20 Oct 09: Studio lighting practice #1: Objects

A small group of us booked out the studio for a couple of hours to have a practice and get used to setting up the lighting equipment ourselves.  We decided to have a go shooting a still life object, using the lighting required for our Systems and Processes assignment:

Task one relates to the direction of light:
45/45
High key
Low key
Backlight
Top light

This is Julie setting up the light:

45/45 and Low Key  (using light from a soft box with diffuser):

"Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It attempts to create a chiaroscuro effect. In traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light for even illumination. Low-key lighting requires only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector.

Low key light accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade - as illustrated in the image above - while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast.

The term "low key" is used in cinematography to refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, especially if there is a predominance of shadowy areas. It tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, hence is commonly used in film noir and horror genres". (Source: Wikipedia).

45/45 and High Key (using light from a soft box with diffuser):

"High-key lighting is a style of lighting that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene and is used to suggest an upbeat mood. High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.  Unlike low-key, high-key lighting fails to add meaning or drama by lighting certain parts more prominently than others." (Source: Wikipedia).

Backlighting

Backlighting refers to lighting in a photograph that comes from behind and subject, so that the subject stands out vividly from the background.  It sometimes produces a silhouette effect and can be used to create dramatic effect.  In portraits the light can be diffused through the hair and create a rim of bright light around the subject. 

We achieved this backlighting by placing a light on the floor so that it shone up through the product table - Colin and Sara start setting this up below:

Toplight

Using one large top light can ensure there is no excessive contrast or shadows giving a natural effect.

Here is Kevin showing us how to set up the light on a boom:

In particular the low-key image reminds me of the traditional type of still life painting such as Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber  by Juan Sanchez Coton:

Katy showed us an image 'Pomegranate' taken by Ori Gersht which was inspired by Juan Sanchez Coton's painting and illustrates how art inspires photography: