Front/Side Lighting submissions

Melanie Smith, of NL, is starting us off this month with our Front/Side Lighting assignment – isn’t her subject so adorable!?

Front Lighting: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT at f/2.2, 1/80 sec., ISO 200

Side Lighting: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT at f2.2, 1/80 sec., ISO 200

Front Lighting: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT at f/2.2, 1/80 sec., ISO 200

Side Lighting: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT at f/2.2, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

Note the subtle changes in Melanie’s photos by the different lighting directions.

Thanks for submitting, Melanie – your handsome little guy is sure to break a few hearts in the future!

So, what is everyone else waiting for?  I know that we have a nice, long deadline for this assignment but remember, for each submission, you will receive a ballot PER PHOTO!  That’s doubling your chances to win that awesome prize from Clearsnap right there!  Plus, if you start early – you can send in more submissions!  There is NO LIMIT to the number of photos that you send me for each assignment, provided that they are relative to the assignment and follow the rules and regulations.

So get out there, and enjoy the sunshine – but bring your camera along!!

March/April Prize Pack!

This month, we have TWO prizes to give away!

For each photo you submit (and remember, you have to send me at least TWO submissions – a subject photographed with both FRONT and SIDE lighting), you will receive a ballot to be entered into a random drawing for one of two great prize packs from Clearsnap:

Each prize pack contains a Colour Catcher and 2 colours of our choice of Smooch Spritz!

It’s easy to win – just read Part I and Part II of the Mar/Apr tutorial and submit your photos to me by April 30, 2010!

March/April tutorial – Side Lighting

Welcome to Part II of the March/April combined tutorial!  Yesterday, I wrote about front lighting and its’ characteristics; today, I’m going to write about side lighting – our assignment this month will have a bit of a twist, so read on! 

Side lighting, as the name implies, refers to lighting that is directed towards your subject from either the right or left sides.  It is more effective than front lighting for many situations in that it effectively uses shadows to reveal texture and depth in your photos. 

Consider the following landscape: 

Taken with Nikon D60 at f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 360

One of my favourite barns that I’ve come across, this photo captures the texture of the wood panels and faded roof paint, while effectively casting the right side of the barn in shadow.  The light source was the setting sun, hitting the left side of the barn.  A bit of useless trivia – this photo was taken with me and my camera, hanging out the car window, driving up to Collingwood for a weekend getaway.  Don’t worry – the camera strap was wrapped around my wrist about three times! Oh, and I was the passenger, not driver!  

Side lighting is not only useful in photographing older subjects, but it is equally capable of capturing children.  In the following photo, the side lighting from our front window highlights my daughter’s fine flyaway hair, capturing what we referred to as her “crazy hair” effectively, preserving the memories: 

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

Side lighting can be effective in candid and sport photography as well.  I snapped this photo of my son coming up for air, during warm ups at his Regionals meet.  The pool had one entire wall made of windows, which made this photographer mama VERY happy!   The fast shutter speed, combined with the lighting, captures the water sluicing off his face, and the water droplets as he came up. 

Taken with Nikon D90 at f/5.6, 1/320 sec., ISO 640

As well, side lighting is crucial for striking black & white photography.  Black & white photography uses a mixture of grey tones to capture your subject so lighting is particularly important because in my opinion, it is the effect of shadows on the subject that causes photos to become extraordinary.  

With the event of digital photography, it doesn’t matter if your photos were shot in colour or black & white.  PhotoShop and other photo processing software allows us to convert our photos, using actions or various features.  So it is especially important to get the lighting correct for your photos, for you may decide later to convert them to black & white or sepia.   

Look at the following photos of my daughter.  In this first photo, Aili is laying on our bed, facing the patio doors.  Frontal lighting provides great exposure and while the expression is adorable (okay, so I’m biased! ), it looks flat and two-dimensional. 

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/3.5, 1/40 sec., ISO 200

Because of the clashing of our deep red walls with her pink sleeper, I chose to convert this photo to black & white, using Adobe PhotoShop Creative Suite 4.  

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/3.5, 1/40 sec., ISO 200

Again, adorable (in my opinion!) and there are good catchlights in her eyes, but the overall appearance is flat and lacks depth. 

Now, note the following photo.  I carefully propped Aili up and turned her perpendicular to the doors.  Sitting on the floor next to her (with one hand on her thigh!), I managed to capture this photo: 

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/4.5, 1/40 sec., ISO 200

I love the depth in this photo, with the dark shadowing on the right, but still managing to capture the catchlights in her eyes, not to mention those chubby cheeks! 

Now, because side lighting tends to produce these shadows, it is important to consider your subject.  If an overall exposure is desired, you can lighten your shadows by using a reflector of some sort, to bounce the lighting towards the back of  your subject. 

In the following photo shoot, I asked the couple to stand in front of the window at a 45 degree angle.  While the lighting on Mom-To-Be is effective, Dad is cast in her shadow a bit. 

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/4, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

So I set up a large piece of white foam core to act as a reflector and bounce some of the side lighting onto Dad.  This is what it look like: 

Photo shoot set-up

We will be discussing reflectors and bouncing light in later tutorials, but it’s important to remember that light reflects OFF a surface at exactly the same angle at which it hits the reflective surface.  So when setting up a reflector, remember to position it accordingly.  You can usually see the reflected light on your subject so use your eyes as your guide. 

This was the result of using a reflector: 

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/4, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

So I’ve discussed various effects of side lighting – now how do you get it?  Well, it’s pretty straightforward – just position your subject so that your light source, whether it be natural light from a window, the sun or even headlights, strikes from the side.  Consider your subject when choosing your camera settings.  You can use your information gained from the previous tutorials or use your camera’s electronic analog exposure display (in your viewfinder display) to determine exposure and aperture.  We will discuss the electronic exposure display more later on, but your camera’s manual should contain information on it, if it’s an available feature. 

Now for the fun part!!  I decided to combine the March and April tutorials for a couple of reasons.  First, because of the technical changes, I am posting this tutorial later in the month, which leaves less time for your March submissions.  And secondly, I think that combining the two tutorials will be an effective teaching aid in that it will allow you to photograph the same subject with two different lighting scenarios.  What better way to see the effects of both!?  

Your March/April assignment: 

Using both March/April tutorials as a guide, photograph a subject with both FRONT and SIDE lighting.  This may involve moving your subject, moving your feet, or photographing the same scenario at different times of the day.  Then submit BOTH of your photos to me to be eligible for our draw.  Remember, your photo will be of the same subject – but with different lighting directions!  As always, if you have any questions, please leave me a comment on this post, or email me. 

Deadline:  11:59 pm EST, April 30th, 2010 

Because you have to submit TWO photos, I’m giving you an extra month!   Please submit your photo, using our submission form only, for a chance to be entered into our draw to win one of  two prizes.  Yep, you heard right!!  We’re combining our tutorials but we’re going to have TWO winners!  A randomly chosen entry will be drawn after the deadline.  Please click HERE to review the rules regarding this draw BEFORE submitting.  Please note – submissions that are not relative to the tutorial and/or do not abide by these rules will not be posted on the blog, or entered into the draw.  Don’t forget to include your camera used, along with your camera settings for BOTH photos in the Comments section of the submisson form! 

Our March/April prize packs will be revealed shortly! 

Happy Clicking!

March/April tutorial – Front Lighting

In the Spring 2010 issue of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine, I discussed three directions of lighting: front, side and back.  This month, we will do something different - I will be discussing both front and side lighting and their different effects!  Today we will talk about front lighting.

Front lighting is exactly as described:  lighting that is directed toward the front of your subject.  It is very easy to use and can come from many sources:  on-camera flash, sunlight from behind the photographer, and directed studio lighting to name a few.  Front lighting generally results in bright, well-lit photos:

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/6.3, 1/160 sec., ISO 200

Despite its’ ease of use, professional photographers do not tend to use it very often, or only in particular settings.  Front lighting will cause your subject to appear flat, losing the illusion of texture.  It is for this reason that it is sometimes referred to as “flat lighting”.  It is particularly effective in landscape or architectural photos, like these, where there is a need for uniform lighting:  

Taken with Nikon D60 at f/9, 1/200 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/10, 1/200 sec., ISO 200

Oftentimes, during portrait photography, front lighting in the form of sunlight will cause your subject to squint:  

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/5.3, 1/800 sec., ISO 200

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/10, 1/400 sec., ISO 640

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/4.5, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

Check back tomorrow for the tutorial on Side Lighting and your March/April assignment!

Cheers!

February Winner!

Thanks to all of our participants who submitted photos this month:

1.   Lee-Anne Thorton
2.   Bethany Hoskins - photo 1
3.   Bethany Hoskins – photo 2
4.   Bethany Hoskins – photo 3
5.   Bethany Hoskins – photo 4
6.   Melanie Smith
7.   Maxine Lozinski
8.   Mindy Smith-Bernard
9.   Juanita Stauffer – photo 1
10. Juanita Stauffer – photo 2
11. Michelle Kuijer – photo 1
12. Michelle Kuijer – photo 2
13. Carla Ganske – photo 1
14. Carla Ganske – photo 2

And using www.randomizer.org, a winner was randomly drawn:

Congratulations to Carla Ganske!  We will ship your Fancy Pants prize pack out to you shortly!

Stay tuned for the March tutorial and prize reveal tomorrow!

Cheers!

We’re back!!

Sorry about the delay in posting the last of the February submissions, and subsequent drawing of a winner – I’m happy to say that we survived our technical changes relatively unscathed and I’m back!! 

A bit of housekeeping – In the course of the technical changes, there may have been some dropped emails so if you emailed me and have not yet heard back from me, please re-send me your email!

And now to share the final submissions from our lovely readers!

Juanita Stauffer send me these two photos, using the Sunny f/16 rule:

Taken with Nikon D40 at f/16, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

Taken with Nikon D40 at f/16, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

Even though they are lovely, it’s hard to look at that snow when we’re so close to spring, isn’t it!?  Thanks for submitting, Juanita!

Michelle Kuijer, of ON, sent me two photos, showing her bracketed shots:

Taken with Canon Rebel XS at f/16, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

At these settings, the photo is underexposed due to the overcast weather.  Michelle opened up her aperture two more stops to f/8 for the next photo, for a better exposure:

Taken with Canon Rebel XS at f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

Lastly, Carla Ganske, of AB, snuck in these two great photos of her kids:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/16, 1/30 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/16, 1/40 sec., ISO 100

 Thanks for your submissions, Carla!

As you can see from all of our submissions, the Sunny f/16 rule is only used as a guideline – more of a starting point for proper exposure of your image.  Using your bracketing will help you achieve your proper exposure, and as with all photography techniques, the more you practice, the easier and more automatic these settings will be!

I will post a winner for the February challenge tomorrow – and stay tuned for the March tutorial to be posted on Thursday!

Cheers!