Portrait Photography Lighting

Front lighting:
Front lighting is an easy form of portrait lighting. It is also the least dramatic and the most predictable. To create front lighting, the light needs to be coming from the from of the subject.

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/04/15/photography-lighting-take-control-of-natural-light-to-using-flash/

Side lighting:
Side lighting creates a more dramatic form of portrait lighting. It create contrast between the subject and the background. It also creates more interesting texture.

https://sukis12ymphoto.wordpress.com/page/3/

Back lighting:

Back lighting makes the subject darker and can create a dramatic effect. If the light source is directly behind the subject, the subject can become a silhouette.

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/2627/front-light-vs-side-light-vs-back-light/

Top lighting:

Top lighting creates a sense of drama in the photograph.

http://www.diyphotography.net/lighting-techniques-things-can-one-speedlight/

Bottom lighting:

Bottom lighting gives the photograph an eerie sense.

http://www.imagesbot.com/Directional-Light-Photography

Photo II Week 16

Circle of Rocks

Leaves on a Wall

Rock Shadow

The first photo is of a tree with a circle of rocks around it. The ground is covered in fallen leaves, making an interesting texture.

The second photo is of a small branch with little leaves on it on a wall. The top of the wall has a mark on it that makes a cool texture. 

The third photo focuses on a rock with a shadow. The lighting comes from the right side of the photo. The rock had an interesting texture, and the lighting adds to it. 

Photo II Week 15

Cactus

Orange

Little Bush

The first photo shows a cactus. There is a lot of contrast between the light and the shadow. The left side of the photo is a little too bright, so there isn't a lot of information. 

The second photo is of a tree with orange leaves. The branch stretches from the top left side to the bottom right. The bottom of the photo does seem a little distracting, so I should have cropped it out. 

The third photo is of a bush. It isn't as sharp as I would like. 

Photo II Week 14

Autumn

Bright Gold

Green

The first photo is a photo of a tree with orange leaves. The branches of the tree reach out from the trunk. The leaves cast a shadow on what would be a blank wall, and fills in the negative space with some information.

The second photo shows a view of the courtyard. The subject of the photo is the orange tree. There is another tree in front of it, obstructing the view. In the background, there are more orange trees. They are dark because they are in a shadow.

The third photo shows the green branches of a bush. Green leaves sprout from the branches. The branch in the middle draws the most attention, but the two on the side draw the eye as well. The branch in front is out of focus, and is a little distracting.

Photo II Week 13

Rocks

Stairs

Hedge

The first photo, Rocks, shows a bush and a weed growing out of some rocks. The texture and color of the rocks contrasts with the texture and color of the bush. 

The second photo, Stairs, shows the railing at the bottom of the stairs. The front rail frames the other rail behind it. The shadows across the ground form shapes that add to the photograph.

The third photo, Hedge, shows a tree growing out of a hedge. The light is coming from the left side of the photo, making the right side of the tree dark, contrasting from the lighter left side.

Photo II Week 12

Yucca

Forked Tree

Pointed Leaves

The first photo, Yucca, shows a yucca with its pointed leaves emanating from the center. The center of the photo is darker than the outside, with the top of the photo being the brightest.

The second photo, Forked Tree, shows a tree with branches growing in different directions. The texture on the tree contrasts with the brighter ground that has almost no information at all.

The third photo, Pointed Leaves, shows the leaves of a bush pointing in the same general direction. All of the leaves pointing in the same direction adds some feeling to the photograph and forms an interesting pattern.

Photo II Week 11

Dead Bush

Focused Leaves

Knots

The first photo, Dead Bush, focuses on a chopped limb of a bush. The stump has lines that intersect in the middle. The background is blurred, making the limb the main focus in the foreground.

The second photo focuses on three leaves in the foreground. The leaves directly behind them are a little out of focus, and the ones even further behind them are even more blurred. This creates a feeling of depth and adds focus to the leaves in the foreground.

The third photo, Knots, shows a tree with two knots in the side. One of the knots is straight with the camera, but the other is pointing more to the left. The bark on the tree forms lines that swerve around the knots.

Photo II Week 10

Chained Tree

Leaf Pattern

Blue Leaf

The first photo shows a tree wrapped in black tubing and metal wire, with a bush and a wall behind it. The light comes from the right side, putting shadows on the tree from hanging leaves and the metal wire. 

The second photo shows leaves with the sun behind them. The pattern of the leaves draw they eye around the photo. In photoshop, I darkened the leaves to form more contrast with the background.

The third photo shows leaves at the end of a branch from a bush with darker leaves behind. In photoshop, I darkened the background and brightened the foreground to produce contrast that both added focus to the leaves in the foreground and gave the photo a feeling of depth.

Photo II Week 9

Spider

Lamp

V

This last week I got a better phone with a nice camera, so now my photos have much better quality. 

The first photo, Spider, is a photo of a spider on its web.  The spider sits near the middle of the web. Lines from the web shoot out from the spider. These lines are connected by other lines, forming the shape of the spiders web. The web is easiest to see on the bottom and the right side of the picture, where the gravel and the leaves of the bush contrast with the web.

The second photo, Lamp, is a picture of a lamp with a tree behind it. The color of the leaves behind the lamp contrasts with the rusty brown color of the lamp.

The third photo, V, is a picture of a tree with two branches connected at the ground, forming a V. The light is coming from the left side of the photo and creates interesting shadows in the left side of the photo.

Photo II Week 8

Books

Weathered Wood

Grate Photo

The first photo, Books, is a photo of the books and binders in my locker. The lines from the books are at interesting angles.

The second photo, Weathered Wood, shows the seat of an old wooden bench. The different shades of the wood provide interesting contrast. The knots in the wood make shapes that draw the eye.

The third photo, Grate Photo, shows a sewer grate next to a bush. The squares on the grate form a cool pattern. The leaves from the bush cover part of the pattern and the green of the leaves contrasts from the rusty brown of the grate

Photo II Week 7

Lock

Brick Wall

Bench

The first photograph, Lock, shows a lock attached to bench. There are lines that create a rhombus pattern along the seat and the back of the bench. A line of concrete separates the two rhombus patterns.

The second photograph, Brick Wall, shows a wall of bricks. The wall has a pattern made from the rectangular faces of the bricks. The pattern is broken on the second layer from the bottom, where the gap between two of the bricks is bigger than the other gaps.

The third photograph, Bench, is a picture of a wooden bench. There are two orange stains that contrast from the brown wood. 

Photo II Week 6

Shadow of a Tree, 9/21/2015

Shadow of a Table, 9/21/2015

Shadow of a Weed, 9/21/2015

This week I took pictures of shadows. The first photo shows a shadow of a tree on a brick wall. There is a pattern made by the bricks that is interrupted on the top by a line of bricks that doesn't fit the pattern. The shadow of the tree gives the audience something to look at other than the brick wall and adds movement, as the eye is drawn from the bottom of the photo to the top, following the line of the tree branches.

The second photo shows the shade of a picnic table on the ground. The shadow has a rhombus pattern       that is broken by the lines coming from the center of the table and the outline of the seat.

The third photo is of a shadow of a weed on a red wall. The shadow has lines that shoot up from the bottom of the wall up towards the top, with little curved lines coming out.

Photo II Week 5

Leaf, 9/16/2015

Nail Heads, 9/16/2015

Rusty Bolt, 9/16/2015

The first photo, Leaf, is a leaf on the ground. My cell phone camera isn't the best, so the photo isn't as sharp as it should be. The yellow-green leaf contrasts with the brown texture of the dirt behind it. 

The second photo, Nail Heads, shows a tree with three nails in it. The three nails form the shape of a triangle. The nails are on a knot in the tree surrounded by bark. The bark forms an interesting texture that contrasts with the dark brown wood of the knot.

The third photo, Rusty Bolt, shows a bolt stuck in a brick wall. The bolt forms a shadow below it on the brick wall. The color of the bolt contrasts with the color of the wall.

Photo II Week 4

Trees, 9/8/2015

Stump, 9/8/2015

Cracks, 9/8/2015

The first photo, Trees, shows two trees inside of a cement planter box in the shape of a square. The trees have little stumps around them. The sides of the square planter box frame the stumps and the bottoms of the two trees. The second photo, Stump, shows a stump surrounded by colorful gravel. The texture of the gravel contrasts with the texture of the bark on the outside of the stump and the pattern of the rings inside the stump. The third photo, Cracks, shows a tree with one arm cut off. What is left of the missing arm is a stump with cracks in it. The cracks seem to come out of the center and radiate to the outside.

Photo II Week 3

Three Leaves, 8/26/2015

Red Door, 8/26/2015

Red Bars, 8/26/2015

The first photo, Three Leaves, shows three leaves surrounded by other leaves. There are rocks in the background. The pattern in the leaves is a little fuzzy because the camera didn't focus very well. The shape of the leaves around the three big leaves adds a little bit of contrast to accent the three leaves in the middle. The second photo, Red Door, shows a red door on a brick wall. A sign on the door says "STORAGE PROHIBITED." The lines on the wall formed by the bricks gradually get closer together, moving from left to right. The door interrupts the lines. The third picture, Red Bars, shows three red bars in the middle of the picture that cut it in half. There is some symmetry on the two sides of the picture.

Photo II Week 2

Shattered Glass, 8/25/2015

Handrail, 8/25/2015

Pinecone, 8/25/2015

The first photo, Shattered Glass, shows some pieces of shattered glass on the sidewalk. The odd shapes of the glass interrupt the pattern of the lines in the concrete. The second photo, Handrail, shows a handrail on a ramp next to a chain link fence. The chain link fence forms a pattern of squares. The handrail and the post at the end of the fence frame the pattern. On the other side of the handrail, there are interesting shadows, forming another pattern. The third photo, Pinecone, shows a pinecone surrounded by a mess of pine needles.  The needles create a feeling of kind of jumbled chaos, but the pinecone stands in the middle of it, showing a circular pattern of the lines coming out of the center of it.