Thursday, 23 December 2010
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Thursday, 18 November 2010
http://www.plantpath.cornell.edu/photolab/Default.htm
Copy Lighting | |||
 | Standard copy lighting works well for illuminating most flat and 3D objects whose surface detail does not need to be highlighted. Lights are mounted at 45 degrees to the lens axis and equidistant from the specimen. This provides even, uniform lighting. | ||
Copy Lighting with Diffusion | |||
 | It is often useful to place diffusion filters in front of the light sources to soften a 3D specimens shadows. This is especially important when an object casts distracting shadows on itself or on the background. The larger the surface area of the diffuser, the more it will soften the shadows. I make my own diffusion filters with sheets of matte architects velum mounted in a foamcore frame. Alternatively, you could purchase specialized “softbox” lightsources for quite a bit more money. | ||
| Examples of copy lighting with diffusion. Click on the image for an enlarged view. |  |  |  |
Monday, 15 November 2010
Friday, 12 November 2010
Lighting for portraiture
Lighting for portraiture
When portrait photographs are composed and captured in a studio, the professional photographer has control over the lighting of the composition of the subject and can adjust direction and intensity. There are many ways to light a subject’s face, but there are several common lighting plans which are easy enough to describe. Of course making them work in a studio or on location is a matter of experimentation and practice.
Three-Point Lighting
One of the most basic lighting plans is called three-point lighting. This plan uses three (and sometimes four) lights to fully model (bring out details and the three-dimensionality of) the subject’s features. The three main lights used in this light plan are as follows:
The Key light
Also called a main light, the key light is usually placed to one side of the subject’s face, between 30 and 60 degrees off centre and a bit higher than eye level. The key light is the brightest light in the lighting plan.
The Fill light
Placed opposite the key light, the fill light fills in or softens the shadows on the opposite side of the face. The brightness of the fill light is usually between 1/3 and 1/4 that of the key light. This is expressed as a ratio as in 3:1 or 4:1. When the ratio is 3:1 this is sometimes called Kodak lighting since this was the ratio suggested by Kodak in the instructional booklets accompanying the company’s early cameras.
The purpose of these two lights is to mimic the natural light created by placing a subject in a room near a window. The daylight falling on the subject through the window is the Key light and the Fill light is reflected light coming from the walls of the room. This type of lighting can be found in the works of hundreds of classical painters and early photographers and is often called Rembrandt lighting.
Modern portraitists have chosen to add one or two lights to this lighting plan.
The Rim light
Also called a backlight or hair light, the rim light (the third main light in the three-point lighting plan) is placed behind the subject, out of the picture frame, and often rather higher than the Key light or Fill. The point of the rim light is to provide separation from the background by highlighting the subject’s shoulders and hair. The rim light should be just bright enough to provide separation from the background, but not as bright as the key light.
Butterfly lighting
Butterfly lighting is another common lighting plan and has been very popular over the past decade or so. In this case, only two lights are common. The Key light is placed directly in front of the subject, often above the camera or slightly to one side, and a bit higher than is common for a three-point lighting plan. The second light is a rim light. Often a reflector is placed below the subject’s face to provide fill light and soften shadows.
This lighting can be recognised by the strong light falling on the forehead, the bridge of the nose and the upper cheeks, and by the distinct shadow below the nose which often looks rather like a butterfly and thus provides the name for this lighting plan. Butterfly lighting was a favourite of famed Hollywood portraitist George Hurrell which is why this style of lighting is often called Paramount lighting, after the movie studio of the same name.
Accessory lights
These lights can be added to basic lighting plans to provide additional highlights or add background definition.
The Kicker
A kicker is a small light, often made directional through the use of a snoot, umbrella, or softbox. The kicker is designed to add highlights to the off side of the subject’s face, usually just enough to establish the jaw line or edge of an ear. The kicker should thus be a bit brighter than the fill light, but not so bright it over fills the off side of the face. Many portraitists choose not to use a kicker and settle for the three main lights of the standard plans.
Background lights
Not so much a part of the portrait lighting plan, but rather designed to provide illumination for the background behind the subject, background lights can pick out details in the background, provide a halo effect by illuminating a portion of a backdrop behind the subject’s head, or turn the background pure white by filling it with light.
Other lighting equipment
Most lights used in modern photography are a flash of some sort. The lighting for portraiture is typically diffused by bouncing it from the inside of an umbrella, or by using a soft box. A soft box is a fabric box, encasing a photo strobe head, one side of which is made of translucent fabric. This provides a softer lighting for portrait work and is often considered more appealing than the harsh light often cast by open strobes. Hair and background lights are usually not diffused. It is more important to control light spillage to other areas of the subject. Snoots, barn doors and flags or gobos help focus the lights exactly where the photographer wants them. Background lights are sometimes used with color gels placed in front of the light to create coloured backgrounds.
Styles of portraiture
There are many different techniques for portrait photography. Often it is desirable to capture the subject’s eyes and face in sharp focus while allowing other less important elements to be rendered in a soft focus. At other times, portraits of individual features might be the focus of a composition such as the hands, eyes or part of the subject’s torso.
Lenses
Lenses used in portrait photography are classically fast, medium telephoto lenses, though any lens may be used, depending on artistic purposes. See Canon EF Portrait Lenses for Canon lenses in this style; other manufacturers feature similar ranges.
Classic focal length is in the range 80–135mm, as these provide a flattering perspective distortion when the subject is framed to include their head and shoulders. Wider angle lenses (shorter focal length) require that the portrait be taken from closer (for an equivalent field size), and the resulting perspective distortion yields a relatively larger nose and smaller ears, which is considered unflattering and imp-like. Wide-angle lenses – or even fisheye lenses – may be used for artistic effect, especially to produce a grotesque image. Conversely, longer focal lengths yield greater flattening – because used from further away – but require being used from a greater distance, thus making communication difficult and reducing rapport; they may be used, however, particularly in fashion photography, but longer lengths require a loudspeaker or walkie-talkie to communicate with the model or assistants.[1] In this range, the difference in perspective distortion between 85mm and 135mm is rather subtle; see (Castleman 2007) for examples and analysis.
Speed-wise, fast lenses (wide aperture) are preferred, as these allow shallow depth of field(blurring the background), which helps isolate the subject from the background and focus attention on them. This is particularly useful in the field, where one does not have a back drop behind the subject, and the background may be distracting. The details of bokehin the resulting blur are accordingly also a consideration. However, extremely wide apertures are less frequently used, because they have a very shallow depth of field and thus the subject’s face will not be completely in focus.[2] Thus, f/1.8 or f/2 is usually the maximum aperture used; f/1.2 or f/1.4 may be used, but the resulting defocus may be considered a special effect – the eyes will be sharp, but the ears and nose will be soft.
Conversely, in environmental portraits, where the subject is shown in their environment, rather than isolated from it, background blur is less desirable and may be undesirable, and wider angle lenses may be used to show more context.[3]
Finally, soft focus (spherical aberration) is sometimes a desired effect, particularly in glamour photography where the “gauzy” look may be considered flattering. The Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus is an example of a lens designed with a controllable amount of soft focus.
Most often a prime lens will be used, both because the zoom is not necessary for posed shots (and primes are lighter, cheaper, faster, and higher quality), and because zoom lenses can introduce highly unflattering geometric distortion (barrel distortion or pincushion distortion). However, zoom lenses may be used, particularly in candid shots or to encourage creative framing.[4]
Portrait lenses are often relatively inexpensive, because they can be built simply, and are close to the normal range. The cheapest portrait lenses are normal lenses (50mm), used on a cropped sensor. For example, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II is the least expensive Canon lens, but when used on a 1.6× cropped sensor yields an 80mm equivalent focal length, which is at the wide end of portrait lenses.
(cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photography)
Portrait and Portrait Photography
A portrait is a picture or painting that captures the characteristics of the subject in detail. A portrait photographer should be a good observer and should have ability to visualise the mannerism, reactions, expressions, body language in a portrait and the portrait designed by the photographer should be lively which reflects unique characteristics and attitude of the person. It is necessary therefore that the photographer understands the subject as a person, his day to day life, understand his/her culture and make the subject comfortable by building trust with the subject. Portrait photography covers all levels of people but the parameters vary from individual to individual since people belong to the corporate field or to the sports fraternity or entertainment circles. As portrait photography being an important field of study, there are professional and amateur portrait photographers and amateur photographers create good photographs of their children, friends, family during vacation where as professionals specialise in this genre.
More About Portrait Photography In Richmond, Surrey
For good portrait photography, it is ideal to take the subject into your confidence so that the expressions are as natural as possible. The other types include formal portrait and informal or casual portraits, environment portraits which are about people and what they do with their lives and these portraits generally communicate the essence by combining the portraiture with a sense of place, group portraits which is shooting a large group such a family or a school sports team, or the subjects can be your own family such as baby photos or special event photos. Travel portrait photography appeal to the adventurers and the seekers among us and is quite popular; it involves extensive research of the location including a study of the native culture and language, focusing shots on love, family, and culture, not to mention the places to see and things to eat. If you are seriously interested in professional portrait photography you may need to invest in a good camera, lens, equipments necessary for taking a good portrait photograph as the important elements for a professional portrait photograph are a controlled background without any distractions such as portable backdrops, backdrops supports and controlled lighting such as portable flash kit that consists of light stands, couple of lights and umbrellas. Lighting is probably the one of the most important factors that help in making a great portrait as lighting gives depth and dimension to the photos and there are several types of lights used such as main light, fill light, hair light and background light.
What In Richmond, Surrey Are Useful Tips To Get Good Portrait Photography?
It’s important to keep the backdrop as subtle as possible while keeping the subject at ease and in conversation; it’s important to observe and empathize. It is normal for the subject to look into the lens of the camera but the photographer can ask him to look elsewhere depending on the nature of photograph that is necessary. It’s imperative that the props be chosen and placed in such a manner as to match the background and also enhance the effect of capturing the subject’s personality and emotional balance. Portraits are generally shot at eye level but the photographer can experiment with different angles and select the one that gives the best results. Candid photographs of the subject at work or among his family members and set in his own environment makes them comfortable.
Selection Of A Portrait Photographer In Richmond, Surrey
The photographer should stay near to your house because there would be quite a number of sessions with him involving the pre shoot meetings, followed by the actual shoot and later the post shoot activities and distance should not lay spoilsport. Run reference checks with past clients about their experiences and desired outcome levels; also ask the photographer to show samples of his work. Observe his past work and see if it matches your requirements in capturing certain aspects of your subject and backdrop. Select a photographer who will permit you to interact with him in choosing the background and the clothing options. Do a survey and confirm that the package you are getting is the best and that the photographer will show you the proofs in advance before finalising.
Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people (a group portrait), in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is the person’s face, although the entire body and the background may be included. A portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera.
Unlike many other photography styles, the subjects of portrait photography are often non-professional models. Family portraits commemorating special occasions, such as graduations or weddings, may be professionally produced or may be vernacular and are most often intended for private viewing rather than for public exhibition.
However, many portraits are created for public display ranging from fine art portraiture, to commercial portraiture such as might be used to illustrate a company’s annual report, to promotional portraiture such a might be found on a book jacket showing the author of the book.
History
Portrait photography has been around since the invention and popularization of the camera. It is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which has been used by distinguished figures before the popularity of the camera.
The relatively low cost of the daguerreotype in the middle of the 19th century led to its popularity for portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some producing more than 500 plates a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever else could be reflected with mirrors. As the equipment became more advanced, the ability to capture images with short exposure times gave photographers more creative freedom and thus created new styles of portrait photography.
As photographic techniques developed, photographers took their talents out of the studio and onto battlefields, across oceans and into remote wilderness. William Shew‘s Daguerreotype Saloon, Roger Fenton‘s Photographic Van and Mathew Brady‘s What-is-it? wagon set the standards for making portraits and other photographs in the field.
(cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photography).
Contact Hampton Studios Ltd For The Best Portrait Photography In Richmond, Surrey
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