Final Shoot

For my next shoot, I took out the elinchrom lighting. This time, because wanting to make my shoot a bit more High key I needed 2 or 3 lights (usually 4 would be needed but due to my space being so small and with it being not a plain white set I decided 2 would be sufficient) . One to light the scene and one to light the models.

In order to create the high key (ish)lighting I required I used a ratio of 2:1 to ensure less shadows etc.

I decided that my background needed to be between f stop 16 and 22, and then my model must be a stop down to ensure to separate the model from the background effectively like in this found image opposite.

Ratios and stop differences

Ratio Stops
Difference Description
1:1 No
Difference Flat
lighting
2:1 1
Stop General
color photography
3:1 1
1/2 Stops General
black & white photography
4:1 2
Stops Dramatic
lighting, low key
8:1 3
Stops Very
dramatic, low key




An important concept to understand when dealing with studio lighting for portrait photography is contrast. Contrast is the difference in the amount of light that falls on the dark areas of a scene and the amount of light that falls on the highlight areas of a scene. Humans can see a wide range of contrast while film and digital capture devices are much more limited in the light level ranges that they can record. For this reason, we must use caution when lighting a scene, and consider the ratio of the amount of light between light and dark areas or the Lighting Ratio.

Due to the latitude of film and digital sensors, it is the photographer’s goal to find the exposure that strikes the appropriate balance between the highlights and shadows. You must begin by deciding the desired “feel” of the final image. If you wish to obscure shadow detail and draw attention to the subject, high contrast lighting may be most appropriate. On the other hand, you may wish to show detail in both the highlight and shadow areas which would require lower contrast lighting. Once you know the effect you wish to obtain, you can begin to identify the proper lighting ratio for the shoot.

The definition of a proper lighting ratio is very subjective and can vary widely between photographers. There are, however several lighting ratios commonly used in commercial portrait photography that we can use to illustrate the process for determining this ratio in the studio setting. For example, a lighting ratio of 4:1 is common for traditional portraits. A 4:1 ratio indicates that there is four times (or two stops) more light in the highlight areas of the face than in the shadow areas. A 4:1 ratio gives enough light in the shadows that details can be seen, while creating the sense of depth required for realism.

To produce a portrait with a 4:1 lighting ratio, you would begin by determining the exposure values for the main light. Let’s assume for this example that there is a main light and a fill reflector. The main light is off camera right at 45 degrees and the fill reflector is off camera left at a similar angle. Remove the fill reflector and take an exposure with only the main. Use an incident light meter to measure the amount of light that falls on the side of the face nearest the light. This value will give you the working aperture for the shot. In other words, this exposure value is set such that you get proper exposure in the highlight area of the subject’s face. Now, add the reflector back in and take another exposure. This time, use the light meter to record the exposure value for the light falling on the shadow side of the face. The ratio between these two values should be 1:4 or two stops. So, if the highlight side of the face registered f11 and the shadow side registered f5.6, you have achieved the proper ratio. If you do not get 5.6 in the shadow side, simply move the reflector forward or backward to compensate taking a new reading each time you move it.

When the reflector or second light is placed such that fill light can spill into the highlight areas, extra caution must be used to calculate the resulting ratio. Be sure to measure highlights again and recalculate the ratio after adding a second light or reflector.


High Key...A high key portrait setup would involve the use of a white or off white background and brighter clothing. A high key portrait can be challenging as it requires a great deal of light control and has the most risk of overexposure and loss of detail. In general they would have a low lighting ratio near 2:1. A common background for high key portraits is paper which is slightly overexposed resulting in a pure white seamless background and a feeling of cleanliness. Great care is usually taken to separate the subject from the background to eliminate shadows. These portraits also tend to require more light and thus more power and lighting equipment to create.

Taken from-http://www.studiolighting.net/lighting-ratios-for-portrait-photography/



"Simplifying High Key with Consistency and Predictability"

By Scott M. Tallyn
Tallyn's President and CEO

High-Key photography is one of the most expressive types of portrait forms and can be used for singles, couples, groups, full lengths, or just head and shoulders. However, it is also one of the most demanding styles and requires competent use of metering and lighting techniques to achieve even, clean, pure whites and proper subject mood. In fact, a definition of high-key requires a definition of each word.

"High" refers to the position on the tonal scale which ranges from black to white, and "Key" in this sense means predominant tone in regard to the spectrum of light or darkness. Therefore, high-key translates to an achievement of the whitest continuous tone without letting that bright tone bleed into or affect the subject's color.

This effect is usually flattering to the subject and can make a statement by easily showing the qualities of a person and even make them appear more sensitive.

Since lighting of the high-key set is usually one of great debates among photographers and sometimes becomes complex, we will describe a simple 3 or 4 light concept that has proven very reliable for us and works well with this high-key set. We rely on the basic "Inverse Square Law" of light which states that as the distance between source and subject increases, the amount of light on the subject decreases inversely with the square of the distance.

bedroom shoot

I found the interaction between my models added a fun vibe to each image, and also a lot of truth to the images. I really like how the light falls on Georgias (girl in red) face in these images.
Because the area I was shooting was quite small I needed only one light create this mid key lighting effect. I found that two lights was too much for the small area .



During setting up the ranger kit, i took a few snap shots to experiment with the composition of my images in a more high key lighting .After my shoot i went through my images and decided that despite my first intentions i actually preferred the images shot more high key l rather than lower mid key. The images were more fresh and vibrant looking-and i think this would be alot more desirable to my target audience. My initial reasons for not shooting in high key were because i thought the images would lack atmosphere, but this was when i was planning in the studio- however i then chose to shoot in my bedroom which has atmosphere.The interaction between the models also adds an exciting and interesting atmosphere.

evaluative points

During setting up the ranger kit, i took a few snap shots to experiment with the composition of my images in high key lighting .After my shoot i went through my images and decided that despite my first intentions i actually preferred the images shot in high key lighting rather than mid key. The images were more fresh and vibrant looking-and i think this would be alot more desirable to my target audience. My initial reasons for not shooting in high key were because i thought the images would lack atmosphere, but this was when i was planning in the studio- however i then chose to shoot in my bedroom which has atmosphere.The interaction between the models also adds an exciting and interesting atmosphere.

The high key images also looked a lot more professional, and i could see them more in a glossy magazine. And so, i planned another shoot with my models in order to shoot more images in high key.

During the shoot, it was quite difficult trying to communicate my ideas with my models- and so i showed them some of the images i had come across in magazines so that they could see the general direction i was looking for.
Te models had a lot of fun during the shoot and i thinkk this added a lot of truth to my images= girls having a good time getting ready together before a night out
I think that the truth in the images make them alot more accessible to my audience as teenagers/young women could imagine themselves in the situations and so can relate to the models and could imagine themselves in the clothes they are advertising. I also think that the relaxed feel of some of the images suggest that the clothes being advertised, are comfortable etc to wear- which is suggested by some of the models positions



As expected, a photo which has tones in the middle of high and low would be called a middle key portrait. Often middle key portraits will use skin tone to set the mood. In these cases, clothing may be used to accent the tone of the skin with contrast rather than allow all elements to blend together. Often a high key portrait can be converted to a middle key portrait by reducing exposure.

ranger kit

messing around in the studio

Messing around with ideas...