MAGIC HOUR LIGHTING

This Photograph was taken during the time of day 1 hour before sunrise or sunset, which is known to photographers as Magic Hour. The light from the sun casts directly from the side and has an eerie soft glow, making unusually long shadows and highly contrasting pictures.

MAGIC HOUR LIGHTING

I have previously done a two year National Diploma at Myerscough College, I now intend to further my photographic practice on the FdA Photography course at Blackburn College.

I hope to use this blog to show my experiments.

These are my first photographs in response to the Magic Hour brief.

This one was taken 5:14pm at

F16

1.3 seconds

ISO 400

using a standard 50mm prime lens.

F1.4

1/1250 sec

ISO 400

The same lens was used and a tripod for both images.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Available daylight

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Taken in an unlit classroom using available daylight from the windows. Using a shallow depth of field has made quite a strong outline.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This green bottle was taken using daylight available indoors. You can see the reflections from the windows bouncing off the subject.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

For this shot I closed the blinds so the only up light is from the light box, the effect is more dramatic.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

The subject is leaning over the light box, which is fluorescent tubes in a perspex case, plus a small amount of daylight from the windows. This gives up lighting which is menacing and dramatic.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Self Portrait! The overhead light acts as a hairlight, highlighting the hair.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This is taken using the fluorescent light directly overhead (ceiling light). This casts shadows under the chin and gives bags under the eyes! Not very flattering for portraiture.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This is a mixture of daylight from behind, fluorescent overhead in the lift, and back lighting from the light on the wall (which was also fluorescent). The blue cast comes from the lift light being approx. 6500 degrees Kelvin giving a "cool" blue appearance.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This is similar to Rembrandt lighting, which is dramatic and from one side. This was using the daylight tube to the side.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Here we see the use of the warning light in the darkroom, which cats a red glow to everything. The darks are very dark and contrasty.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This is the green emergency light, such as you find on smoke detectors etc. It is overhead, so casting unflattering shadows downwards, and giving an eerie glow. This would have been better taken using a tripod, since at very slow shutter speeds you get camera shake.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This was using daylight , the daylight tube and the modeling light which is tungsten, hence the warm glow.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This was taken using the studio modelling light, which is a Tungsten bulb, so warm c.3200 degrees Kelvin, and daylight which is c.6000 degrees Kelvin. Because these are uneven light sources it is creating a shadow to one side, giving detail to the side with the weakest light, and losing the detail to the strongest light.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This was taken using the highest ISO possible on my Nikon D700, so as to pick up any available light, since this was taken using only available light in a not very lit room.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Available light coming from one direction only. This has split the shadows right down the face, very dramatic.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Available daylight through a window, with tungsten studio light as a fill light. It gives it a warm glow on the nearside, where the window would have made this a silhouette otherwise.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This was taken in a very dark room, where the only light is coming from a window with a shade pulled mostly down. The front edges are slightly highlighted as is the chrome on the camera.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This was taken using daylight with the shutter half way down, and a daylight tube, plus a tungsten modelling light which adds warmth to the picture. This is quite a flattering light.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

Here is my gas fire at home, which I took using a starburst filter. Candle and fire light tends to be at the warm end o0f the Kelvin scale, around 1900 degrees Kelvin.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Light Sources

This is tungsten light from a chandelier, which is around 2600 degrees Kelvin, and is at the warm end of the scale. To get this effect I used a starburst filter.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Available Light

These two images show the effect of using a daylight balanced light tube, left underneath the subject, giving a spooky under lighting effect; and right, using the same tube overhead, or above, giving a more flattering effect, and casting shadows under the face.

Daylight is balanced at 5500 degrees Kelvin.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Available Light

These 3 images show, far left, straight daylight when the background is a white wall, and no shadow issues; middle, the effect when the light is coming from one side, casting a shadow to one side of the face; and right, the effect of setting your white balance to tungsten in daylight which gives a blue cast.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Available Light

This is the use of daylight from the window behind, but using a reflector behind the cameraman to bounce the light back, similar to fill in flash, which lights up the detail of the face.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Available Light

This is an example of using available light where the subject is set against a window where the light is coming in, without using a reflector, so there is light around the edges but the face is under exposed.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Lighting Techniques

By putting a large board in front of the light on the left, you can see that it has cast a shadow on the subjects face which adds interest to the picture. This also uses a soft box diffuser at a 45 degree angle overhead, casting shadows under the chin.

PRACTICAL SESSIONS - Lighting Techniques

By changing the direction of your studio lights you can alter the look of your work. On the right the lighting is lower than the subject making a moody shot, but on the right it is placed at a 45 degree angle making the look more flattering.