PHOA113: W2A2 Set-Up



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Discussion Assignment 
Assignment 2: Fill Light via Reflector – Lighting for Character
Greetings Photographers,
Now that a few of the major technical steps have been made towards understanding light and composing a image with a strong exposure, we can begin our focus on your creative concepts! All that we have considered thus far remains important; we now have our base established.
From this base, you will work with a new model, someone whom you have not photographed before, and use light to interpret their character and personality. For this upcoming shoot, you will be taking photographs inside your studio and outdoors using natural light. You will continue to experiment with your studio light and also incorporate your reflector. Apply your creativity to the lighting solution, since this is an image that may make it into the exhibit proposal.
I'm looking forward to seeing your images! Good luck!
-The Curator
Assignment Overview
In your Week 2 lectures and in your weekly reading, you were introduced to different tools that photographers use to manipulate light. One of these tools is your reflector. This tool is to be used in conjunction with a key light, be it natural or artificial. In this assignment, you will focus on lighting a new model (subject) using your studio light and your reflector while shooting indoors for the purpose of illustrating their personality and communicating their character. While shooting outdoors, you will use your reflector in conjunction with the natural light.
Assignment Description
In this assignment, you will continue to shoot using the manual setting on your DSLR. You will also continue to use your handheld light meter to measure the light to determine your exposure. Be sure to allow yourself some time to adjust your lights in order to create the scenario you desire. You should also factor in some additional time to select your top images.



Once you have chosen someone new to photograph for this assignment, you will need to consider their personality and character. Make a list of words that seem to capture their main personal characteristics. Now consider what you have learned about light and shadow—what lighting pattern seems to be most consistent with the subject's personality? In addition, for the outdoor portion of the assignment, you will need to select and scout a location. Select a location that relates in some way to the subject.



You will take 20 pictures indoors with a studio light + your reflector to act as a "fill light".

You will then take 20 pictures outdoors using your reflector to act as a "fill light"; the key light being the natural light - rays from the sun. You will either need a stand or an assistant to help you with the outdoor portion of the assignment.



You are expected to use the modeling lamp on your strobe as your studio light. You should not yet use the flash (strobe) features of your device. You should also only use one of your studio lights – do not use a second strobe as this will alter your light pattern significantly.



By photographing your subject both indoors and outdoors, this allows you to be more creative with your background. Your indoor photograph should use a plain backdrop, but your outdoor image may vary in background. Continue to focus on displaying various compositions, adjusting your focal length and point of view. Be sure to consider the technical side of the assignment as well: exposure, white balance, focusing, and lighting.



You are asked to not edit your photos prior to submitting them. By avoiding a post-processing step, your instructor will be able to offer feedback based off of what you were able to accomplish by using only your camera.

Step-by-Step Instructions

(Shooting Indoors with Studio Light (Modeling Light function & Reflector)

(TIP: Practice your lighting set-up first with someone you know who will sit patiently for you. Try out different lighting patterns and keep in mind the personality characteristics that you want to communicate about your subject. Note down several lighting schemes that you can replicate for your shooting session.)

  1. Set your camera to the "Manual" setting and adjust your handheld light meter to the Incident mode.
  2. Set up your camera to capture "RAW" files.
  3. Choose a new subject to photograph for this assignment; age 10 and up suggested.
    1. Position your model in your studio (any room) where you can easily control the existing light. Make your studio as dark as possible in order to allow for one studio light to be the main (key) light. Natural light should not be included in the exposure; block off any windows letting natural light in; rely only on your modeling light.
    2. Place your subject at least 5–6 feet in front of a large plain backdrop. You may want to use a cloth or paper backdrop, or you may want to place them against a plain wall.
      1. Creating some distance between your subject and the background (5–6 feet) will help to ensure that your lens focuses on the model verses what is behind the model.
    3. Remove any surrounding items that "get in the way" of your main subject (model); ensure that your camera lens is looking only at the model. In other words, avoid any distracting elements within the frame.
  4. Set up one studio light, turn on your modeling light, and aim it at your subject.  One you're happy with how the key light is hitting your subject, you will then use the reflector to bounce fill light onto your subject to "fill in" any unwanted shadows. (It's recommended that you use the silver side of your reflector.)
    1. Position the studio light 2–3 feet away from your subject. Practice moving the light further away and closer to your subject to see how the distance affects the light falling on your subject (keeping the Inverse Square Law in mind). Use a lighting design that communicates the personality and character of your subject.
    2. Position your reflector opposite your studio light to allow the reflector to "catch" the light and bounce back onto the subject, thus filling in these shadows. Practice moving the reflector closer or farther away to see how distance affects the fill light falling on your subject.
  5. Once you are satisfied with how your studio light and reflector are set up, step back and take a wide-angle view of your lighting scheme. This will be included in your contact sheet. These images will be included in your contact sheet; ensure that these three images show a clear view of where the light was in relation to the natural light and subject.  Ensure that your image shows where your lights were in relation to your subject:

    Please note: If your image is not in focus, not exposed properly, or does not clearly show where your light was positioned in relation to your subject, you may not receive points for this portion of the assignment.
  6. Adjust your white balance pre-settings on your DSLR camera to match the temperature of light that is surrounding your subject or adjust your white balance manually (Kelvin Temperature).
  7. You may use either manual or auto focus for this assignment.
    1. Ensure that the eyes (main focal point when photographing humans) of your subject are in sharp focus; if you're shooting on auto focus and the eyes of your subject are not in focus, you'll need to switch to manual focusing.
  8. Establish your initial ISO for your indoor shots. Keep in mind: your modeling lights are not very bright; an ISO of 800 or 1600 is suggested.
  9. Establish your initial exposure settings (shutter speed) for your indoor shots.
    1. You may need to experiment with your exposure settings prior to "starting" your assignment. If you find that your photograph is too dark or too bright, adjust your shutter speed until you find a "happy medium."
  10. Use your handheld light meter on incident mode to determine the aperture setting.
    1. Enter in the ISO that you have chosen into your handheld light meter.
    2. Enter in the shutter speed that you have chosen for your exposure into your handheld light meter.
  1. Take a photograph of yourself using your handheld light meter in the indoor setting in which you are photographing your new model. This image will be included in your contact sheet. This image will be included in your contact sheet. Image should be similar to the shots below:

    Please note: If instructor is not able to read the information on the screen of your handheld light meter, you will not receive points for using it.
  2. Take 20 different photographs of your model with the initial exposure settings that you determined in the "preparation" portion of this assignment.
    1. If you find that your images are a little too dark or a little too bring, adjust the exposure by bracketing your shots!
  3. Ensure that each of your 20 images should be composed differently:
    1. Adjust your composition throughout the shoot by changing your point of view and adjusting the focal length on your lens.
    2. Place your subject in the center of the frame, on the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame.
    3. Shoot from different angles.

    4. (Shooting Outdoors with Natural Light + Reflector)

  4. Move your model outside and position them in front of an appropriate background.
    1. Choose a location that is compatible with the character of your subject, is clean, and does not have a lot of distracting elements that could pull the viewer's eye away from the model.
    2. Position your model 5–6 feet in front of a background. In this case, if your subject is standing in front of a tree or in front of a brick wall, ensure that s/he is 5-6 feet away.  This will help to create distance between your subject and the background in order to ensure that your lens focuses on the model verses on what is behind the model.
    3. You are encouraged to position your subject under even (soft) light.
  5. Position your reflector 1 ½ - 2 feet away from your subject.
    1. You may choose to work with a stand to hold your reflector or you may choose to work with an assistant.
    2. Try to aim your reflector opposite the sun and notice how the reflector bounces the natural light back onto the subject; filling in shadows or simply casting more light onto your subject to allow him/her to stand out.
    3. Experiment with the distance of where your reflector is positioned in relation to your subject.
  6. Take a wide-angle photograph of how your reflector is positioned next to your subject. This image will also be placed in your contact sheet. Ensure that the image shows a clear view of where the reflector was in relation to the subject.  Ensure that your image shows where your reflector was in relation to your subject:
     Please note: If your image is not in focus, not exposed properly, or does not clearly show where your reflector was positioned in relation to your subject, you may not receive points for this portion of the assignment.
  7. Students are encouraged to watch the video tutorial on how to use a reflector in the "W1A2: Post Here & Helpful Information" post below in the Discussion Thread.
  8. Adjust your white balance pre-settings on your DSLR camera to match the temperature of light that is surrounding your subject. You may adjust your white balance manually.
  9. You may use either manual or auto focus for this assignment.
    1. Ensure that the eyes (main focal point when photographing humans) of your subject are in sharp focus; if you're shooting on auto focus and the eyes of your subject are not in focus, you'll need to switch to manual focusing.
  10. Establish your initial ISO for your outdoor shots. (Suggested 100 - 400; depending on how sunny / cloudy it is when you shoot and depending on the time of day that you're shooting).
  11. Establish your initial exposure settings (shutter speed) for your outdoor shots.
    1. You may need to experiment with your exposure settings prior to "starting" your assignment. If you find that your photograph is too dark or too bright, adjust your shutter speed until you find a "happy medium."
  12. With the reflector shinning light on your subject, use your handheld light meter on incident mode to determine the aperture setting.
    1. Enter in the ISO that you have chosen into your handheld light meter.
    2. Enter in the shutter speed that you have chosen for your exposure into your handheld light meter.
    3. Place your handheld light meter under the chin of your subject; ensure that the white bulb of your handheld light meter is facing the light source.
    4. Take a reading and use the given f-stop from the handheld light meter as your initial aperture reading.
    5. Take a photograph of yourself using your handheld light meter in the outdoor setting in which you are photographing your new model. This image will also be included in your contact sheet.  (See above example for how to properly take a shot of your handheld light meter.)
  13. Take 20 different photographs of your model with the initial exposure settings that you determined.
    1. If you find that your images are a little too dark or a little too bring, adjust the exposure by bracketing your shots!
  14. Ensure that each of your 20 images should be composed differently:
    1. Adjust your composition throughout the shoot by changing your point of view and adjusting the focal length on your lens.
    2. Place your subject in the center of the frame, on the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame.
    3. Shoot from different angles.
(Contact Sheet & Top Images)

  1. From the Adobe Lightroom Print module, format and print or "save as" an Adobe PDF contact sheets of this new work. All 40 images should be included in your contact sheet, which should be created according to our Photography Department's standards as seen below:
    1. Use the 3 x 3 option; this will give you 9 images per page.
    2. Use a white background (vs. black or other colors)
    3. Ensure that your contact sheet is created at 300 ppi.
    4. Ensure that your contact sheet is clearly displaying a file number, the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for each image.
    5. Avoid the "zoom to fit" option and ensure that the images are displayed full frame in the contact sheet.
    6. Avoid watermarking your images and/or your contact sheet.
  2. Save your file name as "PHOA113_W2_A2_Lastname_Firstname_Contact.pdf"
  3. Choose 3 top photographs from this new work.
    1. Base your choices on the light, exposure, and composition.
    2. You are encouraged to choose at least one image from indoor and one image from outdoor.
    3. Your PPI for each of the top images should be 300ppi.
    4. Save these three images as JPEG files and label them as:
      1. "PHOA113_W2_A2_Lastname_Firstname_1.jpeg"
      2. "PHOA113_W2_A2_Lastname_Firstname_2.jpeg"
      3. "PHOA113_W2_A2_Lastname_Firstname_3.jpeg"
    5. Place all three images into a ZIP file and save file as "PHOA113_W2_A2_Lastname_Firstname_Top Images.zip."
  4. Write a 200-word essay discussing your work directly into the Discussion Area (do not attach as a Word document). Write about the technical decisions you made (metering, exposure, white balance, etc.) as well as the creative decisions you made (light, subject matter, composition).
Deliverable Specifications: due on Week 2, Day 6
  • Contact Sheet of 40 Images + Images of Handheld Light Meter and Lighting Scheme
    • Includes 20 images shot with in studio with one studio strobe modeling lamp and reflector
    • Includes 20 images shot with natural light outdoors with use of reflector
    • Includes 2 images with handheld meter in frame
    • Includes several wide views of lighting set-up
    • 9 images per page
    • White background
    • Includes file number, ISO, shutter speed, aperture
    • 300ppi resolution
  • ZIP File of Top 3 Images that communicate character
    • Full page JPEG format
    • 300ppi resolution
    • At least 1 image each using studio light and reflector and 1 image shot outdoors with reflector
  • 200-word Essay in Discussion Area
Assumptions:
  • Metadata for all images is included
  • Follows MLA writing guidelines for style, spelling, grammar, and citation of sources
Exclusions:
  • Watermarks
  • Post-production adjustments
Write a 100-word critique to 2 of your classmates and discuss their technical and creative decisions by Week 2, Day 7. Your post should be encouraging, ask questions, and/or challenge a topic.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Created 40 new photographs of a new model (subject); 20 frames taken indoors using studio light with a reflector; 20 frames taken outdoors under natural light with a reflector; plus images documenting use of handheld light meter and lighting schemes; uses effective exposure, white balance, focus, and composition.
10
Top 3 images have effective technical lighting choices, exposure, white balance, focus and balanced visual composition and include at least one example of each: natural and artificial light
30
Top 3 images uses effective exposure, white balance, focus, composition, and lighting choices to communicate character.
20
Provided a thoughtful, 200-word essay discussing student's technical and creative choices throughout the shoot.
5
Provided thoughtful, 100-word responses to 2 peers that discuss classmates' technical and creative choices throughout their shoots.
5
Total:
70
Provides link to the document that gives details on how this assignment will be graded.
For assistance with any problems you may have when completing this assignment—OR—to offer your assistance to classmates, please use the Problems and Solutions Discussion area located through the left side navigation link.
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