You Are Not a Robot

For my proper studio lighting portion of this unit, I decided to do something different; something that people walking by might find weird but that I thought would end up looking interesting in the end. I didn't want to simply take pictures of a subject sitting on a chair with nice lighting, so I incorporated glitter and rhinestones, knowing they would make the photos stand out. I was inspired to do so by Marina and the Diamonds music video to the song "I Am Not a Robot" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_oMD6-6q5Y). After uploading them to my computer and editing them, I'm very happy with the final product. I had no idea how to properly light a photograph and I definitely have a better idea of how to do so now. I love that the faces in the photos are so natural and that the glitter/rhinestones are not there to make the photo glamorous, these pictures are rather something that can be described as if even the most simple things or the most contained people have something inside them that makes them special and makes them shine. I used a Nikon D3100 to take these photos, with an aperture of f8 and a shutter speed of 1/60s. 

Painting with Light

For the painting with light assignment, I was really trying to avoid the typical, unoriginal ways of displaying this type of photography. I came up with these three photos, which was not easy, and a way to describe them. The idea is that in the first photo, the light around the person is sparkling and bright, until the third photo, where they are noticeably letting off less light. I thought that this could be a way of explaining self-confidence through photography, when people are brought down by others and left feeling very unsure of themselves. People can be left feeling subconscious or torn down and avoid doing things that will make them stand out if they are put down by another person. In taking these photos, I realized it was very difficult to get the subject in focus because if the person so much as moved a finger it could ruin the entire thing. After many tries, I got the hang of the light and how to use it to get a better picture. I used a Nikon D3100 to take these photos with an aperture of f22 and a shutter speed of 12s. 

Mixed Lighting

My inspiration for the mixed lighting section of the Studio Lighting unit came from the upcoming holiday season. I wanted to incorporate the cold, wintery outdoor light with a warm glow that reminded me of sitting in front of the fireplace on a freezing night in December. Although unintentional, the scarf added to the holiday feeling with its soft colour and cozy material. I used a Canon Rebel T2i to take these photos with an 18-55mm lens, aperture at f8.0 and shutter speed at 1/60s. All three pictures were taken using the natural outdoor daylight and a tungsten light source from the lightbulb, which created the warmer effect. I would have liked to have done something a bit more original with this assignment, rather than the typical in-school, standing beside the window closeup on a friend's face. Next time, I would think this assignment out more and figure out what I could do to make it a bit more creative, however, I worked with what I had and am satisfied with the result. I especially like the lighting in the last photo and the noticeable difference between the glow of the lightbulb and the natural outdoor light.