test strip is too dark. While I really like how the earring pops, the rest blends together too much, though I don't think that it is a contrast problem, rather the fact that it was exposed for too long. One other test strip at 6 seconds looked much better, but I didn't include this one since it is the same as the final.

Final Print
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 6



This final print came out really fun. I am not sure that peoples faces are my stong suit, but I think that this one turned out alright, as the eyes look dark in the places the should and the skin tone looks normal, but still shows a level of detail. I also like how fun and unposed this one is, since Bea's in the background, and in the photo by accident, but in a good way.

Accessories - Print 3: "ManBag"

Test Strip 1
Aperture: 5.6
Time: 5/6/7



This print was easy, since I started with the settings that I used for another in the same lighting conditions. Immediately it looked okay, with the darker end the best, around 8 seconds. There is enough detail in the shirt. The only think that is lacking is detail or texture in the bag. I think that I was focusing on the shirt rather than on the bag that Matthew's hand is holding on to.

Test Strip 2
Aperture: 5.6
Time:7



At 7 seconds, the rest of this region looks fine, just a little washed out, so there needs to be more time for the final print.

Final Print
Aperture: 5.6
Time:8.2



I raised time to 8.2 seconds just to be safe. And was pleased with the result, though I would have liked if the other accessories I had photographed came out so that this same outfit wasn't made into three prints. I like the pose and the balance between dark and light in this shot though.

Fashion Photography - Lighting (Part II) P2/Q1: Diary Entry

The assignment for this project was to produce nine large (30x40 cm)prints of fashion photography, 3 of each three categories: Clothing, Shoes, Accessories, keeping in mine lighting techniques and effects and using a lens other than 50mm. I used my Nikon 70-300mm zoom lens which isn't mine at all, rather my mom's but it worked well for this.

The hard part was having nine printable images out of a contact sheet. I shot a first batch of my little brother modeling for me. He got very into it, which was good, and several of my images came from these. Then I shot a selection of shots ranging from catching my mom before she went out to dinner to taking my little brother again after a soccer game. Unfortunately, I blurred these, and many of my prints are from a day when my friends and I went apple picking. As for developing, I learned that you really do have to pay attention to the film's ISO number. For example, using 100 speed film, I think that each shot that I took with a shutter speed below that became grainy when enlarged. I also learned how important it is to take an image in the frame that you want and not count on being able to zoom in later, as you can with digital photography. As we were already enlarging the images quite a bit, zooming in to one section became impossible. Also, I am just much more pleased with the outcome when I like the images to begin with. The first print that I developed was also my favorite: the one with the baseball gripped in my brother's hand. The ones from the apple picking day were harder to work with. I think that the light situations were quicker in changing than I was, so they all came out differently, and each print was basically starting from square one as far as aperture, time, and filters needed. For the ones where my brother was set up specifically for me to take pictures, and I had a tripod and all the time in the world, they came out more predictably, and for the three prints of him in his collegiate outfit, it was easy to start from the same settings as the previous print and work from there. The project took several weeks. In some lessons, I would be as successful to get 2 prints, while in others none. Then on the last day, I stayed during my free and hammered out the last 4 prints. I am pretty pleased with the outcome of the project, mainly because since there are nine prints, there is a lot of range in what is covered.

I think that it would be interesting to reprint some of the images in different sizes, and piece them together. For instance, on the shots of my little brother, I took several views: torso, neck, and hip areas, and to mount these all together in different sizes so as to make up the overall fashion idea out of the zoomed in shots of the small details.

Fashion Photography - Lighting (Part II) P2/Q1: Image Bank

Image One: Frances Pellegrini

Frances Pellegrini is a 1950's fashion and New York City photographer. The webpage the image is taken from, Frances Pellegrini -Photographer is an interview with Pellegrini which reveals much about the photographer. Interestingly enough, she says "I have never consciously composed a photograph. I never thought of my photography as art." This is a strange thing for a photographer to say, especially considering the artistic selection just found browsing this web page.



This picture is a nice example of fashion photography because it captures the fashion/style in action. The lady is climbing an elegant staircase, where each detail, down to the cat running down the stairs, are in motion. It is not a still shot, like some fashion shots, but the focus is still clearly the fashion aspect. The shoes and the skirt of the dress are details of an outfit that allow us to fill in the blanks of the rest of the outfit, all fitting into the classy setting of the wooden staircase. Composition-wise, independent of the fashion aspect, the photograph is interesting, with diagonals slanting in different directions, and shadows of each diagonal contrasting with the opposite directions of movement of the cat and the lady.

Image Two: Eolo Perfido

Eolo Perfido lives in Rome, though he was born in France. He discovered photography at the age of 28, and has been content to explore this passion ever since, feeling that taking pictures is a way of exploring himself and relating to other people. He mainly photographs people, finding it a good way to discover their images and personalities.



As part of a gallery of many images of people and clothing on his webpage, Eolo Perfido, this one sticks out as particulary interesting to fashion photography. The whole of the image is dark, except for the angular blouse, which is a bright white that seems to pop out of the image. Despite the made up eyes and intense stare of the model, the brightness of the blouse, even brighter than the whites of her eyes, causes our eyes to drift downward towards the blouse. The angle of the composition also naturally moves the eyes downwards to the blouse, which frames the face with its popped collars. The textures are all smooth and slick- even the model's hairstyle, adding to the overall fashion image that this image evokes - one of classy formality.

Image Three: Yanick Dery

Yanick Dery is from Montreal Canada. He graduated in Photography from the Collège d'études générales et professionnelles du Vieux-Montréal and has been photographing for magazines mainly ever since. He especially explores the international scene, which he discovered at the age of 16 when going abroad and now gets inspiration from well known photographers on the international scene.



This photograph from his web page Yanick Dery Photography takes a whole different spin on fashion photography. He zooms in quite clearly on the accessory, a very shiny and flashy ring. This ring is placed front and center, clearly the focus and the purpose of the shot. Only on second look can the background be discerned. At first glance, due to the blatant, zoomed in nature of the shot only the bright ring is noticeable, amid a background of flowing fabrics. The shiny textures of the fabric and the ring, along with the casually swinging necklace clearly show the glamorous, flashy style that he portrays. Simply by showing us the details of a part of an outfit, we can determine the overall mood and diva-ish personality of the person being photographed.

Fashion Photography - Lighting (Part II) P2/Q1: Theory Notes

Low Lighting

Low lighting poses a challenge because because it requires low shutter speeds, and most people cannot hold the camera still enough to have no blur below 1/30 shutter speed, and also, subjects cannot stand still without leaning on something for less than 1/60th of a second.

On the other hand, shooting in low light can produce some nice effects. For example, skylines (like the one shown, from Color Spectrum Photography) look best just before sunrise and sunset to make a warm and cozy mood. Also, a lot of real estate photos are taken just before the sun rises to make them look welcoming.



Some Things to do when shooting in Low Light:

1. Keep the aperture wide open and the shutter speed long. Beware of blurring, because of the slow shutter speed. Also, having the aperture too stopped down can result in the star effect, as shown in this photo from color spectrum photograpy So keep the aperture wide open unless you want this effect.



2. Use a fast film. Use a faster film setting than you are actually using. For example, if you are shooting with film with an ISO rating of 100, "push" the film by setting it to ISO 200 on your camera. This allows you to use a faster shutter speed. For example, if your ISO 100 film requires a shutter speed of 4 seconds at a certain aperture, if you set the ISO to 200 at the same aperture, you will only need a shutter speed of 2 seconds. You must do this for the whole roll, however. Be aware the quality will be less, and as it will be grainy, you may not be able to enlarge it so much.

3. Use a spot meter. These are pieces of equipment which gauge the amount of light in different places, since light is often uneven in a low light situation (from a spotlight, or car lights for example) They look like this picture from Robert White.



4. Use a tripod. Obviously.

5. Invest in a fast lens. Theses are lenses whose largest apertures are very large, such as 1.0.

Some Cool effects:

Sometimes a part of the picture can be the light source, illuminating another part of the picture, as in this picture from Roger and France's Low-Light Photography



Or, as in these cases, from
San Diego Club Photography and color spectrum photograpy a light from behind makes the sunject in the foreground just a shadow or a silhouette.





Sun Light

When shooting in sunlight, there are also some things that you have to take into consideration.


Pay attention to where the sun is:

Above:
If the sun is directly above the subject, then it casts strange shadows on their faces, as shown in this example from Geoff Lawrence.com:



In Front:
If the sun is directly in front of the subject, they may squint, which isn't always desired, and also doesn't take full advantage of the sun. Try to place the subject so that the sun is either coming from the side, or from behind.

Behind:
If the sun is directly behind the subject, then you can achieve some nice effects. However, watch out for lens flare, as shown in this example from Cambridge in Colour. Lens flare is caused by a non image forming light source touching the negatives. In this case, the sun pointed directly to the lens. It can also happen with other sources or when the sun is just outside of the frame.



A lens hood can help to lessen lens flare. A lens hood as taken from
Wikipedia looks like this:



Also be aware that a strong sun light from behind will show sometimes unflattering details, like frizzy hair, as in this example from Geoff Lawrence.com



From the Side:

Sometimes it is best to place the subject or angle yourself such that the sun is coming from the side. In this case, from Geoff Lawrence.com, the sun shines from the side, and slightly illuminates one half of the face, but leaves the majority of the subject darker against a well lit background, making him stand out.



Sources:

1. Low Light Photography [http://www.sederquist.com/clanight.html]
2. Clubbing "San Diego Club Photographs" fotog.net/club2/index.htm
3. Pool Players - Roger and Frances Low-Light Photography [http://www.rogerandfrances.com/images/portraits/pool%20players.jpg]
4. Color Spectrum Photography [http://colorspectrumphoto.com/Galleries/galleries.html
5. Spot meters [http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/meters.htm]
6.http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/lens-flare.htm
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_hood