Exercise: The lighting angle

The position of the light source in relation to the subject will create different effects, some of which will show the form, some the shape and some will enable the subject to be separated from the background.  The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate this modelling effect by moving the light around the subject and also varying by varying the vertical angle between the light and the subject.  There are 3 sets:

1. the light is horizontal in relation to the subject;
2. the light is elevated and pointing down at 45 deg; and
3. the light is directly above the subject.

This is best illustrated in the lighting diagram below which shows the basic positions.

My very patient model for the this was a mannequin head, which I felt was ideal for looking at the way light is shaped around a persons face.

Light horizontal

With the exception of the light being directly behind the subject, I kept all settings the same, as I felt this would best illustrate the effect, including the amount of light falling off the face of the subject.  The Speedlite was at 1/2 power and the camera settings were ISO 100, f/11, 1/125 sec.  Where the light was directly behind the subject, because I was shooting not only through the softbox, but also through the white backdrop, I increased the power setting on the Speedlite to full power.  The camera setting stayed the same.  Focusing was set to manual and lens stabiliser was off as I was using a tripod.

Front                                                       Right 45 deg,                                           Right 90 deg

In the set above, the first image is with the softbox as close to the camera as possible in the same plane.  It still was slightly to the right of centre, as evident by the shadows visible on the left.  The ideal would be for there to be no shadows at all.  As the light moves to the right, the amount of shadow increases on the face.  At 45 degrees, this provides a good modelling light revealing the form.

Right 135 deg,                                          Back                                                    Left 225 deg

As the light source moves towards the back there is more of a rim lighting effect, separating the subject from the background.  As there is somewhat less light falling on the background, it gets darker, showing how the action of the light can usefully alter the tone of the background.  With the light at the back, a silhouette is formed showing the shape of the subject.  I did have some light spill, as I did not use black 'stoppers' either side of the subject to kill such spill.  Moving the light to the left of the camera, in the last image of the trio above, this provides an interesting lighting effect, as the face is turned to that side.  The left of the face is lit with this side light giving a good sculptural effect and some drama.

Left 270 deg,                                                Left 315 deg,                                                              Front     

The first of the images above is displaying, what is referred to as "Rembrandt" with the light on the right in the shadow.  This is not true Rembrandt light, as it should be more pronounced and the light elevated.  Again, the form of the face is well shown.  The centre image now has more light on the face, and elevated, would be a good portraiture one-light setup, if elevated.  Finally, I managed to squeeze the softbox more effectively against the camera and the flatness of the lighting can be seen.

Light elevated and pointing down at 45 degrees

For this sequence, I changed the camera settings to ISO 100, f/8, 1/125 sec., adding an extra stop exposure due to the increased distance of the light from the subject.

Front,                                                      Right 45 deg,                                              Right 90 deg

Due to the angle of the head, when the light was above the camera, in front, there are shadows developed on one side of the face, so the lighting is not as flat as it otherwise would be.  At 45 degrees to the subject, there is considerable shadow to one side of the face, but the features are well modelled.  Withe the light side on, most of the features are hidden by shadow, so this would not be a particularly useful lighting setup.

Right 135 deg,                                              Back, above                                             Left 225 deg

The first of this sequence is not really helpful at all.  from the back, there is too much light for a silhouette, but there is good separation.  Throwing some light back using a reflector would make this useful.  There is already some light being thrown up from the white background paper on which the head is standing, as can be seen from the light areas under the chin and nose in particular.  Moving to the left, this has the makings of a Rembrandt style lighting.

Left 270 deg,                                    Left 315 deg

The final two in the sequence, as I did not retake a shot from the front.  The first is very much a Rembrandt style light, with the triangular light area within the shadow on one side of the face.  The second of these, provides a good modelling light, with a butterfly shadow developing under the nose.

Light directly above the subject

The camera setting for these was ISO 100, f/11, 1/125 sec.

Above                                              Above and back                                          Above and front

Of the 3 in this sequence, the last, with the light above and slightly to the front is the most useful.. It provides good shaping and ' due to the shadows falling of the cheekbones, gives a more slender look.

In terms of choosing which lighting setup reveals the form of the subject best, then I would go for the light to the left at 315 degrees.  This is an extension of the Rembrandt light, but the face has been opened up due to less shadow, which now creates a more sculpting effect on the opposite side to the light.

Exercise: Variety with a low sun

This exercise was tremendous fun.  I had the foresight (makes a change) to jump to this exercise while still working on part 3 of TAOP.  I went with a group from the RPS Documentary and Visual Journalism (DVJ) group to photograph Brompton Cemetary at the beginning of March.  The lighting was perfect throughout the day; it made a change from constant overcast and rain!  As could be expected on such a day, the cemetary was heaving with photographers and sometimes had to wait to let another photographer take their photo!

The DVJ always has a theme to their outings, in this case the task was to produce either a book or record cover.  My effort is below:

With one exception, I have presented the set for this exercise as B&W as I considered this medium to be most appropriate for the subject matter and would also best illustrate the objectives of this project.  In preparing the final images I have also used Lightroom's B&W filters to generate the look which I desired.

The objective of this exercise is to demonstrate some of the advantages of shooting when the sun is low.  The aim is take a number of photographs to demonstrate the following:

• frontal lighting, with the sun directly behind the camera;
• side lighting, with the sun to the left or right;
• back lighting, shooting towards the light; and
• edge lighting, where the edge of the subject is lit.

Frontal lighting

I find that frontal lighting can make the subject appear very flat and two dimensional, as illustrated in the first of my images below:

ISO 400, f/9.5, 1/250, Blue filter

I had to step to one side in order to avoid my shadow appearing in the image, so it is not quite with the sun behind the camera.

An alternative shot which works better with this lighting is below.

ISO 200, f/4, 1/1500, Orange filter

Nevertheless, this is still somewhat two dimensional, when looking at the detail, much of the impact being due  to my choice of f-stop which has a limited depth of field.

Side lighting

For the first of my images I selected much more of a landscape, rather than a detail shot.  

ISO 400, f/9.5, 1/350, Blue filter

The Collonades which sit atop the catacombs and surround the 'Great Circle' in the cemetery are a dramatic feature.Here the side lighting, enhanced by the use of the blue filter, brings drama to the scene.  The blue filter also enabled me to retain the brick detail in the highlights.

This led me to consider another use of side lighting, that of using the shadows and highlights themselves to create the design.

ISO 400, f/19, 1/125, Blue filter

Again in the Collonades, this time observing the pattern created by the low sun.

One use of side lighting, which I like particularly, is to bring out the surface detail of an object and this is illustrated below.

ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/1000, Orange filter

Here the texture of the roughly hewn cross is enhanced by through side lighting.

Back lighting

Shooting towards the light, typically creates a silhouette where the shape of the object / subject is clearly seen.  This I have demonstrated in the shot below:

ISO 200, f/4, 1/4000, Yellow filter

In order to avoid lens flare, I positioned the sun behind the cross, and exposed, overall, for the sky, which I further darkened using a yellow filter.

The following image is the only one in the set which is in colour, but this is to demonstrate another feature of back-lighting.

ISO 200, f/4, 1/2000

Here, I have used back-lighting to enable the glow of the yellow leaves, against the backdrop of the crosses, by having the light shining through them.

Edge lighting

With the subject back-lit, the object here is to create a rim light effect around the subject.  This is not the easiest lighting to show as lens flare becomes a problem.

ISO 400, f/11, 1/90, Blue filter

 The effect here is to isolate the subject from the background.

ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/500, Blue filter

Again, the cross is further removed from the background by the rim of light outlining its left side.

Use of low light proves extremely fruitful in providing drama as well as giving a greater degree of form and texture to the subject.  This is certainly an aspect which I have enjoyed demonstrating.