Mid-Semester Review

Still Life

This post is a set of still life images all shot using a combination of 3 lights.

This picture of the NERF equipment was shot using three soft boxes (one left, one right and one over head) to create a light box and provide the most even lighting with minimal shadows. 

These two images were shot using one strobe with a snoot and a red gel pack on the back drop as well as a soft box and a beauty dish to light the knife. I had the particular challenge in this picture of limiting the amount of light from the softbox and beauty dish so that I did not wash out the red backdrop.

These final three images were shot using a Canon Speedlight 430 as well as two alien bee 800 strobes running off of a battery pack. I really enjoyed shooting these picture and the unique challenge cars pose. I wish to revisit shooting cars in the feature when I am more prepared for things. I ran into the problem of having to trigger the alien bees optically as well as the limited or hash light which is put out by a Speedlight in this setting. I also ran into the problem of wind and not having sand bags so I was handicapped in not being able to use the large umbrella in the first two pictures. Hopefully in the future I can revisit this concept with three full size strobe and softboxes/umbrellas with radio slaves!

Hang'n Ten.... Well actually two.

These images were all produced using two strobes with either softboxes or in a couple of them a beauty dish and a soft box. Enjoy!

For these ones with the surfer I used a beauty dish high off to one side of the model as well as a softbox on the opposite side of the model from the beauty dish to provide a little balance and to help fill in the shadows. 

For these two shots I used two softboxes, in the first shot one light is high, almost in the models line of sight, and the second soft box is opposite the model down a little lower, centered at about the shoulders. The second image is simply two soft boxes both at about shoulder lever with the model. 

One Is the Loneliest Number...

These two images were shot using a large softbox on the overhead crane, I used the black paper to create a seamless backdrop as well as used some red fabric to ad a splash of color. 

These two were shot with a glass sprite bottle sitting on top of a strobe with a 10 degree grid-spot. The first image is just that, but the second image is actually a composite of the same bottle shot using 4 different sets of gels between the strobe and bottle. On the second image I also used a piece of the black foil with a hole in it to cut down on the "spotlight" effect from the grid spot in the image. 

These two were shot using a small soft box set off to the models right (camera left). The first has some natural light helping to separate the model from the background while in the second picture I completely eliminated the background element helping the model to melt into the darkness.

Getting Hot, With a Couple of Lights

For this assignment I used hot lights using a combination of one light to create a dramatic scene and focus attention, as well as multiple lights to create even lighting across the subject. I wanted to continue a tattoo project that I've been working on since a film class in the spring of 2011, for the last image though I approached the subject matter and lighting as though I were working for an add agency; trying to create a clean, evenly lit image. Looking back now the one thing I wish I would've done differently was in some of the portraits would be to put more light on the background to get a pure and clean white, but over all I'm pleased with this first run of the studio.

My Portfolio and Reflection Essay - Mass Comm Internship