Painting with light pages from 40 1 f06 cjet 2

TECHNOBABBLE

QUANTITY Underexposed A dark picture resulting from not having enough light to properly expose the picture. FIX: Increase the amount of light reaching the sensor by using a more wide-open aperture and/or slower shutter speed.

Overexposed A picture that is too light. The result comes from having too much light at a given exposure. FIX: Decrease the amount of light reaching the sensor by using a smaller aperture and/or a faster shutter speed.

QUALITY Harsh Light with distinct shadows, such as those in bright sunlight.

Soft Light with diffused shadows, such as those on a cloudy day.

Warm Light with a red/orange cast, such as light at sunrise and at sunset.

Light from tungsten light bulbs also achieves a warm effect.

Cold Light with a blue/purple cast, such as light coming from fluorescent bulbs.

Soft Light with diffused shadows, such as those on a cloudy day.

Daylight Early morning and evening light is warmest and the most pleasing.

Sunlight can be harsh and uninviting at noon when the sun casts harsh shadows straight down.

DIRECTION Frontlighting Light coming from behind the photographer that falls on the subject. Tends to be flat.

Sidelighting Light coming from one side of the subject. Provides the most texture.

Literally translated, photograph means painting or writing with light. Using a flashlight in a dark room, with the shutter held open, the photographer and some helpers can literally paint with light.

A dark room, Photoshop filters allow for

Painting with light

S

liding an exposed piece of paper into the Dektol was a magical experience.

Watching the latent image pop out and become a photograph was part of the power of working in the darkroom. For fun, it was right up there with fixer stains on dress shirts and with brown tones on fingernails. Though part of that wonder has been lost in the digital era, not all of the magic has disappeared.

Students can still have a lot of fun playing, both digitally and conventionally, with light and learning how to manipulate the “paint” that photographers use.

Beginning photographers need to learn that manipulating light is about understanding the quantity (having enough), the quality (the right kind) and the direction of light. Even without a

studio, the concepts are easy to illustrate.

Light a volunteer model by using a transparency projector, a slide projector or a strong, mobile light source to illustrate front-, side-, and backlighting. Diffuse the light by using a translucent cloth (a sheet or white T-shirt) to illustrate soft vs. harsh light (quality). Also, change the intensity of the light or alter the room lights to illustrate the quantity concepts.

It is also useful to use such experiments to talk about the use of flash and about how direct flash provides flat, harsh light that is basically unattractive. However, by bouncing the light from the flash off a wall or off a ceiling or by diffusing the light from the flash, supplementary light allows the photographer to use smaller apertures (thereby increasing depth of

Backlighting Light coming from behind the subject as the photographer faces into the light. Usually results in a silhouette.

Before trying to paint with light, using a small flashlight pointed at the camera, practice.

Use the longest shutter speed possible or a Bulb (B) exposure of about 15 seconds. This picture was taken using a timed exposure of 15 seconds. During the practice, students counted off the seconds so the painters could give the subjects an even exposure.

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field) or faster shutter speeds.

To have a little more fun, find a dark room, a closet or a classroom without windows. Set the camera on a slow shutter speed (10 or 15 seconds). Have volunteer “painters” outline other students in the class from behind with a small flashlight. If they get really good, students will be able to write messages using the light.

In this same dark room, photographers can use a flash (or strobe light borrowed from the science department) to play with different effects. Because the only light source is the flash or strobe, when shot with a slow shutter speed (15 or so seconds), the same person can appear in the same picture multiple times.

In a dark room, or on a dark beach, use the light from a flash to light the subject while keeping the shutter open for the entire time.

For this picture, each time the subject moved, the photographer fired the flash again.

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PHOTOSHOP The fun doesn’t stop at the click of a camera.

Photoshop can also help students learn additional lighting concepts. The Lighting Effects filter is particularly helpful. Full of options, the filter is intriguing to play with, but it also has practical applications.

For example, the light from a direct flash is harsh and flat. It does not provide the texture that can be achieved by side-lighting. Using the flood light or the spotlight, it is possible to do a rough approximation of a more interesting form of light. n

Turn a classroom into a studio by using a window, a slide projector or a transparency projector as the light source. White paper or cloth makes doing knock-outs easier.

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