Assignment 7

DISCOVERING LIGHT

The purpose of this assignment is to explore the characteristics of light. Even though you’re working with a static situation, you’ll find that a lot of the principles you apply in this assignment, will stick with you and you’ll be looking for it in the field.

HIGH KEY IMAGE

LOW KEY IMAGE

Milkweed pod with high key exposure. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (6s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Milkweed pod with low key exposure. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/6s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

FRONT LIGHTING

SIDE LIGHTING

Milkweed pod with front lighting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1.6s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Milkweed pod with right side lighting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/8s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

BACK LIGHTING

TOP LIGHTING

Milkweed pod with backlighting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/13s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Milkweed pod with top lighting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/10s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

EMPHASIS ON TEXTURE

CONCENTRATED LIGHT

Milkweed pod with left side lighting to emphasize texture. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/10s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Milkweed pod with concentrated lighting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (1/4s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

DIFFUSED LIGHT

LIGHT PAINTING

Milkweed pod with the same concentrated lighting behind a diffuser. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Sunday, November 8, 2020. f8 (0.4s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Milkweed pod with light painting. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, November 7, 2020. f8 (5s ISO 100) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 30mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

REFLECTION

Before this assignment, I can say I had a minimal relationship with photographic lighting. I prefer natural light and only used flash to try to create effects. I find this ironic since lighting used to be part of my production/stage manager's life, but I was always "less is more" sort of person, to be honest. The goal of this assignment was to discover and explore the characteristics of light. While the setup took some time, it was reasonably straight forward. I found this assignment challenging as I learned more about lighting and how I could make even small changes that would create or deviate from the task I was trying to accomplish. I also shot this on Saturday, then after looking at the images in Lightroom, was unhappy with my results and reshot it on Sunday, except for one picture. I won't take my tripod for granted in the future and will always remember to have it handy. I was also strangely relieved how relatively simple it was to use a basic lighting setup at home to create a great variety of effects, even in my studio apartment, with a limited time of natural light that fell through my window. I liked exploring high-key and low-key because something so simple as over or underexposing could create a new atmosphere. Emphasizing texture was still challenging, and I recall how I missed the first assignment's point—understanding that the light's direction was a key learning fact. I'm also trained to look at the texture in a more two-dimensional format with my printmaking background, so it was nice to stretch a few artistic brain cells and approach texture differently. While I don't expect to choose to do more studio work, I have more appreciation for those who continuously manipulate light on their own. I feel more confident that this assignment will help me look at lighting with a broader perspective as I continue to practice shooting photos. It will make me consider the time of day and weather conditions if I plan to shoot a particular scene.