Assignment 4 Learning notes

Assignment 4 is the culmination of several weeks' work on light - the longest chapter in the course, reflecting the importance of the subject.

As set out in the exercise notes, I have found the exercises challenging, particularly in the latter stages when using indoor lighting, which I had hardly used before.

I looked for guidance and inspiration from other sources:

Well known photographers

This 1905 image by Hine entitled Young Russian Jewess Ellis Island demonstates the use of back lighting enhanced by front lighting on the lower left of the jacket:

scan courtesy of masters-of-photography.com

A number of Brandt images also demonstrate the use of light, two notable ones being At Charlie Brown's 1936:

scan courtesy of masters-of-photography.com

This image demonstrates well the importance of light directed on to the important subject matter, in this case the people on left and right, and the picture.

 The second is Street Scene 1940:

scan courtesy of masters-of-photography.com

The shadow thrown by the light behind the man adds to the effect of what appears to be an aggressive approach by the man.

scan courtesy of masters-of-photography.com

 This Winogrand image Sidewalk provided some inspiration for a backlit shot.


Still life photography

These photographers tended towards people and places rather then still life, so to look at some modern images, I found 40 Interesting Examples of Still Life Photography on http://www.thephotoargus.com/inspiration/40-interesting-examples-of-still-life-photography/. A particularly relevant image is one by thebiggertom of a scooter -side lit with shadow on the right:

 A particularly relevant image is the following by CJ Schmit:

 

This provide some inspiration for one of the images taken as part of the exercise - the classic front facing view of a train.

I noticed a wide variety of still life images on this site. The best were good examples of the maxim that less is more. Many of the images used vignetting, either by means of directing light or in post processing.

Indoor photography

I found some helpful hints on: http://www.lightstalking.com/indoor-photography. The most useful were:

• avoid using on camera flash if at all possible. This is a sound tip, and I was pleased ot have the use of a cable for off camera flash;
• use bounce flash - I found direct flash too harsh for the images in the exercise;
• composition is everything - especially important for indoor photography;
• use a tripod -  a given for still life.