Evaluation of Lighting Workshop.

Introduction

Our task was to the use of different lighting setups to convey the representation of a character in various ways. The three lights we used are called key light, back light and fill light. Each lighting depicts the subject differently such as under key lighting producing a spooky look for a subject. Three different subjects were used in this task to show the various lighting setups.

This image above is our under lighting setup. We set it up by placing one light below the subject, which made the light ascend from chest upwards. This lighting set up can create pronounced shadows often used to emphasise facial features and make things look spooky. The subject’s cheeks are deeply emphasised due to the lighting. The subject looks angelic in this photo due to the light highlighting the cheeks, forehead and emphasising on the neck bone structure. However under key lighting is usually used in a scary, spooky scene such as Frankenstein. There are many scenes in Frankenstein were the monster has been depicted to look extremely terrifying.

The under lighting used created pronounced shadows which emphasised on the monsters enormous head and his gigantic physique. I think our setup worked really well because the under light was positioned perfectly to show what type of effect under light produces. The subject in this photo also looks spooky and sinister as the under key lighting is mainly on the eyelids, clearly showing how arched and dark the eyebrows are. I think we could improve our under key lighting by making sure the subject has a neutral facial expression in order to capture the meaning of under lighting properly.

This Image above is our top lighting set up. We set it up by placing the light above the subjects face and by the subject sitting down. This placed the light in a dominating position in which the light descends on the subjects face. Top key lighting is often used on women in photos or music videos to highlight features on their face and accentuates cheekbones. The subject’s cheekbones and face looks more structured due to the lighting. Top lighting has made the subject look hopeful, optimistic and youthful. By doing this, facial contour is enhanced and is made to look more sexually appealing. The subjects clavicle, jugular notch and collarbones are also enhanced by the lighting as well. For a female having a prominent collarbone is deemed to be one of the most desirable features as it is emphasised in the modelling world on women and men and also emphasised on many women in music videos. Top key lighting has been used on music artists like Rihanna in many of her music videos such as “pour it up and take a bow”, highlighting features on her face and body such as her cheekbones and neck.

This makes Rhianna more attractive and desirable as we see her skin glow due to lighting and collarbones accentuated. I think our setup worked really well because as a group we was able to show the effects top lighting has on a person through the subject above. We was able to successfully show that structured and accentuated collar bone and enhanced cheekbones with the correct positioning of the light. I think we could improve our top key lighting by making sure the subject is seated properly so that all enhanced features are shown and captured properly.

The image above is our back lighting set up. We set it up by placing the light behind the subject. Back lighting is made to produce a silhouette and or halo effect around the edges of the subject. Back lighting is when the light source comes from behind the subject. This gives a new dimension within the background and has the ability to create silhouettes. The subjects shoulder outline is enhanced by the back light producing a halo effect around the edges of the subject illustrating the subject in a more positive way. An example of back light lightening was within the 'Se7en' trailer, the use of back lighting is used to create a shadow. This is effective as it creates mystery around who the figure is, emphasizing the mystery/thriller genre of the film. On the subject we have made sure that we positioned the light to create a false halo effect around the surfaces such as curved ones around his body. This is effective as it shows in depth and 3D dimensional quality of the subject. I think our setup worked really well because we positioned our light to illustrate a halo effect on the subject around the edges of the body. To improve we need to make sure that the photo is captured in a more controlled environment meaning there shouldn’t be any other light. Being in a more controlled environment means that there could have been more pronounced shadows on the subjects face.

The image above is our low key lightening set up. Low-key lighting is much more pronounced shadows and dramatic contrasts generally only containing one light. Low-key lighting accentuates the contours of an object. With the subject above areas such as her chest and half of her face is thrown into shade from the light, which illuminates the shadow areas to control contrast. In this photo the subject looks dramatic, as a shadow has been created due to not having fill light. An example of low key lighting that has been used in the film Edward Scissorhands. The low-key lighting was used to make his character look more neglected and isolated. 

Through completing this task I have learnt about the importance of different lightings and the effect it has on people. The different type of lighting used creates various moods such as dramatic moods or enhances beauty.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Three point lighting.

Three-point lighting is used in visual media such as videos, films, and photography. Three point lighting uses three lights called key light, fill light, and back light. One light is the key light. Two lights means one is key and one or the other is fill or back light. Key light is the main light. It is the strongest light as it has the most influence on the look of a scene. It is placed to one side of the subject so the side is lit with light and other side has a shadow. Fill light is located on the opposite side of the key light. Fill light is used to fill shadows created by the key light. Backlight is placed behind subject. Its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines.