Hard Light vs. Soft Light & Lighting People, Places, Things

Week one (5/15) of my first semester of PH 100: FUNDAMENTALS OF PHOTOGRAPHY with Andrea Land

Shoot six new images. You can create light if you cannot find it, but do not use a flash. Please refer to information covered in this module. Your six images should include:

* Three (3) photos using hard light

* Three (3) photos using diffused light

It has been a busy week; harvest time, family, school, and... (not in any specific order).

First three represent soft light and Last three represent hard light

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Photographs usually fall into the subject categories of people, places, or things (or combinations thereof). Choose one of these subjects; imagine a scene in your mind, and describe how you would light it. Consider any three of the six different descriptions of light given in the slideshow on studio lighting from Module 5: Session 16. Does it demand rendition in color or black-and-white? Think in terms of the statement you are trying to make with your narrative. How does the light affect your composition, narrative, and intention? Please write 100 words on this topic.

There has been an ongoing joke with a friend, since he discovered that I am a photographer, of me taking nude photos of him. Honestly, when the joke started my first thoughts were, “I don’t have a studio or lights.” Let’s just say that has created some really funny moments. But since then I have been wondering how to best capture him. Here is what I would consider the best image of him.

C. is hardcore MMA fighter in training. So when I put that together with the body art he has (most of which he has given himself). I want an image that highlights the muscle definition and the ink. I, also, want extreme shadows on half of the body. I think the best way to achieve this is by setting up side lighting far from the subject. Then by adding a back light to separate him from the black background. Next, light I would use is a much diffused top light to add a bit of detail to the hair and face. He would be seated that would resemble “The Thinker” by Rodin. The camera angle would mean that the photo would be rendered in ¾ profile. This photo would be shot in color but changed to black and white giving it a hard edgy feel.