Studio :Flashlight lighting at home

18/7/2014(Week 15)

Imani Najwa Binti Nordin (0319405)

Photostudio:Studio Lighting 

Lecture:

In the morning,When I came to class everyones face looked relieved seeing me with the camera since non of them had brought theirs,and for the fear that Mr Vinod would get upset they asked pretty much anyone who hasn't arrived yet to bring their camera.I had been the saviour of class(at least I liked to think that I was).As soon as I got in the studio they quickly asked me to place it on the tripod and wait for further instructions from Mr Vinod .When Mr Vinod did arrive in class he made us gather around him.In his hands he pulled out a box and showed us what the functions were.Which button does what,and how much you can increase the intensity.Which btw lowest is around 3 and it goes up till 10.We also had to build up the set again where there was a back drop and Mr Vinod was the model in the centre surrounded by flashlights and one ring light(which literally looks like a ring).A few complications here and there,where the flashlight wouldn't set off even though we had switch it off.

Exercise :Using Flashlight lighting at home :

Some of the exercise photos where Mr Vinod was the model at the beginning :

The photo overall is dark looking,however you can see that Mr Vinod had gain a rim arond his body structure that helps to highlight and give shape to Mr Vinod,that makes him stand out from the background.Not to mention it looks pretty cool.

On a lower studio box light meter.

Further Update on my final 5 themed photo :

Rational:

Nature's Nectar 

Imani Najwa Binti Nordin (b. August 1996,Malaysia) studying in Foundation in Design at Taylors University Lakeside Campus,Subang. Ever since I was little I always had a passion for photography however I would have never imagined myself entering photography classes since they look pretty intimidating.When I found out that I had an elective course for photography I decided to give it a shot.Now I find myself enjoying ever bit of aspect that my photography course has to offer.

About Photograph :

Ever since I've been in the photography class I've leaned a lot over the past few months, yet the most memorable thing that Mr Vinod has ever thought me was to always be different.Unique in a sense to start thinking outside the box.To push and go further and to take a stab at things.There was once when Mr Vinod had even asked me weather I wanted to just be good,great ,excellent or better yet create an artwork that would make heads turn.Those saying gave me the motivation to become more observant,to see and pick up tiny details  that people tends to over look,to be able to see things in a different manner.

The themed that I’ve chosen is Nature.Growing up I’ve always loved mother nature from the different types of flowers,to the textures of the leaves.I even loved getting my hands dirty digging through soil. I wanted to bring out the beauty in mother nature from my pictures.I wanted for people to feel what I feel when I’m unclose to nature.To see the difference between each branch and leaves.To make them feel sort of nostalgic just looking at it.Because to me there is nothing more beautiful then raw beauty.

On the other hand however,I had to face obstacles where I wouldn't get the perfect photo every time I pulled out my camera.After all the long hikes and all the searching I usually only end up with 2 to 3 photos that would work .I had to be patient for the most part,since I couldn't just magically make the insects appear or shape the tress in a certain way that I wanted them to be in.Nor did I have total control of the background for it to complement the main subject.With that it  thought me to look beyond and actually see the beauty in it. Often, I took my photos during the day mostly around dawn where the misty clouds would appear like fog.I usually keep in my of my exposure ,if it get too bright and sunny I would underexpose it by a few stops.

With most of my pictures being natured themed,this gave me the perfect excuse to go visit places.Most of which were hiking sights.One of the pictures that I’ve captured with the “lalng” leaves were from Broga Hills,Semenyih. Some were taken just around my garden.This gave my photos a bit of verity. I went out every week in search of something different.When I came across a few insects like the bees I quickly seize the moment.For example,when I saw the insects I had to be still whiles taking the photo working fast enough so they didn't fly off.There was also the issue of getting unclose poking my lenses nearer each time.To my surprise they didn't bother me at all which was a new experience for me.For the most part I used a low range of aperture;f/4.5,

http://imanifidnajwa.blogspot.com/

Hardcopy:

Reflection

Observation:

From what i've observed I've realised that it is important to come prepared,just incase.Like what happened today when everyone didn't bring their camera because they thought that Mr Vinod was going to teach us something else.This also brings to my next observation were we must always think ahead of time.Reason is because,all the time I tend to only think about my current problem,for example earlier today I've confronted Mr Vinod regarding my photo complications and when he wanted to see it for himself on my laptop,thats when I realised that I didn't brought it with me,only my camera.There I've missed a chance for him to figure out what went wrong.Therefore ,reminder to my dear self as well as others to always think in advance as it can save you a lot of time.

I've also realised that it is never to late to prefect your work,some of us still have to take a few more shots.

Another thing I've also wanted to mention was to trust your gut,again not rely on anyone,most of the time we as students seek opinion of our teacher/lectures just to make sure we've pleased them but unlike Mr Vinod he made us decide ourselves,we have to choose and decide which we think is our best photos,i think this is a good self learning discovery since it makes us sit and think which is best and make us focus for once.

Observation during visit to photomedia:

Whiles at the photo media studio,I've slowly begin to observe that me and all the rest were having a total meltdown especially  Katrina.Boy did I feel sorry for her since she had to edit almost everyones photo and all of the formats were wrong.I realised that the lady was a bit too harsh on Katrina when she wanted to teach her how to properly edit,pure pressure was really something difficult to work with.

I've also observed that they were totally in advance with their knowledge skills for photography.They really knew their stuff,however I still didn't fully understand why they wanted an original picture instead of the edited version.Something about the data has been erased or there wasn't even any to begin with.Though I wonder how that is possible since all I do is upload the photos using the cables and into my laptop.Couldn't be any more original then that.They also did mentioned that we should always stick with one editing software.It makes things much easier and apparently avoid using I photo edit.My bad.

Moreover,I've realised(not trying to pin point anything) but most of the time some of us cant really be bothered or are too tired to even focus during photography classes.This I think is a sort of a bad habit because I feel bad for Mr Vinod trying to get us all involved.This brings to my point where I think we should take initiative and pick up what people are teaching us.We cant always rely on one person all the time (ehem Kat).

Experience:

During todays lesson I've experience how to handle the flash light under pressure.I normally don't work well under pressure, and to be the only photographer whiles others stare me down was something I had to shake my nerves off

I then begin to get used to it slowly,tho I really wished I could have used the tripped since I was shaking most of the time

Another thing that I've realised is the amongst my fellow course mates.Most of use pitched in and gave an effort to help whiles others who sat back was called by Mr Vinod to get physically involved into the process.I sort of think that this exercise was quit a tricky thing to work with,however never the less,we can easily get away by using modern technology( light meter) it was easy to indicate which light source is the highest .

Findings:

I've found out that things are “more then what it seem” .Sometimes /Most of the time our eyes tend to betray us,fooling us into thinking that such things are proper and correct.When Mr Vinod asked use if the lights are of the same concentration and we thought it is but when we tested it out with the light metering 

Whenever it flashes it will automatically indicate if the lighting is either to bright or to dark from one another.I basically think its a nifty gadget since we couldn't possibly tell if both lights have an equal concentration.Another thing I've realised is that with the light metering,your supposed to also change your aperture to the number that it gives you for best results.

I've also realised that a rim lighting give you a really cool effect,A rim light is basically used in order to help highlight and create a rim or  a halo around the object/subject giving it  dimension and shape.Sort of like  a highlight hugging the frame of the person/subject.

I've also realised that it is best to get branded things such as the tripod and the light stand.The reason being is because most of the branded stuff although expensive are worth it.As the saying goes "worth the money ".Like earlier today Mr Vinod accidentally let his grip loose to fast but the lighting lamp was saved due to the air pressure in the light stand which helps to slow down the action and creates more friction so the camera wouldn't  easily go “THUMP” and is prone to less damage.

Most importantly,I cannot stress enough how it killed me that I didn't use the tripod,I hated the fact that my hands shook and the angle kept changing,my ocd was really drilling me,thought nothing photoshop couldn't fix.More work for me,yeah :/