detail
Experimentation: Patterns and Colours
For my experimentation, I wanted to look at different methods of projecting shadows.
METHOD 1: BOARDS AND TORCHES
The first method I tried was using torches to shine light through boards with patterns cut in them. The problem I had with this shoot was the torches produced a very low amount of light. To provide the best possible outcome despite the conditions, I turned my ISO up as high as possible and used a tripod to steady the camera (the lack of light would have left my photographs blurred). Even so, the low light intensity did leave my photos rather grainy which I have incorporated in my editing to suit the photographs.
METHOD 2: PROJECTED PATTERNS
I took these photos (above) before including the boards and patterns just to demonstrate the low lighting I was working with. The only lighting in these photographs was produced from the torch. I increased the already visible grain to bring out the texture and shadows of the model's face. Next I introduced the boards to project patterns onto the model's face. I needed to find a shutter speed that balanced both my requirements: a decent amount of light being let in without too much light causing the shadows to disappear.
I opened the image in Silver Efex Pro to experiment with black and white effects. I chose this one because I liked the comic-like effect it gave the photograph. It also increased the darkness of the model's facial features and lightened the background so the patterns were visible behind the model. In the photograph (above), I did the opposite to the photograph
shutter speed 1/30 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 6400
shutter speed 1/80 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 6400
(below). Whereas in the one (above), I increased the clarity and grain to create a sharp, harsh and detailed image, in the photograph (below), I decreased the clarity to create a softer and lighter image. I have shown this alteration below.
shutter speed 1/30 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 6400
Although the lines displayed on the model's shirt in the photograph (above) came out well, his face was very dark. To fix this I greatly increased my clarity. This worked effectively as it really brought out the boy's facial features, and the white speck in the boy's pupil became quite eye catching. I also made the image black and white because I did not like the singular area of colour being his face, surrounded by black and white.
The second board I used was more successful than the first because the lines in the board were much thinner so much more of the torch light was let through. I opened the photograph (left) in Colour Efex Pro 4 and used an effect to lighten and soften the image. As the low amount of light had altered the colour of the model's skin, adding this effect was really effective for saturating the image without using its natural colour.
shutter speed 1/20 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 6400
Finally I made the photograph (below) black and white, because I thought this really added to the interest of the photo. The structure of the pattern became very cemented and sharp. I really liked the contrast between the black background and the brightness of the model. His body seemed to slowly fade into the light from the darkness.
The second method I tried was using a projecter to project patterns onto the model's face. This shoot was really interesting because using a fast shutter speed, and therefore not letting much light enter the camera, left colored tints on my photographs that vanished when my shutter speed was slowed down. This is presumably because the increased amount of light over-exposed the colour previously visible, however I still found it very fascinating because the patterns I was projecting were only black and white.
With many of my images I experimented with a black and white version as well as the coloured. I think for some of the patterns (such as the one shown above) the black and white version was more effective because the patterns became darker and sharper.
shutter speed 1/50 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/200 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/200 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/200 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/80 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/200 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 800
My aim with this checkered pattern was to show the different colours and patterns visible depending on my shutter speed.
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In the first row of photographs, you can see that a shutter speed of 1/50 secs let in lots of light that left the boy's face quite exposed. I quite liked this because the model's facial features were very clear and fine. A quicker shutter speed of 1/100 secs let in less light and the coloured tints I mentioned earlier began to appear. Finally, a shutter speed of 1/200 secs brought quite vivid yellow and pink tints into the photograph. It also made the checkered pattern very dark, which meant that the model's face was also very dark, however I thought the structure of the pattern projected on the model's shirt was really nice.
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I also tried to take a few of the images with the model's eye in the light instead of shadow as this meant the viewer could make more of a connection to the photograph.
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My favourite photographs were the ones lacking in colour as this emphasized the contrast between black and white.
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.0 ISO 800
METHOD 3: CELLOPHANE
After focusing on patterns during my last two shoots, I moved on to colour. The first colour method I tried was using cellophane to cover the model's face. The issue I had with this shoot was that my artificial light reflected in the cellophane. I started by taking a few photos without any cellophane covering the model's face to demonstrate the light present before adding in the coloured tints from the cellophane. I used a studio light to light my photographs, which created a soft orange tint on the photographs.
METHOD 5: SILHOUETTES
My favourite of the black and white patterns was the one shown above because I love the connotations of the dark and muddled thick lines. The photograph (left) suggests a dark or depressed mindset as the lines are only covering the model's face and neck. His chest is white and clear which suggests pureness and innocence. I like the contrast between these two moods demonstrated in the photograph as they are accurate representations of relatable struggles. This is shown similarly in the photograph (right) as the majority of the image is dark other than the model's eye, which suggests a way out/direction forward. This gives the impression of hope, which is added to by the coloured tints in the photograph as it goes from a cold blue to a bright yellow, which is often a colour associated with hope and happiness.
For many of my photographs, I increased my clarity and contrast to bring out sharper cuts in the lines that made up the patterns. However for this image (left), I wanted to try something different. I decreased my clarity and contrast and greatly increased my saturation. I really liked the image I ended up with because it made the model's facial features very soft.
In the three photographs (left), I wanted to demonstrate the effect of cropping. I took one macro portrait and landscape and then another landscape from a wider perspective.
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My favourite was the landscape (top right) because I liked its depth of field and blurred
background created by a big aperture.
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I also really liked the colour added to these
photographs by the
projecter as it added to their interest.
I increased the sharpness and clarity of the portrait which was very effective in bringing out the detail of the model's skin and eye. I would have preferred this image if his eye was more central.
shutter speed 1/200 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/50 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/125 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/80 sec
aperture f/5 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/100 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
The quick shutter speed was not very effective for the pattern shown above because it was a very dark pattern. This meant that by not letting in much light, the photos turned out rather dark, however I did not really like the photographs taken with a longer shutter speed because the white light projected was not over-exposed, but quite bright making the photograph hard to settle your eyes on. My favourite of these images was the bottom middle one because the slight saturation made the photograph quite gentle. I also liked that it added colour to the model's eye and a pink tint to his skin, bringing the photo to life much more than the black and white version.
What I didn't like about the landscape photographs above was that the boy's eye was not quite hitting the light. This would've made the photo more eye catching and personal, rather than just the dark patterns that are visible. I preferred the portraits below, especially the photograph (right) because the breaks in the pattern framed the model's face well. You can also see more of his face, which is lost in the dark in the photograph (left).
shutter speed 1/80 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/320 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
Projecting light on only one half of the model's face meant that a nice contrast was created between light and dark. I preferred the coloured image (above right) to the others because it was more interesting than the less saturated image.
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With the photograph (left) I increased the grain of the image to pull out the texture and detail. I also took the saturation out of the image to make it different from the other (above left).
shutter speed 1/250 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/250 sec
aperture f/5.6 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/125 sec
aperture f/3.5 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/60 sec
aperture f/4 ISO 800
The photographs (above right) are a very good example of the shutter speed's effect on the projected light. Increasing my shutter speed almost eradicated what was previously quite a dark, green saturated pattern.
I took a few macro images to get a closer view of the model's facial features. I really like this set of images because the contrast between light and dark was very fine.
The above photos show a progression from a very quick shutter speed to a relatively long one. This demonstrates how exposure can freeze motion or blur it. In this case, I wanted the slight motion of the model to be frozen, which can be difficult when very little light is present.
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The photographs below were my favourite photos from the entire shoot. This is because I love how bright and coloured the model's eyes are as this makes them very hard to take your eye off, despite the distractions present in the photograph.
shutter speed 1/250 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/80 sec
aperture f/4.5 ISO 800
shutter speed 1/50 sec
shutter speed 1/125 sec
shutter speed 1/60 sec
shutter speed 1/320 sec
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Below are some remaining photographs from this shoot.
The lighter tinted cellophane (such as the yellow and green) worked better because the model's face was lighter. I found using some of the darker cellophane (such as red) made my photos quite dark. This could be fixed by using my flash.
The following photographs are examples of photographs lacking quality due to the white streams of light caused by reflection of light off the cellophane.
Finally I took some photos with the cellophane covering only half of the model's face. I really liked these, however I had to use the flash because otherwise the cellophane almost merged with the model's face due to the colour of the studio lights (example shown below right). Other than that, I was really happy with these images as I thought they were quite interesting and liked the contrast between colour and normality.
Finally, I took the colour out of a couple of images because I liked the variation. These images are two of my favourites because I love the dark features of the model. Of the two images, I prefer the one on the right because it shows a greater contrast between black and white. The highlighted skin surrounding her eye also sets off a nice complexion between dark and light forming the structure of her eye.
METHOD 4: LENS TINTS
The second colour method I used was lens tints. Although I experimented with a range of colours, I decided I liked the red and blue filters the best because they were naturally more vivid than the yellow and green, which before I increased the contrast and saturation during editing looked a bit washed away. The lens tints were very successful in creating colour in my photographs. I had no problems with the shoot. What I liked was that I had the ability to use my flash without the reflection issues I had with the cellophane. In the first slideshow shown below, I have included the blue and green tinted photographs. These were not edited a great amount as I wanted to show how the colour came out naturally. They also demonstrate the difference between the vividness of the blue tint and the slightly faded effect present in the green tint.
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With the yellow and red tinted photographs, I experimented during editing much more.
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My next idea was using studio lights to project colours and patterns onto individuals. First of all, I took some photographs without added colour. I did this to get some practice taking silhouettes.
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I then added in a flag to the background of the image by clipping it to the studio light. The colours of the flag were projected by the studio lights, creating the silhouette of the model. What I liked about this shoot was it gave me a chance to relate the colours and patterns I was creating to the people in the photographs. The colours and patterns of the flag held meaning to my model, which meant I was telling a story simply through a photograph.
METHOD 6: USING LIGHT TO AID MOVEMENT
Before moving on to a much wider range of content for the rest of my project, I used a strobe light to create the effect of movement across a frame. I wanted to do this to experiment with long exposure using a topic I have become very familiar with (portraiture). I also thought it fitted my experimentation because it was like a preliminary investigation on long exposure before moving onto my next topic, 'Lighting Up The Dark', which contains many photographs created using long exposure. For this shoot, I used a shutter speed of 2-3 seconds and a small aperture of f/22. My ISO was quite high (1600) which brought quite a bit of noise into the photographs, however it was essential to make sure the photos were exposed to a great enough level.
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