CJBancroft: Unit 24: Studio Techniques*

STUDIO TECHNIQUES

Risk Assessment

the health & safety in the studio is important for the wellbeing of those working in the environment.

Studio Equipment

The studio is a controlled environment which uses hardware

Light & Light enhancement: soft box, reflectors, studio white paint, monoblock

Equipment:

Lighting setup:

Tripod:

Camera's: SLR/ DSLR

Studio:

When in a photographic studio there is a large amount of equipment you would need to get familiar

studio lighting:

monoblock light

a monoblock light is a modular lighting and generator system that is used as the standard studio light and are usually come in the form of continuous light source like tungsten light units, the tungsten light gives of high light output but the problem with these lights is the excess heat and the hard and sometimes harshness of the light. HMI monoblock lamp units give off less heat for a similar light output but are more expensive, fluorescent lights are a good substitute for tungsten and HMI lamps with the small sacrifice to output. when using certain attachments the monoblock can be used as a studio highlight flash, a fill light or halo flash. the amount of modular adaptations to the monoblock makes it very desirable a a general studio light and uses specialised built in features which allow the modification of the strength of the flash and model lamp and can also have built in slave sensor. if a total of three or more monoblocks are used in a studio can create a very versatile environment.

modeling lamp

the modeling lamp is the light used to gauge the effect of the flash on the subject, the lamp helps check where the light will hit and where the shadows will show up the most, it giver the photographer a reference and a large level of control in the studio,.

spot light

spot lights are used as more powerful lights for lighting a large or small area, spotlights do not usually have specialised studio flashes but instead act as continuous light souse in a studio environment but spotlights do have useful accessories and features that are useful when in a studio, the have similar add ons that monoblocks use but spot lights being bigger and bulkier than monoblocks they need specialised fixings and equipment to use.

box light, strip light & light panels

box lights are used for strong direct light and made to be portable for outdoor portrait setups, the light can be fitted with diffusion paper to create the effect of a softbox and advanced versions can be programed for flexible uses. The advantages of the use of the box light is its compact, portable design and modifiable light, the issue is that the specialised box lights aren't as easily affordable or as varied as light panels.

strip lights can be fluorescent bulb lights or LED srip lights but both create a long bar of light that can be configured to create a highlight on a subject or create a softened light effect across a large area without the use of specialised soft boxes. the strips give of a large area of light which fills a larger portion of the image without using additional attachments to create the image and also the use of strips can create very unique effects and outcomes.

light panels are multi-light panels that come in many varying shapes and sizes and are used to give a strong and clear light source which do similar things to strip and box lights and have similar effects when photographing subjects and are also in a similar price range to box and strip lights, the only main difference is the way they are configured as a light board to give off a pure source of light, light panels are usually composed mostly of LED bulbs and give off a strong cool light onto the general direction the panel is facing.

flash gun & remote flash

flash guns are lighting units that can be connected directly or wirelessly to a camera to create a useful strong light source while photographing, they come with a lot of features and are very flexible when in use but when on the camera can loose balance and the flashes are very expensive.

halo/ ring light

the ring light or the halo light is a studio light which creates a continuous ring of light used in the same way a beauty dish meaning the halo is used a lot in portrait and makeup studio photography for the way the light creates less shadow on the subject and the way lth light effects the eyes.

the halo comes in many different forms including a compact, portable form which is used in the same way as a flash gun except the light attaches directly onto the end of the lens.

fill lights

fill lights are a wide range of lights used in the role in a studio to fill out he shadows, many lights can fill the role but specialised ones do the best job.

studio accessories

softbox

a softbox is the main attachment used on studio lamps and flashes to diffuse and soften the light emitted. the soft box contains and reflects all the light out the front diffusive part of the box. the box simply attaches to a source like a monoblock and is best used to soften the light on the face of a subject and when filling out the shadow in a image.

bowl flash reflector & guard

the bowl is placed on the monoblock to amplify the light emitted towards the subject and protect the flash bulb and modeling lamp. the light is shaped towards a single area which may be too harsh on the subject but many bowl reflectors allow the use of added attachments.

snoot

a snoot is an light attachment that intensifies the light emitted from the source by blocking all but the direct light out the end of it making a small point or spot light onto the subject. the snoot can use additional attachments to get different effects from the shaped light.

beauty dish

beauty dishes are used in the same way as halo light set are instead an adaption to a monoblock light, the dish itself can use added attachments and modifications.

reflector

reflectors are used to reflect light from the light source onto the subject, the reflectors come in different shapes and sizes and also utilise different reflective materials and colours for different effects, the reflectors are used more for filling in the shadow on a subject and are useful for when there are limited light sources.

diffuser

Diffusers are translucent materials and objects that are used to soften and spread out the light emitted from its source.

diffusers come in different forms and products, it can come in paper form, as a softbox or brolly and can come in the equivalent form of a reflector, reflectors also diffuse light rebounding off its surface.

brolly reflectors & diffusers

studio brolly are light adaptions used for shaping light in a studio environment, there are different types in different forms and shapes which themselves have different uses.

the brollys shape the light emitted in different ways, a reflector brolly gives of focused and harder light over a smaller or medium controlled area while diffusion brollys spread out softer light over a large area.

ring flash reflector & diffuser

the ring flash reflector works in the same way as a bowl reflector and a ring light diffuser in the same way as a softbox but both are specialised for use with halo ring lights.

lens hood

lens hoods are used to block light from the sides of the lens to remove glare and flare in the final image, the hood come in different shapes and sizes for use with different lenses or in different scenarios in indoor and outdoor photography.

light shapers & modifiers

light modifiers are objects that change the way light emitted from the source effect's the environment

the accessories added to the equipment like the honeycomb filter adds a different effect to the light, the comb filter softens the light emitted, some attachments like the universal spot magnifies the light in a certain directions.

filters: direct to camera vs flash attachments

filters used on monoblocks and spot lights give a colour to the image or the background allowing for a large level of control in the studio, cameras can use filters in a studio but the majority of the image would be affected.

tripod

tripods are stable and adjustable platforms used to keep the camera steady avoiding camera shake and motion blur in images that need longer exposures and are also used for putting lights in place. a good steel tripod allows for guaranteed stability and relative mobility if necessary, the tripod has adjustable legs that can be changed to any height, fitting a camera is simple and will allow for a safe platform for the camera.

3-D tripod head & ball-and-socket head

a 3D tripod head is a tripod adaption which can be adjusted on three different axis giving precise and accurate control to the camera and its orientation.

a ball and socket head gives a easily possible and compact tripod head use for small adjustments to the camera's orientation for correcting a image.

brackets & mounts

photographic studios use mount and bracket fittings to use a stable platform for the equipment, this gives a studio environment an extra level of stability and control. the brackets and mounts allow better light and equipment placement, with advantages coming from things like wall or ceiling mounted lights and background paper.

background paper

background paper is used for adjustable and relatively inexpensive backgrounds in studio photography.

light,spot & exposure meter's

photographic combined meters allow for measuring exposure, flash and ambient light which is useful for getting perfect photographs in manual settings, spot meters get precise measurements of light from distance and simple meters can help teach one to judge light from eye.

slave sensors

slave sensors are used in flash set ups to synchronise a flash between multiple light sources, this feature is built into most modern mono blocks and attachments added to a camera will improve the accuracy of the synchronisation in the lighting set up.

flash adapters: wired vs wireless

Adjusting light, single light set up

When taking photograph the photographer must always be aware of the available light, but light can be adjusted and changed with reflectors and additional lighting. In a studio setup the modification of light is easy to control, with the light sources being mobile and rearrangeable the light can be directed at almost any angle relative to the subject. The angle the light hits the subject brings out contours and features in its surface those areas are highlighted in the for of shadows. Shadows can be many different effects that can be used in composing the image.

using a single light source from on angle towards the right side of the face has filled the face with light but left side doesn't have direct light and has highlighted creases and wrinkles in the skin.

using a reflector helps bring up the exposure onto the darker side of the face giving the subject grater definition and enhance the less exposed side of the face giving it slight highlight which overall make a much more balanced portrait

Without a reflector using a reflector

The set up for the studio shoot of alternating directions of light sources

Light directed to the back right of the subjects face

Light directed on the front left of the subjects face

The difference in shadow greatly change depending on which side of the head is used and the angle or orientation of studio light, the light directed toward the front side of a subject will have that side of the face filled with light without shadows however the less exposed side of the face would have wrinkles and blemishes highlighted with darker shadows showing up in the shade however if the light is facing slightly behind the subjects highlighted side of the face the shadowed side would come out in more balanced darkness or come across as pitch black, hiding one side of the subjects face.

The lighting setup used for adjusting a single light

Something to keep in mind when taking photographs of subjects with glasses is to raise the light to a point where the camera doesn't pick up the direct glare on the lenses & when taking portraits of people considered plump you would take a picture on a slight down facing angle so that when the subject looks into the camera their shape would be slightly stretched, slimming the subject.

Snoot highlight

A snoot is a light Mod that focuses the light without allowing it to disperse

The snoot is used to add a level of highlight to the subject, giving them more of a shape round the head and hair, this effect is important for making the subject stand out clearly in a portrait in a studio, especially if a dark background is used. The snoot would usually face the back of the head on an angle to compliment the fill light from the studios soft boxes and create a clear outline of

Back lighting & studio setups

this studio setup is a four softbox light setup where there are two levels of lights set to different strength outputs, the light level set at the background is set to the highest light output to overexpose the white background while the level in the foreground is on a lower level and is used to light and fill out the shadow on the subject. the foreground level is subject to change depending on the desired effect wanted on the subject while the light in the background remains constant until the background itself is subject to modification.

example of an advanced studio setup for professional use:

Rembrandt portrait

Rembrandt was a Dutch rinansons painter who was active in the early 1600 and is famous for his portraits and self portraits. his portraits were photo realistic and very detailed but also have great focus on light and shadow and its effects on the face, the details I was tasked to recreate in a photograph was the way the shadow side of the face has a triangle of light of the cheek.
To get this effect in a controlled studio environment the light would have to be soft and filtered out and the light its self would have to be shone down from a angle just higher than the subjects face, the light would also have to shine across the face from a angle just in front of the subject (example images:)

to complete this task we worked in small groups with each member alternating between roles:

A portrait taken of one of my classmates shows lighting from a single source angled across the front left of the subjects face, with the right side of the face angled to the camera it is clear to see the triangle of light under the right eye. The triangle of light under the left eye makes this constitute as a Rembrandt portrait

the setup was a single softbox studio light utilising a tripod to keep the set and camera stable

the position of the light, camera and subject when getting the rembrandt effect

this image is not a Rembrandt image because there is no triangle of light on the cheek on the dark side of the subjects face. This lacks the detail of a norma portrait and creates a strange and unbalanced image & for a portrait of a person this would be highly inadequate as half the subjects face is obscured in shadow.

With the light and subject angled appropriately a small amount of light will highlight the side of the face furthest from the light.

The light on the darker side of the face gives the subject more definition and detail, it also creates an interesting contrast between the shadow side and the light sides of the face, with the small amount on the shadowed side on the subjects face the shape of the subject is more prominent and is easier to identify than an image without and angled exposure on to a subject.

Exercise 3, Photographic studio photographer research

The Photographers:

Richard Avedon,

Robert Mapplethorpe,

Cecil Beaton,

David Bailey,

Annie Leibowitz,

Horst P Horst

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon was an American studio photographer who was most active during the 1950's through to the 2000's until he passed away in 2004 but during this time he showed great skill and inventiveness in the field of studio & fashion photography with a knack of presenting a layered subject within the images he took and was well known for his use of contrasting shape & tone throughout his portfolio.

Avedon's passion for both fashion and photography were kindled at an early age with his intrest of fashion coming from his experience helping in his mother's family owned fashion and clothes manufacturing shop and his ability with photograph from joining the photography club called Young Men's Hebrew Association in 1935 and at the age of 12 which gave him all the skills he needed to set him upon the path of a photographer but this path wasn't fully realised until 1942 during World War 2. During the war Richard joined the armed forces in serving as Photographer’s Mate Second Class in the U.S. Merchant Marine with the role of photographing other members of the merchant navy for identification purposes which was a process Richard quoted as “My job was to do identity photographs. I must have taken pictures of one hundred thousand faces before it occurred to me I was becoming a photographer."

After leaving the navy for his pursued the path as a professional photographer he started with his studies with art director called Alexey Brodovitch who worked at the Design Laboratory of the New School for Social Research, and during this time Avedon practiced his fashion photography by creating a lot of practice imagery. At the age of 22 Avedon embarked on his professional photographic career working as a freelance photographer which had him working primarily working at Harper's Bazaar. At first he was denied the Access to use of the main studio by the magazine, he instead photographed models and fashions on the streets, in nightclubs, at the circus, on the beach and at other uncommon locations showing Avedon's resourcefulness and ingenuity that became a hallmark of his photographic career.

He rose up the ranks at Harper's Bazaar to take position of lead photographer after a short time, his success lead him to open his own studio by the late 1940's which provided Photographs and images for many different magazines throughout the early post-war era which included Bazaar, Life, Look, Graphis and Vogue. The images that Avedon composed differed to the conventions of normal fashion photography by ignoring the convention of an emotionless model but instead had his subjects brimming with emotion or "positive energy" and also using the unconventional locations to compose and capture the images of the subjects. By the dawn of the 1960 Avedon had tired of natural light and the unconventional background and instead move into the studio to use a controlled lighted location.

In 1962 Avedon left Harper's Bazaar to join Vogue to become the staff photographer to Diana Vreeland who was an ex-employee of Bazaar but quickly gained position of lead photographer at Vogue from 1973 to 1988, during this time Avedon Photographed for many advertising campaigns of very prolific brands and companies

Richard Avedon's photographic portfolio had a vast number of examples of different situations and contexts born from his fascination by photography’s capacity for suggesting the personality and lifestyle of his subjects. He developed an advanced dairy of poses, attitudes, hairstyles, clothing and accessories to evoke the emotion and persona of the model ,the fashion framed and other elements of an image. He use the two-dimensional nature of photography rules of which he bent to his stylistic and narrative purposes which he summarised as “... photographs don’t go below the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues.”

His Photographic format and style Avedon mostly used was Black and White for it was the only easily accessible

Cecil Beaton

Sir Cecil Beaton was a artist, designer and photographer who was famous for his fashion and portrait photography during the mid 20th century, but he was best known for the work he did in the 1920s for magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue, where he earned praise for his unique style of posing subjects and using unusual backgrounds.

Cecil's Interest in photography started at an early age with his fascination with newspaper picture postcards which demonstrated examples of early photography and by 1915 at only age 11 he got his first camera. During the interwar period Cecil was undecided with failed dives into academic but his interest in Photography and theater design was where his passions lie and eventually he got a job as a staff photographer in the US with Vanity Fair and Vogue where his talents in photography were honed and improved with his increasing professional experience in developing new techniques for posing, lighting and backgrounds in studio photography but this was cut short as he was fired from working from the magazines for the use of unfavourable language and he returned to Britain Humiliated.

A few years after working for the magazines he had created a large and complex portfolio of work which he got published in 1930 called The Book Of Beauty, the book of his work shot him to fame with his talent in portrait and studio photography being heavily praised and his Original style and technique used in his photography. After the rise in fame of his work he was regularly hired to do Photographic work for many prolific people of that period with businessmen, aristocrats, celebrities and even monarchs requesting him to Photograph for them, the most famous events Cecil photograph for was the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

Prior to the Queens coronation, Cecil worked for the ministry of information during WW2, to record and photograph the effects of the conflict on Britain and the fighting in Africa and the Middle East. During this period of time Cecil developed a war photograph portfolio which was used in photos which reached US newspapers showing the shocking and disturbing situations Cecil had seen of the war in Europe and Its effects on the civilian population, for the war effort this was highly successful as propaganda which influenced the US joining the war & also redeemed Cecil on his blunder .

Cicils post-war career saw him take to stage & film design where he won praise and recognition for his role in his involvement in many productions and for his contribution in the film musicals Gigi in 1958 and My Fair Lady 1964. Cecil Postwar photographic career lead him to join British Vogue where he met and inspired a young David Bailey who himself became a prolific photographer, & Cecil also inspired the works of Angus McBean a British Photographer who's work was some of the finest of the post war period while still taking influence from photographers that preceded him. He continued to work in photography and until his death in 1980 leaving a legacy and inspired the next generation of studio photographers.

Cecil Beaton's Photographic portfolio demonstrates a high level of understanding in spacing in image along with lighting, shape and posing techniques that compliment the the subject and their personalty,

David Bailey

David Bailey is a photographer and mixed media artist who is today one of the most well known portrait photographers of 20th century, he became famous for his influence in British fashion, Portrait and Art photographer by the way took iconic photos of celebrities during the 1960's to present day and is also well known for his varied experimentation with photography.

David Bailey was born in Leytonstone East London to Herbert & Sharon,Bailey, From the age of three he lived in East Ham where Bailey developed a love of natural history, and this led him into photography but due to having an undiagnosed dyslexia he experienced problems at school. He attended a private school, Clark's College in Ilford where he says they taught him less than the more basic council school. He left school on his fifteenth birthday, to become a copy boy at the Fleet Street offices of the Yorkshire Post. He raced through a series of dead end jobs, before his call up for National Service in 1956, serving with the Royal Air Force in Singapore in 1957. The appropriation of his trumpet forced him to consider other creative outlets, and he bought a Rolleiflex camera.

Bailey started his career in photography In 1959 when Bailey became a photographic assistant at the John French studio, and in May 1960, he was a photographer for John Cole's Studio Five, before being contracted as a fashion photographer for British Vogue magazine later that year. Along with Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy, Bailey captured and helped create the 'Swinging London' of the 1960s: a culture of fashion and celebrity chic. The three photographers socialised with actors, musicians and royalty, and found themselves elevated to celebrity status. Together, they were the first real celebrity photographers, named by Norman Parkinson "the Black Trinity".

After this Bailey had become a become a household name and this is where he found himself shooting work for the best know names of each respective decade which passes, up to the present Bailey has been involved with Prolific magazines, creation of documentaries & commercials and with fashion design & photography.

Baileys Portraits express a great amount of personality and emotion off the subjects persona in the way his subjects are posed and framed,

Exercise 4, Portraiture "after the style of"

Replicate the styles of studio photographers (2+ photographers)

The selection of Photographers Sampled:

Richard Avedon,

Robert Mapplethorpe,

Cecil Beaton,

David Bailey,

Annie Leibowitz,

Horst P Horst

The studio set up

My inspiration was the photographs of David Bailey, Cecil Beaton & Robert Mapplethorpe, all of these photographers had inspiring and differing methods of posing and use techniques along the lines of line of action and dead space to greatly improve the emotional impact of the image, the location and angle position was also an important difference between the methods of portrait photography and dynamic imagery used between them though there is also a level of overlap between so of the images and which photographer inspired the composition and posing in the photograph.

overall the photographer I focused on the most was David Bailey and his style of framing and posing his subjects in a image, I had memorised many of the poses used and images Bailey had taken from familiarising myself with a book written about his work

initial image comparison

Cecile Beaton's photographic style also inspired me just like he inspired David Bailey

Photographs - Unedited

Final edits:

Black and white - David Bail

Process of digitally re-creating a David Bailey Portrait using the photoshop application

final exercise: Still Life

Still life photographs and paintings are images of sets of items displayed in a way to display a mysterious message using the common symbolism of the objects used in the images

Historically still life used symbolism in paintings with many

classic & modern research

Vincent Van Gogh

Robert Mapplethorp

flowers...

has become famous for his paintings of portraits and his images of flowers

flower arrangement in still life

Still-life photography

Kevin Best

Kevin Best is a New Zealand photographer & artist who reinterprets Dutch still life paintings during the renaissance. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the significance of every item in each work and how they interact with each other to form a narrative that had a deep significance in a time of the late middle ages & late renaissance.

The use of arrangements to convey a idea or message through imagery

Roberto Bernardi

Brain storm:

meanings + parody + setup + BRITISH + light and shadow use of staged composition + foreground & backgrounds + evidence of experimentation + which objects

2 A4 colour prints + research + lighting

Meaning's & Symbolism of objects:

skulls & bones-
bottels-
shells-
flowers (by important species)-
colour (spectrum meanings)-
light-
shadow-