During my experience experimenting with hard and soft light, on different objects, at different distances, and with different sizes lights, I have learned a lot concerning lighting and how to properly create different types of shadows. A main lesson that I learnt was the different shadow types and their rigidity/sharpness that are caused by the two types of lighting tested (hard and soft). Hard light creates hard shadows, and occurs when the light source is smaller than object being photographed. However, soft light creates softer shadows, and occur when the light source is large than the object being photographed. Soft light also fills in the photo and gives light to all the detail, while hard light sculpts out subject's faces and parts with it's harsh shadows.
In addition to the different shadows and the sharpness of those shadows from the different types of light, I also discovered that the high points of any subject will stand out even if the subject is in complete darkness, because the light will still catch that surface, and draw attention to that surface. This lesson is equally important to the types of shadows because with the different distances and different types of light, different effects are cast on the high points, for instance, if a light source is closer to the object, the high points will be more bright, yet if the light source is farther away, the high points will not be as prominently lit. Straying away from the artistic affects that I viewed and learnt from during the experimentation, I have also learnt a great amount about safety and precautionary tasks an individual should take before using and jumping into the world of lighting. Some of the safety information the class was informed on was obvious such as do not touch the lights because they get hot, and such as paying attention and tripping hazard. Additionally taught was other less obvious information such as assembling, dissembling, and wrapping wires so the equipment stays in a very well kept condition. All of this preparatory information was crucial for us to understand because without this foundation of knowledge the students could have not understood how to use the equipment, or worse, someone could have gotten hurt, or the equipment could have been damaged. Lighting truly is so much more work than it seems to be, so learning how to artistically and professionally control light is important. Whether using hard light to cast those crisp edged shadows, or soft light to capture some blurry edged shadows, lighting has many uses that make it a very important portion to photo taking that can truly make or break a photo. Scenario Breakdown: "You are employed to photograph the president of a major college or university in New England. He or she would like their pictures taken in his or her office. What type of lighting would you use, where would you put them, where would you put the lights, and why?" If I was tasked with taking a photograph of a president of a major college or university, I would have to be meticulous with my lighting and angle choices so that I can properly highlight them in their natural habitat, while still making them look their best. The type of lighting I would personally use is soft lighting because I personally would not want to see my president of my college look villainous by the harsh lines and harsh angles the hard light sculpts, as that would not show them in their "best light". By choosing soft lighting, I could fill in all of the details of their face, and highlight their face appropriately, which would allow for the president to look more youthful, approachable, and more desirable because the soft lighting would not make harsh shadows. Harsh shadows caused by hard lighting tends to make people look older as the shadows make lines and wrinkles more prominent, and can cause the face to appear sunken in. This sunken in look is not desired in photographs of a person's face because most often than not photographers want to make the subject seem more youthful, so their client will be pleased by their product. On top of using soft lighting, I would position the president's face in the upper left hand corner third of the shot to make their face the first focal point, then in the upper right corner I would try to position awards or such. In the bottom two corners, I would have the president fold their hands, and then maybe be have documents or some sort of work in the bottom right corner third, to make them seem like a hard worker. By highlighting certain aspects of their office, and manipulating the focus pattern of human beings, (Rule of Thirds), I can successfully capture the professionalism of the president, their credentials, and work related objects that can be related to by the grand public. I would want to showcase their professionalism so that the viewers would take the president and the school they are representing seriously. Likewise, I would want to show their credentials to prove their worthiness of the presidents position and stature, and to show how much work the president went through to be at the spot they are now to give them respect. Lastly, I would want aspects that anyone can relate to such as work and papers because I would still like the public to recognize that this individual, although a president, is still a human and is still like everyone else in some ways. In relation to the president's position, I would place the lights at a level angle to them, to make sure that no shadows, harsh or blurred, make the president look chiseled, I would want to highlight their natural face without any shadow manipulation, unless requested. This positioning of the lights and the subject in the field of vision would create a flattering image of the president and ensure that they would be presented in the best way. The president, with my set up would be portrayed as a beautiful, powerful, and striking image of the school they preside over, and give a great face to the school, that is welcoming and well-built/structured.
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