Lighting Final

Sisters are best friends that truly get to see the real you. You may try to deny it, but your best friend doesn't know everything about you. Even if you tell them everything, they don't know everything because they aren't with you forever. They don't know how you act at home, nor do they know what your parents and you fight about all the time. Now sisters are with you everyday weather you want them to be or not. They'll always know when you're having a bad day, or why you're overly happy about something before you even get to speak. My sister and I may not get along everyday, but at the end of the day when we are brushing our teeth before bed we are acting like us again, with hip bumping and silly eyebrow wiggling. Erica, my sister, is my favorite person in the world. She's always there for me and without her my life wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't be able to see her goofy skits she performs, or her latest pinterest inspired craft decorating the fridge. Erica's important to my life because everyday I get to see my best friend and we get to talk about crazy things, and she can make fun of me when I cry during movies. Without Erica, I wouldn't be the same person I am today. 

I tried to make all the photos have bright light because Erica brings light and joy to everywhere she goes. All the poses I made her do reflect her personality, or life in general. The first photo has her dancing and smiling bright,which is perfect for her because she's a dancer and loves to dance. The following one is Erica holding a collection of photos of her when she was growing up. This shows how far along she has grown and how much of a young girl she has become. The following has her with her iPad and she has that because she's always on that. It's what she uses to look at her Pinterest crafts and what she uses to binge watch on Netflix. The next one of her being goofy behind a painting she drew just shows you how creative and silly she can be. Then the last one of her being funny with her favorite minion pillow is a perfect example of how she is. She's always silly and has a slight obsession with minions from Despicable Me. 

This unit has affected my photography greatly. It's shown me that light is one of the key factors in taking a photo. Without having lighting all pictures would be dark and you wouldn't be able to make a well defined photo. Lighting has affected multiple aspects of my photos. I believe that this unit has helped me produce better photographs and will help me with future photos too. 

final lighting contact sheet

4 Different Silhouette Photographs

1. Solid 

2. Gradient

3. Pattern

4. Custom Shapes

• What are your thoughts about this non-traditional way of taking silhouette shots?  
• Do you enjoy what Photoshop has to offer in terms of layers?  
• What are your thoughts of the outcomes?

I think that these type of the photos are really neat. It's amazing to see what a little light and photoshop can do, but I prefer the traditional photos more. I feel that these are too graphic and they take away from the subject of the photo. The traditional black and white photos show the subjects and they also enhance the beauty of the photo.

I do appreciate learning how to use Photoshop more. I think it's a fun way to make your photos even more unique. I enjoyed what Photoshop had to offer in it's terms of layers. I thought it was neat that so many layers can go into one picture.

The outcome of the photos were nice. I really liked how certain ones came out, like how the two last ones turned out. My all time favorite one is the photo with the hair being flipped. I just think that it is so cool, and I love the custom background! The hair is such a bold feature that it stands out very well. I really liked the outcomes of the photos and the project, even though I prefer the traditional way of taking photos.

Lighting Shots

Natural 

Sun (hard)

Shade (soft

Existing 

Front 

45      

Side  

Back  

 Artificial

 Single:

Butterfly 

Loop       

Rembrant

Split       

Silhouette

Multiple:

Hard        

Soft         

Reflector 

I     I've learned that lighting is the most important aspect of a photo. I also learned that certain lighting is easier to do then others. Natural light, in my eyes, is the easiest one and I really enjoyed taking them. The hardest one was the multiple light source. I was confused on how to do it, then I learned that I was doing it all wrong. 

I     I would recommend knowing how to do everything before you try and shoot. I tried doing certain studio ones and was unsure of what I was doing, which resulted in a couple of mishaps. Another thing is that you should take more then one photo of a particular lighting scene, because you don't know if it will turn out good or not. Overall I would recommend that you should have fun with the project, but at the same time take it seriously because thats what made taking the shots a fun time.