Assignment 3 One Light

Using the 250 watt halogen bulb in the equipment closet, make a portrait by selecting a quality and direction of light to communicate an emotion that you feel about a person. Make an additional portrait that reflects the opposite feeling you have about the person. Explain in writing the laws of light that were at work in each portrait.

Lesson 3 Direction of Light, Diffusion, Diffraction and Using One Light

Examples of diffusion

What happens when a point source (like the sun or our Halogen Bulb) falls on a solid white sphere:
1. A highlight is created
2. A cast shadow is created
3. A core is created in the transition of the highlight and the shadow
4. A cast shadow is created
5. A specular or incident highlight is created with the highlight (it is the direct reflection of the light source)



The cube is tilted to reveal 3 sides equally. When a point source (our Halogen bulb) is placed over and as close to the camera lens as possible, all three sides reflect equally. When the light is moved to the left and up, the 3 sides reflect light in unequal ways and appear as 3 differentvalues

Assignment 2 Demonstrate the 3 Laws of Light in One Photograph

In one photograph using one light source clearly demonstrate the 3 laws of light at work. Include the light source in the photograph. The subject is the light. Think of it as more of a physics project than a photograph. Use a dodging tool  to prevent the light from flaring the lens.  Try to crop out any rigging you might use and make the image about the light.

Lesson 2 Light Travels in a Straight Line

Abelardo Merrell Photograph








The camera obscura is an example of light traveling in a straight line

Lesson 2 Angle of Incidence Equal Angle of Reflection

Light reflected from a metal surface with angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflection. The dashed line is perpendicular to the surface.

Light reflection from a) smooth surface (specular reflection) and b) rough surface (diffuse reflection). In both cases the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection at the point that the light ray strikes the surface.

Diagram of a Parabolic Reflector

World War II Search Light

Assignment 1 Inverse Square Law

1. Using 3 identical 4x5 grey cards set 1 foot apart, overlapping slightly and placed at a 45 degree angle from the camera angle. Make 4 photographs of the cards with the light 2 feet, 4 feet, 8 feet, 16 feet and 32 feet from the middle card. Use an incident meter on the middle card to give the correct exposure. The middle card should have the same value on each photograph.  Use Lightroom to weak the middle card until they all read the same value.

2. Use 3 4x5 cards a black card in front, a grey card in the middle and a white card in the back. Using the same single point source make all 3 cards appear to be the same value. You can move the cards and the light source until it works.

3.  Create a blog on blogger using your google account and use the simple template.

4.  Send the url for your blog to ccs@nyc.rr.com by next Monday.

Lesson 1 Inverse Square Law

The inverse square law states that the intensity of the light from a point source diminishes inversely to the square of the distance.  I=1/d²  Here is a better illustration that what I drew on the white board.

I got this next chart from Lee Varis's website.  He illustrates here the relationship of 18% grey to a modified 10 step zone system, 50% that you would see in Lightroom's histogram and the number 118 you see in Photoshop's histogram using RGB color space.  



Here is the results of our test in class with the middle grey card adjusted in Lightroom and tweaked in photoshop to look the same.  You can see the Front card gets darker in relation to the Middle card as the light is moved further away and the Back card gets lighter as the light is moved further away.

Ben Kong's Version

Our Class Demonstation Results

Production Stills

Syllubus

Instructor: Chris Callis

The Laws of Light and How to Break Them

Spring 2015

Wednesday  3-5:50pm

Location: SVA MFA Photo Studio 

Who should take this class: 

Anyone interested in learning photographic lighting.  No prior knowledge of lighting is required. 

Class Description:

This course is an opportunity to learn the laws of light and to gain an appreciation of how important an understanding of light is to a photographer’s process. The class will begin with an exploration of the physics of light in order to explain its behavior. The weekly sessions and assignments will teach the student how to approach every lighting experience with confidence.  The purpose is to master these concepts and to ensure effective application of this knowledge. The ability to problem solve is a crucial element when faced with challenging lighting situations and without this understanding it is very difficult to move beyond obvious limitations. The ultimate goal is to be able to apply these concepts and then to see all the possibilities. 

Assignments:

Each week there will be a demonstration and a class exercise that will end with a weekly assignment. There will be a total of thirteen weekly assignments and one final project.

Each student will post their weekly assignments on their lighting blog along with a sketch and brief explanation of their results. 

Grading:

A commitment from the students is expected. Being on time, prepared with homework and ready to learn are requirements.  Active participation during the demonstrations is also required.  The student’s aesthetic approach to lighting along with the blog presentation are factors in grading.  

Schedule:

Lesson  1:   Inverse Square Law

Lesson  2:   Angle of Incident, Light Travels in a Straight Line

Lesson  3:   One Light Source

Lesson  4:   Three Light Source

Lesson  5:   One Strobe

Lesson  6:   Size Matters

Lesson  7:   Strobe and Continuous Light

Lesson  8:   Hand Flash

Lesson  9:   Outdoor Flash

Lesson 10:  Light Painting

Lesson 11:  Shiny Metal and Glass

Lesson 12:  Night Photography

Lesson 13:  Stop Action

Lesson 14:  Bring in a lighting problem to solve

Lesson 15:  Review final assignment