This assignment, Lab #4 has given me the most issues. I thought that I had performed this correctly, but after class today (2/12), I discovered that I now need to reshoot a few of my pictures. I did not properly take the Flat Light, but I’m pretty sure that I did the Back-light correctly, in fact I’ve got about 7 shots to chose from! But I also incorrectly performed the Raked Light, so I will need to re-take those as well.
At this point I feel very overwhelmed, but I know that I can catch back up and hopefully make a raging success of the class. I’ve always loved black and white pictures, so I’m really praying that I get the hang of this!
Additionally, I think that I have finally figured out how to relate the Hard lighting and soft-box to better compute/understand it. Hard lighting is very direct, it doesn’t get reflected off of something else, like soft-box, and it creates a more defined line between the light and the shadow, because soft-box is reflected off of so many angles, there is more than one shadow with differing tonal ranges, creating a line that is less defined and more ‘fuzzy’ if you will.
Harder light/lines create more drama, and can be more sinister if that is your aim. Soft-box lighting is better for portraiture because the light is nicer to the subject, not so harsh, and could almost be thought of as romantic.
The Photographic Stylings of Kate Kube 