What is Three Point Lighting?

Actual definition:

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting. Once you understand three point lighting you are well on the way to understanding all lighting. The technique uses three lights called the key light, fill light and back light. Naturally you will need three lights to utilise the technique fully, but the principles are still important even if you only use one or two lights.

- Source: http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/

The three lights involved in this technique all have different roles in the overall effect.

The Key Light is the strongest and therefor the main light, having the most influence on the photo. It is then placed at an angle (to the side) of a model to create some contrasts and shadows on the other side of their face/ body.

The Fill Light is on the opposite side of the Key light, making it the secondary light. By using this light source, the shadows that had previously been created by the Key Light's position alone will  be less intense or non existent. This light source is softer than the Key Light, and you can experiment with how far away this light from the subject of the photo.

The Back Light is placed at the back, and can highlight a hairline and give an overall professional look to the photo as it gives off a 3D effect. By having this light in place, the subject of the photo is more separated from the background.

If you take one of these lights away, the photo can look completely different. I, personally, am keen to experiment with the Key and Back light. This is because I like the dramatic effect of shadows and contours.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p13FqFdgDc This video explains the effect of certain angles of light within Three Point Lighting.

Process of Photoshop

This photo was my first attempt of taking my Photoshop skills further, incorporating coloured backgrounds and shapes into the photo. I did not feel confident with presenting this photo as a product of taking elements of what I learnt and having this as my finale piece. I feel as though this photo has no structure, no sense. I did not feel as though there was a colour scheme, or even a theme that I could work with. The choice of colour in the background was not eye capturing enough for me, and, over all, the photo looked 2D to me. Due to my dissatisfaction, I decided to use the same photo of annaleigh, but edit in a different way.

 

I used the same image as the previous attempt. My original idea was to edit the words "happy go lucky" so they would be the opposite of the emotion displayed. This idea changed as I went on editing and changed different elements.

 

 

I used the magnetic lasso tool to crop the part of the photo that I needed and placed Annaleigh in front of a background. After realising that I did not like the colour on my previous attempt, I played around with colours like bright blue's, greens and purples.

 

I finally found a background colour I liked. The colour also highlighted even more so how dull the colours in the photo were, so I upped the contrast and brightness on the image of Annaleigh to bring the image forward more and make it stand out more.

 

I then played around with the colouring / pencil tools on Photoshop to edit her hair and make it look as though it was hand drawn. There was no particular reason for this; it did, however, teach me more about the different ways I can use tools to manipulate an image.

 

My attitude towards shapes with this image was different before - it made all the difference. Whilst before, I was using shapes of butterflies and random line shapes that didn't fit any theme, this time I used mainly circles, and simple shapes as I found that in this instance, simple changes were more effective. I also chose a colour scheme for the shapes I inserted in the image, I found this looked more professional.

 

This was my final product. The theme that I chose was space, hence the inserted planets that are placed in the background. I think the cluster of shapes are appropriately placed, and I was careful to make sure it wasn't too crowded, as I was aware of my canvas size. The space theme then linked in with the words "Down To Earth" that I used.

Planning For Photographs

Planning of photograph inspired by Nadav Kander

Working with: (Annaleigh and Rosina.)

Pictures inspiring me:

• This picture is my main inspiration, as it is quite different from others that I have seen previously.
• Many people in typical photo shoots will want to use makeup, but instead I will be using another image of nature to decorate someone’s face.

• I have previously taken a few photos of nature that I could use – they do not necessarily need to be images of trees.

• To create this photo, I’ll be using a projector, onto a black/ grey background. To contrast with this and make the model stand out more, the model will wear a white vest / top. The top will be plain and present neutral tones. For experimentation purposes and for documentation, I will take photo's without the projected images, as then, if the projector does not look right, I can Photoshop images onto Annaleigh's face to see if that gives the same effect.
• The lighting used in this photo uses a light source from the left, and a light source from the back. This highlights the hairline, and presents the main features of her face. I don't quite think this is three point lighting because there are still some contrasts that show cheekbones and give her contouring on her face.  I will use the projector as a light source, and I will have a light source at the back. As I'll be creating a dark background / atmosphere, I don't want too many light sources.
• Unlike the model in this photo though, I will experiment with different expressions and angles to see which one looks the best.

Homework - to analyise and improve your own photograph.

Mise En Scene

Whilst I like this photo, I think there are improvements and enhancements that would make this photo better. The setting of this photo is a local quarry / path that is often visited by my family, which is why I wanted to capture this as it looked more natural and at home. however, there is a cyclist in the background that can draw attention away from the two main focus' of the photo. The lighting used in this photo is natural lighting, and the expressions in the this photo are smiles, which are natural portraying genuine happiness. The costumes in this photo are nothing unique or intentional, it just happens to be what my parents wore that day, not that I believe this takes anything away from the photo but, in the future, I could return to this location to take photo's, and have the models wear something you would expect to wear in an environment such as this. There are no props involved.

This photo was improved by adding higher contrasts and brightening the photo to really enhance the sunny day that it was; to add binary opposition I placed the words "Rainy Night" on the photo to make it more interesting and intriguing. The cyclist that I was concerned drew the attention away from the two main people was photo shopped out using my cloning skills; I cloned the grass from elsewhere and placed it where it would be if there were no one there, and then I added in the path, and shadows from the trees. I didn't want to crop the photo as people needed to be able to see the background for the words I placed to have the full effect. Over all, I think this photo has been improved.