Jumat, 30 Oktober 2009
Sabtu, 24 Oktober 2009
Cosmetic lighting and portrait photography
Most people, and especially women, will tell you they have a "good" side.
Simple cosmetic lighting relies on alterations to the angles of illumination, described in "the basic principles of lighting", and " available light portraiture", to flatter the subject and make use of their "good side".
I have aimed to keep this article simple, and avoid reference to techniques that require more specialized lighting equipment.
Overview
How many times have you heard someone say "that's a terrible photograph of me", or even said it yourself?
The point of cosmetic light is avoid unflattering lighting and viewpoints.
Modelling and texture is a consequence of lighting. Moving the angle of illumination closer to the subject/camera axis generally flattens modelling and reduces texture, while increasing the angle increases both.
Similarly, more directional (intense) lighting produces harder shadows, while less directional (soft) lighting diminishes them.
The following tips describe how to deal with common problems by making simple changes. Experimentation is required to achieve the best results.
Making faces wider or narrower
Very few people have perfectly symmetrical faces. For example, one side may be slightly wider or flatter than the other. If the subject is illuminated so that the main light falls on the side that is wider, and the other side is kept in shadow, the viewer's imagination will lead them to think that the shaded side is equal to the lit side. The overall impression will be that the face is wider than it really is. Conversely, if the narrower side of the face is illuminated, the viewer will think that the face is narrower than it really is.
This illusion can be varied by changing the angle of lighting, and the maximum effect comes from very dark shadows, since this leaves more to the viewer's imagination.
Altering eye sockets
If the subject has deep eye sockets, lowering the main light will provide more illumination, and make the eye sockets appear shallower.
Conversely, shallow eye sockets, or bulging eyes can be altered by raising the main light source, and moving it further away from the subject/camera axis (i.e. more to the side). This needs to be done in conjunction with making the fill-in light a little brighter, and the overall effect will be a flattening of the planes of the face.
Large noses
Large noses can be de-emphasized by moving the main light source closer to the subject/camera axis. This will cast a nose shadow on the upper lip, rather than the cheek, so making the nose look less large.
Attractive hair or baldness
Hair can be emphasized by raising the main light and the camera view point. The subject will need to be repositioned slightly, so that they look up to the camera. With a bald subject, this is will have the opposite effect and further emphasize their baldness.
Chins
If the subject has a weak chin, get them to tilt their head back a little, which will make their chin stick out. If they have a strong jaw, have the subject tilt their head forward reduce its prominence.
Soft focus
Soft focus reduces and skin blemishes. Soft focus can be achieved by using the largest lens aperture possible (however the effect will largely be determined by the capabilities of your camera lens). Briefly, larger apertures have a smaller depth of focus, so any feature beyond the focal point will be very slightly blurred. You should always focus on the eyes, but this becomes doubly important when employing any form of soft focus.
Simple cosmetic lighting relies on alterations to the angles of illumination, described in "the basic principles of lighting", and " available light portraiture", to flatter the subject and make use of their "good side".
I have aimed to keep this article simple, and avoid reference to techniques that require more specialized lighting equipment.
Overview
How many times have you heard someone say "that's a terrible photograph of me", or even said it yourself?
The point of cosmetic light is avoid unflattering lighting and viewpoints.
Modelling and texture is a consequence of lighting. Moving the angle of illumination closer to the subject/camera axis generally flattens modelling and reduces texture, while increasing the angle increases both.
Similarly, more directional (intense) lighting produces harder shadows, while less directional (soft) lighting diminishes them.
The following tips describe how to deal with common problems by making simple changes. Experimentation is required to achieve the best results.
Making faces wider or narrower
Very few people have perfectly symmetrical faces. For example, one side may be slightly wider or flatter than the other. If the subject is illuminated so that the main light falls on the side that is wider, and the other side is kept in shadow, the viewer's imagination will lead them to think that the shaded side is equal to the lit side. The overall impression will be that the face is wider than it really is. Conversely, if the narrower side of the face is illuminated, the viewer will think that the face is narrower than it really is.
This illusion can be varied by changing the angle of lighting, and the maximum effect comes from very dark shadows, since this leaves more to the viewer's imagination.
Altering eye sockets
If the subject has deep eye sockets, lowering the main light will provide more illumination, and make the eye sockets appear shallower.
Conversely, shallow eye sockets, or bulging eyes can be altered by raising the main light source, and moving it further away from the subject/camera axis (i.e. more to the side). This needs to be done in conjunction with making the fill-in light a little brighter, and the overall effect will be a flattening of the planes of the face.
Large noses
Large noses can be de-emphasized by moving the main light source closer to the subject/camera axis. This will cast a nose shadow on the upper lip, rather than the cheek, so making the nose look less large.
Attractive hair or baldness
Hair can be emphasized by raising the main light and the camera view point. The subject will need to be repositioned slightly, so that they look up to the camera. With a bald subject, this is will have the opposite effect and further emphasize their baldness.
Chins
If the subject has a weak chin, get them to tilt their head back a little, which will make their chin stick out. If they have a strong jaw, have the subject tilt their head forward reduce its prominence.
Soft focus
Soft focus reduces and skin blemishes. Soft focus can be achieved by using the largest lens aperture possible (however the effect will largely be determined by the capabilities of your camera lens). Briefly, larger apertures have a smaller depth of focus, so any feature beyond the focal point will be very slightly blurred. You should always focus on the eyes, but this becomes doubly important when employing any form of soft focus.
Minggu, 18 Oktober 2009
Senin, 12 Oktober 2009
Kamis, 08 Oktober 2009
In search of the Chicken Wreck and other Jeddah attractions!
For those in the know, scuba diving off the coast of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is some of the best around. As it is on the Red Sea it offers similar underwater attractions to those available in Egypt but is still relatively undiscovered as a scuba destination. As a result, divers visiting the area have an awful lot of room to themselves and thoroughly enjoy their dives.
The big draw off the coast of Jeddah for scuba fans is the Chicken Wreck. A misfortunate skipper whose cargo was frozen chicken managed to fall foul of the reef and subsequently lost not only his load but also his ship, which now wallows on the reef at a depth of around 15 metres.
Water temperatures in summer are around 29 degrees Celsius, making diving conditions extremely pleasant but in winter temperatures can drop to as low as 22 degrees. Any divers heading for Jeddah on a winter break would be well advised to pack their 5mm wetsuit complete with a hood if they are to avoid any chills!
When not engaged in diving, the main attraction for visitors to Jeddah is the old town, known as al-Balad. The ancient city walls have long gone, but still-surviving historic gates mark out the perimeter of the old town which contains a jumble of old buildings, including rickety coral-built houses. Although obviously in abundant supply due to the large reef just off shore, coral is not a particularly robust building material. As a result many of these two and three storey buildings look like they are teetering on the verge of collapse!
The big draw off the coast of Jeddah for scuba fans is the Chicken Wreck. A misfortunate skipper whose cargo was frozen chicken managed to fall foul of the reef and subsequently lost not only his load but also his ship, which now wallows on the reef at a depth of around 15 metres.
Water temperatures in summer are around 29 degrees Celsius, making diving conditions extremely pleasant but in winter temperatures can drop to as low as 22 degrees. Any divers heading for Jeddah on a winter break would be well advised to pack their 5mm wetsuit complete with a hood if they are to avoid any chills!
When not engaged in diving, the main attraction for visitors to Jeddah is the old town, known as al-Balad. The ancient city walls have long gone, but still-surviving historic gates mark out the perimeter of the old town which contains a jumble of old buildings, including rickety coral-built houses. Although obviously in abundant supply due to the large reef just off shore, coral is not a particularly robust building material. As a result many of these two and three storey buildings look like they are teetering on the verge of collapse!
Jumat, 02 Oktober 2009
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