Assignment A08: Strobe/Electronic Flash: Studio or Location Assignment

Strobe/Electronic Flash: Studio or Location Assignment

Objective:

Become familiar with basic lighting patterns and styles. Experiment with one or more professional lighting type assignments. Have the ability to adjust and assess the best lighting for your model or product quickly by comparing each source’s quality of light, how it describes facial features, emphasizes shape and texture and provides mood in your photographs.
Choose one of the following subjects to shoot:

1. Replicate a Magazine Advertisement (Lifestyle or product)

2. Professional portrait

Camera Set Up:

ISO 100 (or closest); Raw File only.

For this Assignment you only need to choose one of the lighting options mentioned below.

Location Shots: On Camera Flash (portrait techniques)

Flash as fill light (FFL)

For this option the flash is not the main light on your subject. Built-in camera flash is acceptable.

    1. Find a subject and location that is suitable for a compelling portrait.
    2. Mount your flash on top of your camera or a light stand and point it directly up toward the ceiling/sky. Use a rubber band to attach a piece of white cardboard/foamcore/matboard to the back of the flash to act as a reflector. 
    3. Set the camera to Aperture Priority and the flash to TTL.
    4. Set your flash to expose for minus 1 stop. This will create a 2:1 lighting ratio between the ambient light and the flash exposure.
    5. Take a few exposures of your subject and look at the effects of the flash. If the flash too noticeable or the shadows are too dark, adjust the flash exposure setting to fine tune the flash intensity. The role of the flash is to simply bring up the shadow values. It should not be obvious that a flash was used. If the flash is causing a shadow, it’s too bright. If your subject has dark shadows under thier eyes, try increasing the flash exposure.  
    6. If shooting with a Manual mode flash use your hand held meter to establish ambient light exposure and then set up your flash to be minus 1 stop compared to the ambient exposure.

Over Power the Sun (OPS)

For this option, you will be using your electronic flash OFF-CAMERA to produce a nicely lit portrait in the middle of a blue sky day.

    1. Find an outdoor location that is visually compelling and helps tell a story about your subject
    2. Your shoot time must be during the middle of the day, when the sun is high in the sky, and the sky is clear. Nocloudy or overcast days.
    3. Place your subject with the sun to their back. The subject’s face should be in shadow, but the hair should be litnicely by the sun.
    4. Set your camera up for Manual Exposure
    5. Choose a light style, quality or pattern that is appropriate for your subject. You can use a small softbox, umbrella, piece of foamcore, or direct/hard light — whatever is appropriate.
    6. Plug your Pocket Wizard or other brand of Remote Trigger receiver into the flash and mount the transmitter on your camera. You may need to purchase a special remote/transmitter to flash cord, and/or a hot shoe adapter.
    7. Meter for the background of your scene in the sunlight (not the shade). For this example, we will say that 1/100 @ f/16 is the proper background exposure. Remember this exposure.
    8. With your handheld meter set at 1/500, meter your strobe’s strength and make power adjustments until the flash outputs a value of f/16. (Setting the shutter speed to 1/500 on your meter in this step allows you to eliminate most of the ambient light and achieve a more accurate reading of only the strobe’s strength). Your subject’sexposure is now equal to the background.
    9. Remember the shutter speed from the earlier ambient exposure reading. In our example it was 1/100. Now we set the camera to f/16 (ambient and flash f/stop) at 1/100 (ambient shutter speed).
    10. Make an exposure – the flash and ambient should be approximately equal in effect on the subject.
    11. Now, you will underexpose the background by increasing the shutter speed by one stop. In this example you would use 1/200. *(You can also underexpose the background an additional stop by stopping down your lens and increasing your strobe’s power one stop so it meters at f/22).

Dragging the Shutter (DS)

Similar to OPS, you will be using your electronic flash OFF CAMERA to produce a nicely lit portrait but you will be shooting in very low light environment. “Dragging the shutter” is a technique that combines a slow shutter with flash. For this portrait, you may shoot indoors or outdoors, as long as you are shooting at a shutter speed of 1/15 or slower.

    1. 1. Find an interesting indoor or outdoor location that works to tell your subject’s story AND has interesting light. The location should have some interesting available light to use with your strobe
    2. Using your tripod, carefully compose your frame.
    3. Do your best to eliminate as much of the light on your subject as possible. Use flags, foamcore, turn off lights, etc. If you have some light from behind acting as a rim or hair light, that’s Ok.
    4. Decide your aperture based on the depth of field you require for the subject.
    5. Using your camera’s meter in evaluative/matrix mode or a hand held meter, take a reading on the backgroundambient light to give you the shutter speed that will give a proper exposure at the chosen aperture.
    6. Next, light your subject with your flash as you see fit (umbrella, softbox, Foamcore, hard light, etc.)
    7. Meter your strobe with a shutter speed setting of 1/250. Again, the fast shutter speed will eliminate any ambient light on your subject giving you an accurate reading of only your strobe’s strength.
    8. Adjust the strobe’s strength until it matches your chosen aperture.
    9. Take a final meter reading with your meter set to your shutter speed (and chosen f/stop) from step 5. Thiscombined reading of strobe and ambient light will give you the proper exposure to begin shooting.
    10. If you want the background darker, increase your shutter speed. If you want the background brighter, slow your shutter speed. Provided your subject is in the dark, the strobe exposure on them will remain consistent.

Location: Available light shot conditions

Reflected light:

For this light situation, you should be using reflected light as your subject’s light source. You can photograph anytime of the day, but the main light on your subject should be diffused by bouncing off of a building, a piece of foamcore, flex disc, etc. The light should be soft and flattering to your subject.

Direct light:

For this light situation, your subject should be lit by direct natural light without being diffused. Avoid using the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky. Your best time to photograph is during “Magic Hour,” which is the first hour of daylight in the morning and the last hour of light in the day, warm and beautiful. You may use a reflector as fill if you wish. Consider how your white balance is set at this time of day.

Open shade/edge of shade:

Shady areas like under a building awning or a large tree or grove of trees, the entrance to a building, under a bridge, parking lot, or whatever else you find that creates shade can be an extremely effective source of light. The trick to getting the most out of the situation is to position your subject sothey are located on the very edge of the shade and almost standing in the direct light.

Studio Lighting

Strobe Light Patterns:

For this option you will be choosing any off these to experiment with for the assignment.

    1. Side or Split: Key or Main light illuminates one-half of the face only, dividing the nose and lips half in highlight and half in shadow. *Hatchet: key lights of equal brightness illuminate the face from the sides.
      Rembrandt Lighting: One side of the face is fully illuminated while the other side has a triangular patch of light in the shadow area of the face. The point of the triangle is on the lower cheek, while the broad area of the triangle exposes the eye.
    2. Loop Lighting: Key light creates a shadow of the nose that reaches halfway to the full shadow side of the face.The loop does not touch the upper lip. The mask of the face (2/3 -3/4) is fully illuminated.
    3. Paramount Lighting: (also known as Hollywood or Butterfly Lighting) : Key light is high above and in front of the face (can be right above the camera) creating a small symmetrical shadow below the nose that reaches halfway to the upper lip. The light does not create an excess shadow on the upper lip or in the eye sockets. The head is typically pointing directly towards the camera. The light washes over the face helping to minimize any blemishes and wrinkles, particularly when overexposed.
    4. Rim Lighting: Key light is behind the person creating a halo around their hair, or a thin line of light at the edge of the face. Fill light can be added to the face. Be careful to avoid the camera seeing the light behind the subject or your film will experience flair - a general fogging and/or washing out of the image around the edges.

Strobe Light Styles

    1. Short Lighting: the Key light is on the side of the face away from the camera, usually about 45 degrees and positioned high. The catch light in the eyes is either at 11 or 1 o’clock. The exposed ear is in shadow. Narrows a round face when the face is in 3/4 profile. Shadow Side = Short
    2. Broad Lighting: places the Main light at 45 degrees on the side of the face towards the camera. Head is3/4 away from camera. The exposed ear is bright. You may need to flag off the light or scrim it to reduce the brightness. Catch light is at 11 or 1 o’clock. Broadens a thin face. Bright Side = Broad

The Shots

Time permitting experiment by photographing a minimum of 50 photos using each of the following light modifiers on the strobe:

    • Umbrella
    • Soft Box
    • Beauty Dish
    • Foam Core Bounce 5. Reflector w/grid

To be turned in:

    • One amazing print
    • Digital Files submitted on Canvas

Some quotes to keep in mind as you begin to work:

“A true portrait should; today and a hundred years from today, be the testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was”. --Philippe Halsman

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.” --Gordon Parks

“When you go to take someone’s picture, the first thing they say is, what you want me to do? Everyone is very awkward.” --Annie Leibovitz

“My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.” ---Helmut Newton