In one of my semesters, I was taught these seven lighting techniques of studio photography and was asked to do a concept photography based on these lighting techniques. This was my first experience of both studio lights and concept photography.
The concept I worked with is known as the film of appropriation. It is a series of seven portraits along with 7 lighting techniques that portray the life of the girl from her childhood to her womanhood. It shows how a human being is wrapped by a thin metaphorical layer of preformed perspectives and notions which the society has bestowed upon them. It shows the struggle of becoming free and the emotions, expressions and feelings that come along with it.
Following are the 7 studio lighting techniques that come in handy when one is doing studio photography explained by the concept of film of appropriation.
1) L O O P L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the light is placed in such a way that it forms an unbreakable loop on your subject's face. The lighting lightens up the whole place except a certain part beside the nose without breaking the light of the face into segments, hence it is known as loop lighting.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/160 sec, APERTURE - f/13
This is the first photo of the series.In this, I have tried to display my subject as child who is all kiddish and wrapped by the film of appropriation put on her eyes by society and family. She does not have her own point of view about things that surround her and turns a blind eye to any other perspective of seeing things except that of her parents. It shows how a child is cocooned by the parent's perspective about societal norms and how it takes years of metamorphosis to develop an individual perspective.
2) S P L I T L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the light is usually placed at a 180 degree angle from the subject. In this lighting technique, one half of the face of the subject gets a very sharp light while the other half gets less or no light. Thus, this lighting technique literally splits the light on the subject into two parts. A split can be for the whole body or at a diagonal angle.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/160 sec, APERTURE - f/13
This is the second photo of the series. In this, the model is shown in space buns with half plastic wrapped around her face and one eye open on the side where the plastic is removed. This photograph portrays a teenager. Teenage is known as a rebellious age and confused age The photographs tries to depict that in teenage the children start opening their eyes to other view points and perspectives but the film of appropriation is so tightly wrapped that it’s hard to get one’s own perspective. Even as teenagers a lot of views are neglected because of their tender age. This photograph signifies the beginning of change.
3) B R O A D L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the part of subject which is towards the camera gets more light, while the part that is away from the camera gets a lower amount of light. It is known as broad lighting because a broader area which is facing the camera gets more light than the one that is against the camera.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/160 sec, APERTURE - f/13
This is the third photo of the series. In this, the model is shown in a high pony tail giving her a more young adult. In this photo I have tried to portray a student who has just entered their college life. There are so many rights and wrongs around her she don’t know what is right and what is wrong. Decision making is hard, but she has started to realize that there can be several perspectives regarding the same topic this she is trying hard to peel off the film of appropriation wrapped around her since childhood. She is confused but she knows that now is the time to rely and explore one’s own thoughts.
4) S H O R T L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the part of subject which is away from the camera gets more light, while the part that is towards the camera gets a lower amount of light. It is known as short lighting because the shorter area which is away from the camera gets more light than the one that is towards the camera.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/160 sec, APERTURE - f/11
This is the fourth photo of the series. In this, the model is again shown in a high pony tail giving her a more young adult. In this photo I have tried to portray a student who has just stepped out of their college life. There is so much out there in the world to see and explore and feel. She has finally got the courage to stand by her own thoughts and make her own place in the society. In the photograph there are very strong catch light in one eye depicting how slowly she is becoming more alive. It also depicts the change a human being undergoes when his/her thoughts start to develop.
5) B U T T E R L Y L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the lights are kept in such a way that it forms a nice shadow beneath the nose of the subject which somehow looks like butterfly wings. It helps in adding depth to the photograph.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/160 sec, APERTURE - f/14
This is the fifth photo of the series. In this, the model is shown open hair to give her a more mature look.In this photo I have tried to portray a strong independent woman who has got some work experience. She is now more confident, more bold and clear about her thoughts. She has her own perspective, and her own opinions of wrong and right and doesn't not need to rely on anyone’s approval for making a decision. She has her own perspective about society, culture and character and finally she is ready to peel off that film of appropriation. This photograph shows the confidence that a person attains once he let’s go of the thoughts that are binding him.
6) R E M B R A N D T L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the lights are kept in such a way that it forms a nice illuminated triangle right beside the the nose of the subject. It is based on the lighting techniques used by the famous painter named Rembrandt in his oil paintings.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/200 sec, APERTURE - f/11
This is the sixth photo of the series. In this, the model is shown in a high bun. In this photo I have tried to portray a woman who has evolved from the cocoon of the film of appropriation wrapped around her eyes as a child. She is free, relaxed, positive, confident. This Rembrandt portrays shows a strong independent woman who is comfortable with her thoughts, who knows her beliefs and is confident enough to tell them to the world without any hesitation.
7) C L A M S H E L L L I G H T I N G -
In this lighting technique, the lights are kept in such a way that it if one notices the formation of light they look like an opening shell. In this a key light is placed over the subject and a fill light is placed at a lower angle from the subject to fill the harsh shadows of the key light.
ISO - 100, SHUTTER SPEED - 1/200 sec, APERTURE - f/16
This is the seventh and last photo of the series. In this, the model is again shown in a high bun. In this photo I have tried to portray a woman is happy. Happiness is such a hard to obtain emotion in today’s world. With this portrait i would like to end my series with the note that “happy and free thoughts make a happy and free you”
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