Portraits (Photography)

Portraits.  Under different lighting conditions.  I honestly wasn't really sure what we were meant to be doing with this one.  People had mentioned 'candle light' and 'studio lights' and I wasn't really sure where to start.  I didn't really get the opportunity in my own time to do this, but thankfully, my classmates were on hand to give me some help.  All of the photos taken were done on the college grounds, meaning 'Candle light' was out right away, for obvious reasons.


One of the first photographs I took, this one we simply used a bright LED torch in a dark room (the photo studio - utilising the dark backdrop).  I love the strong contrast between the light and the dark in these images.  



 We then tried to play with coloured lights.  In this instance, we used complementary colours, to see what sort of effect it would give us.  I didn't take many of these, which has been to my detriment, as the ones I have aren't the best quality.  Still using my phone, most of the darker images I'm taking are coming out grainy, and focusing is still an issue.  Overall, I like the look of the light on the face, the red hitting the green and creating a clear vibrant contrast.


 I wanted to play with cooler colours, so we replaced the red for a blue light.  This to me looks very sci-fi.  I'm not sure I can explain why, just blue and green seem to relate more to modern and technology based themes.  It also seems to add a different personality to the subject.  (Our) left side of the face looks more serious, whereas the green lit right looks less so.  I'm not sure why this is the case, perhaps the different coloured light just shows up in different places, highlighting certain aspects.


Unfortunately a very grainy photograph, we took a few using only one colour.  I think the red light implies a more sinister theme, and shows how slight colour changes can really impact the message of an image.  A blue light here would imply sadness.  A red light, possibly anger, or intent.  Overall, it's the light that is implying certain themes, and not the subject itself.


One of the last photographs I took, this one is lit purely by a phone.  Maddy wasn't aware I was taking this one either, which I think adds a more natural look to it.  The bottom lit image reminds me a lot of phones in general, as this is how most people appear in darkly lit rooms. 

I had fun playing with the different colours.  We tried a few other combinations (purple and orange, for example) but I feel these are the most vivid.  It's great to see colour theory in practice like this in the real world, and I think the colours chosen can say a lot about the intent of an image.  My understanding of photography is not particularly great, but in an experiment like this, where light is key, I found the results to be instantly clear.

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