Studio lighting

This is a beauty dish. When used up close, the beauty dish provides a very focused light source without a hot spot in the middle. It delivers a semi-hard light – softer than an on-camera flash or strobe unit, but harder than a softbox. The beauty dish provides a concentrated light source where the center is the brightest and the light gently falls off at the edges. 

This is a soft box. When used the soft boxes softens the light and makes the light look a lot softer and more natural on the object of person. It is a indirect light meaning the light won't be focused on a single thing it will light up the frame. The light reflects on the inside wall and the comes out of the fabric which gives it the soft look. 




This is a small reflector light. This covers the light just a little bit it reflects it. It is still a direct light as it focuses on one part of the set. It is usually used on the main person or object in the set.

This is a snoot. This is a harsh light. This light is like a spot light it is the most direct light you get and the harshest. The snoot is usually used on a persons face or a object.

This is a backdrop. A backdrop can come in various colours. this is used as a background of a set and every studio will have one.

These are barn doors. you would attach these to a small reflector light. These make drift light and you can choose what shape you want it. They all move so it can be really direct or not to direct.

Health and Safety

• Make sure things are put away properly and neatly

• No food or drink in the studio

• Make sure there isn't lots of people in the studio because there in more risk of a accident and the studio gets very warm

• Make sure all the lights are turned off 

• Make sure the wires aren't loose because that would be a tripping hazard 

• Never leave the studio unattended

• The flashlights become incredibly hot and could cause severe burns. They should never be handled.

• The lights get very hot so be careful whilst handling them

• Make sure everyone in the room is okay with flashing lights.

Evaluation of Studio Photography

Dance
There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to Dance photography in the studio. The advantages are you can create sets how you want the sets like then just relying on a place. Another is that you can make the photos more dramatic with the lighting and do things you wouldn't be able to do outside. Another advantage of doing it inside the studio is that the costumes/clothes won't get messed up etc. One more advantage is that there is no wind inside so it doesn't matter if it is a windy day you can still have the shoot. The disadvantages of doing shoots in the studio is that if you want the picture to have a natural effect on the photo then it can look quite fake. Another disadvantage of being in the studio is you only have a limited space to work with. One more disadvantage is that the backdrops aren't always smooth so you don't always get the effect you want.

Lighting

This is the set up I used for the picture I used two soft boxes quite close to the model on a black backdrop. I used the soft boxes to give the light a softer effect on my model rather then a really strong light. I think this worked well for the pictures I took because it gave her a soft look.

Original picture
This is the original picture I took of the model. I do really like the photo it just annoyed me that the back drop wouldn't go straight because i think it would of been a much better photo it it was. I could of made the photo a lot better if i told her to come all in white or a different colour because she blends in with the background a lot. I really like the pose I picked for this photo because its really effective and looks dramatic. I also love the shape that her body is in. Im happy with how the shoot went and the model was very good to work with. When I was taking this photo I thought it would of been nice to use the low key so that is what I used. On this photo I used a shutter speed of about 1/250 I think this was a good speed as it wasn't to fast or to slow, I think I got a good balance between the aperture and shutter speed. I think the exposure on this photo is just write it isn't under exposed or over exposed.

Final Picture
I did this on photoshop by firstly getting the original image copied it and then flipped it.once i have them two images next to each other i flipped them so it came up with the 4 effect. Then I added the text and the barcode. I really like the look of the magazine cover I have created. I think the way that the elbows connect I think it looks really good and effective. Next time I would want to change the font of the title but I couldn't find a font to suit it. I really like the way it if though because it looks very classy and like something a dancer/dance teacher would buy. If I had to do it again I would add different text on the front about advertising on the front to make it more interesting. The pose that she has holding also looks really nice whilst mirrored its very effective. Overall I'm really happy with the work I have produced and there are only a few minor adjustments that I would do to improve it. when editing this photo I made it slightly under exposed but that is how I wanted it to look so I'm happy with it.

Conclusion
I am happy with the outcome of my magazine cover, it has turned out the way that I wanted it too. through doing all my shoots I have got a better understanding about lighting and much more. In the end I was torn between doing a fashion magazine or a dance magazine but I know I made the right decision. The food magazine idea didn't go as well as I planed, but I know what I need to improve on for next time.

Idea 3

Jonathan Knowles

Link- http://jknowles.co.uk/about/

Jonathan Knowles is a London based photographer specializing in graphic still life, liquid and people photography. His unique photographic style has earned him award winning, national and international advertising commissions working with agencies worldwide. In the past eight years he has consistently featured in the ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers in the World’ books. He is now also one of the top 10 all time award winners in the Graphis Annuals, and has had images included in their last four volumes of 100 Best in Photography.

I really like his photos. I like the way that the mug is the same color as the background so the shadows give it a really nice effect. when you just look at them they look over exposed but they're not its just the way he has used the same color on top of the other. I think the drip coming from the top of the jug is really effective and gives the photo something more to look at on the image on the right you can see that it has a massive effect on the photo where is only has a slight effect on the image to the left. I am going to experiment with things like this.

Shoot 1
This shoot went really well. I do like the photos i got out of it but they aren't wow! You look at them and just think its some pictures of food. i think it would of been a lot better if i had set it up differently. I liked the lighting and the  way I did it all I just don't think this is the type of magazine I really want to do. I thought there would be a lot that I could really do with something like this but there really isn't. Nothing has inspired me so im going to leave this here. My initial thought of this was to reflect obesity and anorexia in a lifestyle magazine. For this I used high key.

Idea 2

Liza Voll 

Liza Voll's portrait, event and performance photography elevates any pedestrian experience, while her technical expertise and organisation guarantee quality production from concept development to file delivery. Liza's experience as a dancer enables her to capture the height  of a fleeting moment, creating clarity out of chaos. Liza graduated from the school of the museum of fine arts, Boston with a BFA, studied at the Parsons school of design in Paris and graduated summa cum laude with a BA from tufts university in phycology and public health. During her academic career, she also interned with a eating well magazine, Barbara Barry inc., and the alonzo kings lion ballet. While in high school, Liza preformed classical and contemporary repertoire with the Vermont youth ballet, and the rock school of dance education in Philadelphia. She grew up in Vermont and currently lives and works in cambridge Massachusetts. Liza is a active member of the american society of media photographers.    


Her Photographs

I really like how she has turned one of her passions to her photograph. I really like how she has captured them at the perfect time of them doing a move. I like how she has used a really simple background and concentrated on the shapes that the dancers are making. I think I could interpret these photos and then for the final idea I am going to have a little mirror in the background so you can see the performer in that too.

Shoot 1

In this shoot I didn't have a image that I particularly liked. I don't think think these photos are the type of photos I need for my shoot I need more dancing poses more then getting ready type ones. But on these photos I really like the lighting I have used and the angles I have used because they make the photos really nice to look at. For this I used high key.

Shoot 2
I really like the photos from this shoot and I think I am going to use one as my final image. The one I pick to be my final image I will flip the image to make it look like a mirror. The final image is going to be one of these 7 that I have blown up. I like all these photos especially with the way I have used the lighting. A thing I don't like about all of the photos is that you can see that the background is creased and it would look a lot better if in was straight. I'm going to try sort this problem out on photoshop to try give the background a smoother effect. I really like the bottom right photograph because the shadows and the pose makes the photo look very abstract. I think these photos would look good in black and white also. If i cant edit the background properly then i am going to re-do the shoot and try make the background smoother. For these I used low key because I thought it looked good with the effect here.

Shoot 3
I do like these photos but I don't know what had happened but all the photos came out yellow. I don't think i'm going to use this as one of my final images because I will have to edit them a lot and I don't want to have to edit my images a lot. The lighting on these photos is really bad the positions that the model is doing is good but apart from that the photos are quite shabby. If I re-do the photos and find out what the problem was I would probably try it again. For these I used high key but they didn't turn out well at all.

Idea 1

Rankin
information
sited from- http://rankin.co.uk/biography/
Rankin made his name in publishing, founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992. It provided a platform for innovation for emerging stylists, designers, photographers and writers. The magazine went on to forge a distinctive mark in the arts and publishing spheres, and developed a cult status forming and moulding trends, and bringing some of the brightest lights in fashion to the foreground.

Rankin has created landmark editorial and advertising campaigns. His body of work features some of the most celebrated publications, biggest brands and pioneering charities, including Nike, Swatch, Dove, Pantene, Diageo, Women’s Aid, and Breakthrough Breast Cancer. He has shot covers for Elle, German Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone and Wonderland. His work has always endeavoured to question social norms and ideas of beauty and, in late 2000, Rankin published the heteroclite quarterly Rank, an experimental anti-fashion magazine celebrating the unconventional. In 2001, Jefferson and Rankin launched AnOther Magazine. With a focus on fashion, originality, and distinction. In response to the expanding menswear market, in 2005 AnOther Man was introduced, combining intelligent editorial with groundbreaking design and style. More recently, the Dazed Group has established itself as an online authority, via AnOthermag.com, Dazeddigital.com and Dazedtv.com. Rankin celebrated Dazed & Confused’s 20th anniversary, shooting 20 front covers of Dazed favourites and 20 inside covers of the next generation of talent, for the December 2011 issue.

Tapping into the consciousness of the 90s and 00s with his intimate approach and playful sense of humour, Rankin became known for his portraiture of bands, artists, supermodels and politicians. Having photographed everyone from the Queen of England to the Queen of Pop, Rankin is often seen as a celebrity photographer. However, his plethora of campaigns and projects featuring ‘real women’ marked him out as a genuinely passionate portrait photographer, no matter who the subject. Always pursuing personal projects which push his limits, high impact charity projects, and groundbreaking commercial campaigns, Rankin has stood out for his creative fearlessness. His first major worldwide and award-winning campaign, Dove’s ‘Real Women’, epitomised his approach: to reveal the honesty of the connection and collaborative process between photographer and subject. Personal or commercial, Rankin’s images have become part of contemporary iconography, evidence of his frankness and passion for all aspects of modern culture, and its representation in the photographed image. Rankin has published over 30 books, is regularly exhibited in galleries around the world, as well as his own London gallery. His museum-scale exhibition ‘Show Off’ opened at NRW Dusseldorf in September 2012, pulling in over 30,000 visitors in 3 months.

In the last few years, he has frequently turned his hand to studies of photography through TV presenting. Working with the BBC, he has featured in a number of seminal documentaries, ‘The Seven Photographs that Changed Fashion’, ‘South Africa in Pictures’, ‘Shooting the Stars’, ‘The Life Magazine Photographers’ and most recently, an in-depth documentary into the modern approach to death in, ‘Alive: In the Face of Death’.
His affiliation with charities has seen Rankin travel the world, creating powerful campaigns both as a photographer and a director. With Oxfam, he visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, and in 2011 hosted an Oxglam exhibition, featuring work from some of the world’s most talented emerging young photographers, and raising money for the charity. 2013 sees a planned trip to Jordan and Lebanon with Oxfam. In 2009, Rankin undertook the biggest project of his career, Rankin Live, a mammoth, interactive spectacle and exhibition. Always interested in the democratisation of the image, and also a keen advocate of the amazing digital advances of the photographic industry, Rankin Live was the culmination of the accessibility and speed of modern photography. Rankin proved that everyone can look like a magazine cover star as, for 7 straight weeks, he photographed people off the street, one every 15 minutes, retouching, printing and hanging the image within half an hour of the shutter being fired. Rankin photographed over 1600 Londoners, before then taking Rankin Live on tour in Mexico and New York.

In 2011, Rankin Film Productions was born. Rankin developed a taste for film
directing music videos, commercials, and short films with co-director Chris Cottam between 2002 and 2009, including their debut feature film, The Lives of Saints. Written by Toni Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), it won the grand jury prize at the Salento International Film Festival. Since 2009, Rankin has continued to direct independently on both commercial and personal projects. Taking on the new role of Executive Producer, Rankin recently founded Collabor8te, in association with The Bureau and Dazed TV. Collabor8te calls on scriptwriters and directors to submit their ideas for narrative film, promising to turn a selection of these dreams into a reality, producing them, featuring them on Dazed TV, and running them on the international film festival circuit. In November 2011, Rankin returned to magazine publishing with a fresh offering, The Hunger. A biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, The Hunger and its associated Hunger TV website, a video-based digital platform featuring in-depth interviews, fashion films, blogs, updates, and previews, marked Rankin’s return to the fashion world with an understanding that the future is not only printed but digital too.

 I really like these photo of Rankin's I want to try something like this. I like the way this is in black and white is used and how the light reflects of the paint or what he has used. I am going to try and re-do these photos myself and see how it tuns out I am then I'm going to try experimenting with different things, to do with these photos.

My Attempts 

I have tried to replicate this photo of rankins it doesn't exactly look the same but i still like the way it is in black and white and how the light reflects off the paint. These are also some photos of the process and the ones that didn't turn out you i wanted them too.

i tried to copy two of the images above here but none of them turned out how i wanted them too. Next time I need to make sure that the lights go off. I also need to make sure i get the right angles and stuff as the actual picture to get the same effect. i don't think i will be using things like this for my final images.

Paint Pictures

Thinking about these pictures he has used light on a lot of them and reflected it. I think my idea for this area will be to use baby oil or something, apply it to my models face and let the light shine off it. I like these because they have turned out well the other ones where pictures i didn't like as much from the shoot.

I have taken these three pictures with colour as well as black paint i really like them because i think it looks really effective. I like the way i have used the lighting and how the light shines off the paint. I really like the photo to the right because I have caught the drip dripping off his face where as I also like the photo to the bottom left because his head is at a really good angle and he looks really sassy. Where as I don't like the top left one as much because I think there is a bit to much coloured paint on him where as on the other two there isn't as much. I might use one of these as my final image but if I did I would crop it so the bin bag wasn't in it and edit them to make sure you can't see the shower cap. For all these photos I used a low key effect.

I really like these photo i have used Rankins idea of using people but in these i have thought about it more i have thought about the stimulus which is reflections and thought about it i thought i could connect this to people not being who you think they are for example: a person seems lovely but on the inside they're plane evil. Thats how i came up with the idea of projection of the devil on the face of someone and of the shadow of someone. Then i thought about the timed people that nobody notices and that are lovely and projected a happy cat on their face.