Monday 11/2/20: Lights, Camera…and Eggs!

Due: Thursday Nov. 5th!

In this exercise, you’ll experiment with different characteristics of light and see firsthand how they influence your composition. Pick up that camera and let’s do it. This stuff is important!

  1. Grab a few eggs. This is your subject. Now you’re going to seek out different types of light to shoot them under. With each shot, consider how the composition of your scene changes in terms of mood, visibility, context, lines, and so on. Have a quick read of this article that shows some lovely examples.

2. Set up a scene, with a backdrop of some sort. You can use the inside of a jacket, or a piece of white paper and create a mini studio. White works best so you can see the cast shadows.

3. Alter the intensity of the light in your scene by using a flashlight or by using a desk lamp in your room.

4. Alter the direction of the light by moving your light source, or changing the position you’re shooting them from. You could start with side lighting, and then move around to turn it into back-lighting.

With your egg you will take pictures that illustrate:

  • Side lighting
  • Front lighting
  • Overhead lighting
  • Back lighting

Essentially you are shining your light from the side, then from the front, then from overhead, then from the back. As you try each direction, take notice of the placement of the tones, as well as the proportion of each. And make sure to look at the shadow cast by the egg(s), both it’s direction and size.

5. Then with your egg(s) you will use your light source to create examples of hard and soft light.

6. So use your flashlight or desk lamp and shine it directly at the egg from about a foot away. This is hard light.

7. Then put a piece of white paper in between it, to diffuse the light and making your light source essentially larger, the light will become softer. Your shadows should look lighter and edges softer.

  • Hard lighting (without the paper to diffuse the light)
  • Soft lighting (with the paper to diffuse the light)

8. Convert your photos to BLACK AND WHITE. Using your phone or Snapseed.

9. Create a COLLAGE (or two) of your eggs illustrating the 6 different types of light and label them according to what sort of light you captured using your phone or PicCollage. Watch these YouTube videos which show you how to do this: Phone collage, PicCollage app.

10. REMEMBER TO MAKE YOUR PHOTOS LOOK PRETTY!

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