Exercise 4.4 – Studio Lighting

Examining the effects of controlled lighting.

There were two or three light sources in these images.

1: A Window on the right, about 10 feet away, with curtains either open or closed.

2: A small directional halogen lamp.

3: A battery powered bulb producing weak, non-directional, light.

Image 1

This image was taken as a reference shot, using just ambient light coming in through the window on the right. It’s blurred as I pressed the shutter manually and jogged the camera slightly. Doh!

The image is dull and unexceptional.

Image 2

Shot with light coming from the window on the right, and a small halogen lamp just out of shot, to the left.

The light from the lamp on the left combined with the ambient light coming from the right produces quite a flat looking image.

Image 3

Shot with ambient light from the window on the right, and a small halogen lamp pointing directly towards the pineapple, from the front.

The resulting image looks quite wrong, to my eyes. The lamp is set quite low, and to my mind, the pineapple just needs a set of fangs and a cape to complete the effect.

Image 4

Shot with ambient light from the window on the right, and a small halogen lamp just out of shot, to the right of the pineapple.

Strong shadows on the left of the pineapple.  High contrast. Not displeasing, but a little overstated.

Image 5

As the previous shot, but with the addition of a small battery powered bulb, in front and to the left of the pineapple.

I like this. There aren’t particularly strong shadows, but it isn’t flat and lifeless either.

Image 6

As the previous image, but with a green carrier bag over the halogen lamp.

Apart from making the shot slightly darker, the green bag didn’t have much effect on the pineapple. The tone of the background is slightly altered though. It looks like a nice warm evening. (It was around 10am).

Image 7

The curtains are now closed. There is a small halogen lamp covered with a green carrier bag just to the right of the pineapple.

As with the shot where the curtains were open (#4), this is a high contrast image with strong shadows. It seems slightly sharper, but not greatly different.

Image 8

The curtains are closed. The lamp with green bag are behind and to the right, while the battery powered bulb is behind and to the left.

I find this a very interesting image. With light to the rear, and the front of the pineapple in shadow, there’s a real feeling of depth.

Image 9

The curtains are open. The lamp in a green bag is to the right and slightly behind, while the bulb is to the right and slightly in front of the pineapple.

High contrast, with strong shadows.

Image 10

The curtains are open. The lamp in green bag is to the right and slightly behind the pineapple. The bulb is to the left and slightly behind the pineapple.  The shot was deliberately overexposed and then contrast and vibrance were boosted in post.

I was just messing around to see if I could achieve a ‘high key’ effect.  I may have overdone it.