Principles of Exposure: Capturing and Controlling Value with Studio Lighting

Hello Students,

Having a studio environment and using studio lighting is one of the best way for a photographer to have total control over the lighting and background elements in their photos. Different lighting positions are used to enhance facial features, eyes, hair... and to create different moods, atmosphere and effects in the photo. We will cover some basic lighting set ups and then you will work in groups to create examples of the different lighting positions for portraiture.

When you begin to recognize lighting patterns you can experiment with placement, shadows and light effects.

Studio Lighting Patterns:

A lighting pattern pertains to how the light and shadows fall across the face. We all know that harsh outdoor lighting can be unflattering to our subjects, casting deep shadows under the lips, in the eye sockets and neck area. By using studio lights we can create pleasing light patterns with rich tonal value to accentuate our subjects facial contours. Different lighting set ups work better for women and men separately, and it is important to know the basics, once you have an understanding of basic light patterns you can begin to experiment and achieve the results you desire in each of your portraits.

1: Split Lighting

Split lighting is a simple, single light set up. It is called split lighting because it divides the face into light and dark areas. This setup tends to be rather dramatic in effect. To achieve this look the light is placed 90 degrees to the left or right of the subject. Any lighting pattern can be used on any facial position, but the light may need to be moved in relation to the subjects face for best results.

Term Definition - Catch light: Sometimes the subjects eyes may be too dark in a split lighting set up, so often a "catch light" is used in front of the subjects eyes to fill the reflections in their eyes and to avoid a "dead" look in their eyes. This catch light can be a big diffused umbrella light, not bright enough to affect the split light set up, but just enough to cause some reflection in the eyes, brightening up the subjects look over all.

2: Loop Lighting

Loop lighting is when lighting is positioned to create a shadow of the viewers nose falling across the face. To create this look the light position must be slightly higher than eye level and about 30-45 degrees from the camera. This positioning may need to change with each person, everyones face is different. Learn to read your subjects face, in loop lighting the shadow of the nose and the shadow of the cheek shouldn't touch. Adjust light as needed to achieve this. Loop lighting is a common method as it is usually flattering to the subject and is easy to achieve.

3: Rembrandt Lighting

So named because the same lighting is used in Rembrandt's paintings. This set up is identifiable because the shadow created by the nose and the cheek do touch, creating little triangle highlights under the subjects eyes. Proper Rembrandt lighting should also use a catch light on the shadow side of the face to keep the eyes from looking lifeless. This is a dramatic lighting set up that creates a deep mood. If your subject has high cheekbones this is a good method, if their nose is very short or shallow you may need to adjust your lighting to achieve the light triangle so endemic of this method. To create Rembrandt lighting the subject must turn slightly away from the light and the light must be above the top of the head. Not everyone's face is ideal for this method, so do what looks best and is most flattering.

4: Butterfly Lighting

This lighting setup is named because of the butterfly shaped shadow that is created under the subjects nose. In this setup the light is placed above and behind the camera. This setup is used for glamour lighting and to create shadows under the cheeks and chin. It can be flattering for older subjects as it tends to minimize the shadows in wrinkles, which would be more pronounced in side lighting. Sometimes in Butterfly lighting a reflector is placed under the subject, sometimes the subject will hold the reflector themselves. This pattern flatters subjects with thin faces and high cheekbones.

Studio Light Styles / Broad Lighting:

Broad lighting isn't a pattern itself but a style of pattern, any of the above patterns can be broad or short. Broad lighting refers to the subjects face being turned away from the camera so that the lighted area of the face is broader and the shadow areas are smaller or shorter. This type of lighting can make a persons face appear wider and may not be flattering, or it can be used to make a thinner persons face seem fuller.

Short Lighting:

Short lighting is the opposite of broad lighting, the subjects face is turned towards the light making the shadow area smaller, and often more flattering. It puts more of the face into shadow, adds depth to the image and tends to me more slimming and flattering.

Link: 6 Portrait Lighting Patterns

Studio Lighting Assignment:

Pair up with 3-4 others and sign up for some time in the studio. We only have one studio so we will need to share. When you use the studio be extremely careful when handling the lights to avoid broken bulbs and broken equipment. Take turns acting as models and create examples of the following light setups:

• Split lighting
• Loop lighting
• Rembrandt lighting
• Butterfly lighting
• Broad lighting (in any pattern)
• Short lighting (in any pattern)
• Experimental (choose a light position/pattern/technique and get creative with it)

Post process or shoot your images as B&W images to demonstrate the proper lighting patterns, B&W can show tonal patterns and light/dark areas with more clarity than a color image. Post your 7 best results to your blog when complete.

Have fun!

- Mr.W

Student Examples:

Advanced Portrait Study: Left, Right, Front / Read, Shoot, Write

Your next assignment is another exercise in portrait photography and this time we are testing a theory that a persons left side of their face shows more emotion that the right side of the face, and that viewers find the left side more aesthetically pleasing. Read through the 2 links below. Take your portraits and write a 2-3 paragraph summary about your findings. Do you agree with the theory proposed? If not why? What are your personal findings and thoughts?

Does the left side of the face show more emotion? 

Links for required reading:

 - Science Daily: Your left side is your best side

 - Petapixel: Photograph the left side of peoples faces to capture more emotion

Assignment Details:

• Pick 1 person (doesn't have to be the same model from part A) and create 3 portraits of them each showing their face from the right, the left and straight on.
• Take multiple shots (like a professional!!!) and choose your best example to show the left, side and front portraits.
• Images must be portraits that have a high face ratio... frame your subjects face to fill the frame.
• Post your 3 images to our flickr page when complete, post processing is encouraged to enhance your portraits, try B&W, cross-processing or basic color enhancement.
• Write a 1 paragraph summary of your findings. Do you agree with the theory proposed? If not why? What are your personal findings and thoughts on this theory?
• When complete, post your images and attach your essay to your favorite portrait.

Student Work Example:

 Studies have consistently shown that the left side of the face not only tends to be more aesthetically pleasing, but displays more emotion than the right. As for the model I chose to use for this assignment, I would agree that this theory, in part, remains true. While the left side of my models face may present more emotion, I would argue that the right side of my models face, contrary to common belief, is more aesthetically pleasing. The reason for this is that the jaw is much more accentuated on his right side creating a sharp and intense- but not particularly emotional-look. In the photograph displaying the left side, his features appear much softer. Interestingly, I tried this again with three other people (including myself) and found that both parts of the theory applied. While this generalization may not apply to everyone (as many do not), I do agree that there is truth behind it.

                                                      - Veronica Madrid

 - Mr.W

 This project is due Friday. - Mr.W

Principles of Exposure: ISO and Noise

Assignment: Understanding ISO

Students, your new assignment is a challenge for you to demonstrate an understanding of ISO and how to adjust both Aperture and Shutter Speed to maintain proper Exposure across multiple ISO settings. In this assignment you will find a still life subject, and shoot 4 images that have similar exposures but increase in ISO. Little change should be seen in light/dark values, only additional grain/noise should be noticed as increasing. Overlay your images as shown below and document your exposure settings.

Notice the increase in shutter speed and decrease in aperture size that was required to maintain exposure levels across the 4 iso ranges

Reading and resources for deeper understanding:
Lightstalking: The Rule of Equivalent Exposure
Exposure Calculator 

Assignment Deliverables:

Part A:

1. Produce a series of images (4) that demonstrate the impact that ISO has on the noise in an image while maintaining consistent exposure. Choose a creative still life subject and produce 4 images showing the range of ISO settings from low to high. Mimic the ISO Comparison images above. You will need to adjust either shutter speed or aperture to keep even exposure, don't let the different examples get darker or lighter.
2. Compile the images in slices to show the even exposure levels, as illustrated above

Part B: 

1. Written Synopsis of the Exposure Principals. Write a short 3 paragraph description of the three principals of exposure, shutter speed, aperture and iso, what they mean and how you utilize them in photography. 
2. Email your essay to the instructor for credit

- Due following thursday

- Mr.W

Principles of Exposure: Aperture, depth of field and focus

Exposure: Aperture

Notice in this chart that the wider apertures have a narrow DOF, while the smaller aperture has a larger DOF. Additionally the shutter speed must be sped up or slowed down depending on aperture setting.

Aperture is a mechanical feature on the camera lens that adjusts the amount of light that is let into the camera. The size of the aperture also changes the depth of field range, a term for the area of an image that is in focus. 

A larger aperture will create a narrow depth of field and allow the maximum amount of light in the camera, so a faster shutter speed may be used. This is great for artistic images, street photography, portraiture and still life. The depth of field can be very slim with a wide open aperture resulting in more emphasis on the subject.

A smaller aperture is used when the depth of field must be wider. This also allows a sharper image to be captured because the flatter part of the lens is being used... resulting in less distortion fringing of details. Great for images that need increased detail, landscapes, nature photography, architecture.

When a smaller aperture is being used to control depth of field, adjusting the focus on the lens can change the position of the DOF. You can move the DOF closer or farther away. Many lenses will focus automatically, but you can disable that to adjust the focus yourself.

Our artistic element of the week is "Value". Value refers to the tonal quality of an image, tonal quality is, IMHOP best evaluated through a black and white image. If you shoot in black and white or experiment with black and white conversion with an image editing program, you will learn to see opportunities for good value in b&w photography. Good tonal quality should show as many levels of value as possible, from bright to dark and everything in between.

Key Assignment 6: Aperture and Value

Students, your new assignment is to develop an understanding and demonstrate control of depth of field. Additionally we are focusing on value in photography by shooting black and white imagery

Assignment Deliverables:

1- Depth of Field Portrait: Create 2-3 portraits that demonstrate depth of field. Use a wide open aperture setting and look for good backgrounds for your subjects

2- Near/Far Focus: Arrange 2 people 10 feet apart from each other. Produce 1 image that shows the subject closest to you in focus, then change your focus to show the subject farthest away from you in focus.

3- Value/Contrast through B&W: Set your camera to shoot in Black and White only. Take 1 photo each day of the week that captures "value". Look for interesting compositions, light, contrast, patterns. You will need to shoot many images and experiment so you can learn to "see" in B&W value. Post your best 5 photos before next class.

- Mr.W

Principles of Exposure: Capturing Action and Controlling Motion Blur

Exposure: Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO:

Exposure is the measure of light falling on the media, be it film or CCD. It's controlled by three factors namely shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity of the sensor (ISO). Let me try to explain each of these in a greater detail.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time the shutter screen remains open, in other words, it is the duration for which the light hits the media. Shutter speed is the feature of the camera and not the lens. Faster the shutter speed, lesser the duration for which light hits the sensor, so lesser amount of light is captured.

The shutter speeds range from 1/4000th of a second (1/8000 on a pro camera) to 30seconds, with a special "B" (bulb) mode wherein the shutter could be kept open as long as the photographer wishes (of course, constrained by battery).

The shutter speed controls another most important aspect - freezing the subject in time. Simply stated, you shoot a speeding car with slow shutter speed, you tend to see the trails of the car resulting from motion blur. On the other hand you shoot the same car with higher shutter speeds, the car will appear as though it is stationary. In case you're wondering what magic, the photographer has done to capture those long trails of headlights, the answer is simple: he would have just kept the shutter open long enough to capture the trails.

When you're shooting with slower shutter speeds (under 1/100th of a second) holding the camera, it is highly likely that you end up with a blurred photograph. Why? It's obvious that when you're shooting at lower speeds, even the slightest camera shake will contribute to the blurring of the photograph. Solution for this problem is to mount the camera on a tripod or try to find a platform nearby to place the camera and shoot.

The answer for the question "What shutter shutter speed to use for a particular shot?" is "It entirely depends on the kind of shot and it can't be generalized". If you're shooting birds, wildlife, sports, street shots etc. which require the moment to be captured tack sharp use high shutter speeds. Night shots, trail capture, abstract photographs, light painting, milky waterfall photographs etc. require slow shutter speeds.

Aperture is the feature of the lens and has nothing to do with the camera, except that the aperture values are set/controlled by the camera. As the name itself suggests, aperture is an "opening" at the rear end of lens through which the light enters the camera. Earlier days, the lens barrel had an aperture ring to set the required aperture values, but these days the aperture could be controlled by the knobs on the camera or changing a setting on the digital menu of a DSLR.

The maximum and minimum value of aperture depends, as mentioned earlier, on the lens and not on the camera. You may find a lens with aperture as big as f1 or f1.4 or as small as f45 or f64. Aperture is measured in terms of f-stops and hence the f. It's notated f/1.8 or f/5.6 as well. As you can see the size of the aperture is inverse to the value of f-stop, higher the f-stop smaller the aperture, smaller the f-stops bigger the aperture. So at f1.8 the light received by the medium will be more than f5.6; least light will be received at the smallest aperture say F22 of F45 or whatever your lens supports.

Like shutter speed, aperture also controls one other aspect, apart from the amount of light, it's called Depth of Field (DOF). You maybe confused by amateur photographers who are fond of terms like DOF, Bokeh, Hyperfocal distance etc. Just remember this rule of thumb & don't get lost in the jargon: Bigger the aperture, smaller (shallower DOF) the region of focus; smaller the aperture larger (deeper DOF) the region of focus. You may, therefore, want to open up the aperture for a portrait shot wherein you want a focused and sharp face and blurred background and close down the aperture for a landscape shot wherein you want the entire landscape to be focused. Also in macro shots, the amount of DOF is very critical since the available DOF is very less. DOF is used sometimes to give artistic effects to the photographs.

Photo credit: Seth Wilson 2013

Portraits would come out well with bigger apertures (smaller f-stops) for it makes the subject really sharp against a background of soft background, Also night shots usually require bigger apertures which would allow lot of light to enter.

Landscapes need smaller apertures (bigger f-stops) for most times it wouldn't have a specific focus point. Smaller apertures help on a very bright day to cut-off excess light entering (of course this could be controlled by shutter speed too).

ISO is the measure of sensitivity of the media (film) and digitally is a camera dependent feature. ISO values are typically in the range of 100 to 3200 (on a pro camera it can have an extended range from 50-102400)

When the ISO is set to 100 the sensor is the least sensitive, it can sense less light. When it's set to 1600 or 3200, the sensor can sense a much more light. Which means for a given condition if ISO 100 gives a standard exposure with F8.0 & 1/250th of a second, ISO 1600 may give a standard exposure at F8.0 & 1/1000th of a second. ISO comes very handy while shooting hand-held under low light conditions, it gives an advantage of slightly faster shutter speeds which helps in avoiding motion blur.

An obvious question may arise to a novice, "Why should I shoot at low ISO when higher ISO gives an advantage of faster shutter speed?" Though ISO seems to be such a cool feature, it carries with it something very undesirable - NOISE. Higher the ISO, higher the noise.

Brighter the ambience smaller the ISO (unless you want grainy effect), darker the ambience higher the ISO.

To Make It Easy Just Remember The Rule of Equivalent Exposure: Each Change In ISO Is Equal To One Full F-Stop

Imagine you've pointed your camera at a scene and it's recommending the following settings:

1. A shutter speed of 1/100s 
2. An aperture of f/5.6 
3. A sensitivity setting of ISO 400 

We could make the photo appear twice as bright by doing any of the following:

1. Doubling the shutter speed to 1/50s 
2. Doubling the area of the aperture by increasing it one full f-stop, to f/4 
3. Doubling the sensitivity setting to ISO 800 

Any of these could be described as increasing the exposure by 1 stop.

Likewise, to make the scene appear half as bright, we can reduce the exposure by 1 stop by taking one of the opposite steps: 

1. Halving the shutter speed to 1/200s 
2. Halving the aperture area by reducing it one full f-stop, to f/8 
3. Halving the sensitivity to ISO 200. 

Note that we use the word "stop" even when we're not adjusting the f-stop (aperture) setting. It's just become a general term to mean a factor of 2.

That's about it. For even more information, read this page here at Cambridge In Colour.

Key Assignment: Capturing Action

Students, your new assignment is a challenge for you to demonstrate an understanding of the basics of exposure through capturing action and controlling motion blur. Create images that meet the criteria listed below

Assignment Deliverables:

This pelican was shot with a fast shutter speed to capture it in motion, even the water droplets splashing up are frozen in time. Photo credit Will Tierney 2015

1- Object Frozen in Time: Create 2-3 images of a moving object that is frozen in mid-action, this image must show no motion blur. For each image write a short description of the process used in taking the photo, what settings were used to create the visual effect and describe the affect the image may have on the viewer.

A fire spinner creates a silhouette of herself through motion blur. Photo credit Seth Wilson 2005

2- Object in Motion: Create 2-3 images that show an object in motion. The moving object must show motion blur. For each image write a short description of the process used in taking the photo, what settings were used to create the visual effect and describe the affect the image may have on the viewer.

3- Tracking Motion: Create 2-3 images that shows an object in motion with the background behind the object showing motion blur. For each image write a short description of the process used in taking the photo, what settings were used to create the visual effect and describe the affect the image may have on the viewer.

4- Zoom Blur: Create 1 image that shows zoom blur by cranking the zoom and taking a photo at the same time, try it a few times and post your best. For each image write a short description of the process used in taking the photo, what settings were used to create the visual effect and describe the affect the image may have on the viewer.

Post all images with accompanying written content to the flickr group when complete.

Due by following thursday...

- Mr.W

Post Processing Enhancement Exercise

Hello Students,

Your new assignment is to enhance a portrait with the methods detailed below. Use a good portrait and a good landscape image and work through the following tutorials. Read through the color enhancement assignment and find a way to enhance the colors in your image to make it rich and vibrant. Next try the process listed afterward to modify additional images using the cross processing, tilt-shift affect and the "Dragan"method to create deep shadow and gritty detail in your images.

Post Processing Project:

• Work through the 3 methods below, color enhancement, cross processing and dragan effect
• Use pictures you have taken for the exercise, look for colorful images to enhance
• Work through the tutorials carefully and follow each step. Your results should show similar improvement. Experiment for best results!
• Post your 3 processed images to the flickr group, along with the 3 unedited images as well

Part 1: Color Enhancement Post Process:

• Choose your favorite colorful images from previous photo shoots and create a copy of it, open the copy up in Photoshop (it's always a good idea to edit copies and keep backups of your original images)
• Read the entire tutorial below and try each step out on your photo, adjust settings as needed to boost and enhance the image for best results, this will be different for each image
• Create an image border

For many beginning photographers, any version of the image editor, Photoshop, can look quite daunting to use. With all the menu options, palettes, tools, filters, layer styles and various changes you can make to an image, it’s difficult to know where to start. This article provides some ways to get started.

Here’s a photo I took at the San Jose Rose Garden. Notice it’s lacking control and saturation of color. It’s a little flat and lacks depth. We can adjust it with Photoshop.

To get started, simply open a colorful photo that could use a little enhancement, or an image that needs a lot of improvement...

1. Duplicate The Background Layer

The first thing you want to get used to doing is making a copy of the background layer of your image. The Layers palette should open by default, but it is also found by clicking on Windows>Layers in the menu bar of Photoshop.

Select the Background Layer and click on the little triangle at the top right of the palette. When the palette options open, click Duplicate Layer, or you can use the shortcut keystroke, Command+J.

By duplicating the background layer, you can make all types of adjustments to duplicate layers without permanently changing the original layer. If you make some adjustments you don’t like, you can drag the duplicate layers (with all the adjustments and effects you made to them) to the trash at the bottom right of the layer palette and restart the process.

2. Automatic Image Adjustments

When you start learning how to use Photoshop to improve your photos, you might want to try out some of the automatic adjustments that can be made, even if you don’t understand the tools themselves.

The basic image enhancement and adjustment tools in Photoshop are found under Image>Adjustments in the menu bar. In the Adjustment palette, there are various tools like Levels…, Auto Contrast, Curves, Brightness/Contrast.

To introduce you to these adjustment tools in this introductory photoshop tutorial, I’m going to suggest that you use the automatic and preset features of these tools. As you begin to understand them more, you will make use of manual adjustments. Try sliding the adjustments around, by exploring and experimenting you will become more fluent in expressing your artistic vision in your images.

So with your background layer duplicated and selected, click on Image>Adjustments>Auto Levels in the menu bar. When you release the mouse of the menu item, the automatic Levels adjustment should enhance or at least affect the shadow (dark), midtones, and highlights (bright) areas of your image. Often, a photo can be improved in Photoshop with just the automatic adjustments applied.

3. More About Layers

Now let’s revisit how layers work. Go back to the Layers palette and click on the little eye next the Duplicate layer that you just applied the Auto Layers adjustment to. When you toggle that little eye off, it means that you’re turning off the adjustment or effect that you made in that layer. Since the adjusted layer is on top of the background layer like a clear transparency, you can toggle the eye off and on to see how the adjustments are applied to the background layer (also remember: you can drag the duplicate layer to the trash to get rid of the adjustment(s) all together).

4. Automatic Curves

Okay, let’s return to a few other automatic adjustments and enhancements you can make to your photo. Go back to Image>Adjustments and then click on Curves. The Curves box will open. This box may look seriously scary with its grid, points, lines, and ear droppers. But don’t worry about that. We’re simply going to use some automatic adjustments to see how Curves can impact your photo.

Click on the button next to the word Preset. In the drop-down box, select Medium Contrast (RGB). If you don’t see much of a change in the contrast of your photo, go back to the Preset button and try Strong Contrast. You should be able to see the effect of the Preset on your photo before you click OK. Curves works similar to Levels but with more intensity in contrast.

Much more could be said about Curves and Levels, but this is just an introduction. You can play around with the points in the Curves box and see how they affect your photo. Remember, the changes you make are non-destructive to your photo, so you can experiment as much as you like. The illustration below explains a little about how the three main points in the grid function. If you make a mess of things, simply click Cancel and start over, or click OK when you’re satisfied with how the photo is looking.

5. Make Colors Pop

Okay, now lets move on to learn about other enhancements that can be made. One of the tools I use on nearly all the images I bring into Photoshop is one called Soft Light. Here’s how it works.

Go back to the Layers Palette, drag all the layers, except the background layer to the trash. Click on the Background layer and create another duplicate of it. Now click on the Normal button at the top of the Layers Palette. In the drop-down box, select Soft Light. When selecting this adjustment, it should make the colors of your image pop, or at least intensify the contrast of your images. The contrast of most digital images always need to be improved. This technique does that job extremely well without too much loss to detail.

If the Softlight application is too strong, select the Opacity button at the top of the Layers Palette and decrease the opacity of the layer/effect.

6. Image Border

Another tool that beginning Photoshop users might want to know is how to add a border around an image. Again there are a few ways to do this. One way is to select the top layer in the Layers palette. Next click on Image>Canvas Size. In the dialogue box that opens up, change the Width and Height to both to .2. Choose a color for your border. Make sure the center of the Anchor box is selected. Click OK and you should see a border around the image.

Part 2 and 3: Cross Process and Dragan Method:

Take your favorite images from your recent portrait assignments and create 3 different versions of each image by working through the online tutorials posted below. Post your 4 post-processed images and 4 unprocessed images (before and after) to your blog when complete:

Cross-Processing:

Cross processing is an effect where the film is developed with the wrong mix of chemicals. Work through the tutorial to recreate this effect and make your photo look like it's source was film and not digital. The border around the film is called the "film rebate". Search for one on google images to use on yours.

Link: Dragan Effect:

Andrzej Dragan's photography is known for having an intensity in detail and tonal depth. Try to mimic his technique with photoshop by working through the video tutorial.
Prefer a plain tutorial? Check out this link: Dragan Effect in 5 steps

Have fun!

 - Mr.W