Camera Lighting and Techniques

High speed photography
High speed photography is where you can catch images such as glass breaking. For this you need an extremely fast shutter speed.

 

Black and white photography
Black and white photography can be used to create some powerful images and is only used in specific cases. Black and white effects are usually created after a picture is taken on some editing software however some cameras have the ability to take black and white photos already.

Smoke art photography
Smoke art photography is used to produce pictures of the pattern smoke creates. This can create some beautiful pictures.

Lighting

The sun is a photographers key lighting equipment however on days where the sun isn't doing it's best photographers will use special reflective systems to make it shine on the model/object. If you point it directly at the model the harsher it will make the picture.

To improve the way silver and white reflectors work and you're not outside then the best thing to do is shine a light directly onto the object/person. This creates a higher quality of image.

To create some high quality images that stand out better a good technique is to make sure the lighting is behind the person/object. To get a great look your lights must be extremely bright so often strobe lights are used. The technique can add effective shadows and make the picture look extremely professional.

If you're shooting a picture at night then the best way to make it look more vibrant is to have already existing lights on the shot for example, lamp posts. However bright lights and reflectors are brought to make the subject of the shot look more appealing and bright.

Jonathan Knowles

Jonathan Knowles is a photographer that is based in London and is known for his excellent work in still life, liquid and people photography.
His photography work had earned him plenty of awards and he has been signed up to help lots of well known brands.
In the past six years he has consistently featured in the '200 Best Advertising Photographers in the World' books. He is now one of the top 10 all time award winners in the Graphis Annuals, and has just had three images included in their volume '100 Best in Photography', published in November 2011.


Examples of his advertising work:

 

This is a good advertisement because it puts the suject as the main focus in the middle of the picture. It has bright colours which all blend together nicely and this gives it a positive atmosphere.

 

This image has became the popular image used to advertise Cadbury chocolate. This makes him very popular with his unusual techniques of photographing. 

 This is a good image because it makes the drink look refreshing and appealing. He has also made sure to use a model with nice hands to make it even more attractive.

This is a good advertisement because he's used bright, clear colours to make the drink look refreshing and pure. The fact that there is a simple drop of water makes the image captivating and the use of mountains gives it that extra effect.

This is a beautiful piece of work with the way he h as effected it to make it look like the drink is part of the sky. The fact that there is light coming from around the edges makes it seem godlike which makes it seem like the best drink.

Like the one above this one is also a beautiful but simple shot which makes the drink some so appealing.

The way this picture is set out is very bright and innocent. Bright colours are used to make it seem like a happier place and the way the background is set out is very neat and appealing. You can tell that the main focus is the lawn mower because it's the closest object to the camera lens.

This is an example of his interesting camera techniques that he uses when taking photographs of liquids. This makes it seem more thirst-quenching and makes it look more refreshing and appealing. This photo could be done on a specific ISO setting or on an editing software.

This is another example of his interesting technique which does make the pictures seem fresher and more appealing.

Critically evaluate your photography application

Critical evaluation

Advertising photography has many different positive and negative sides to it.

Faults
A very important fault in the advertising photography business is that it sends a negative ethical image towards the people that see the advertisements. The fact that pictures that go into magazines and used for advertisement purposes are heavily photoshopped gives people a surreal image of what they should like. This gives people low confidence as they think that they should look like this, many of these images are the cause of eating disorders where people think they need to become perfect like the girls in magazines.

This image has been airbrushed to make her skin look absolutely perfect and her eyes have been altered so they look like a really bright beautiful blue.

On this photo the models collar bomes have been photoshopped so you can't see them and her arm has been made thinner. 

On this photo all the wrinkles have been airbrushed out of her face and arm so it makes her look completely flawless.

On this image they have given the model a smaller waist, slimmer things and removed bruises from her leg. They have also once again airbrushed the wrinkle lines of her legs.

In this picture the fact that you can see a models ribs is very unappealing so they have airbrushed them away. This hides the fact that the models have high expectations to look as thin as possible to be considered as successful models.

Merits .
The main merits of advertising photography is that it can pay extremely well and that it a very important factor.  Images that get printed in magazines can become well recognised and this can get your images more publicity so you get more well known.

Cosplay photography

Cosplay is a type of photography that allows people to dress up as characters from tv shows or movies and get photographed doing it. Cosplay is also known as 'Costume Play' and is regulary photographed at events such as anime conventions where people from all over the world gather with the mutual interest of anime and a lot of people dress up. This is a popular play for cosplay photographers to get the perfect shots for them.

Pros:

·         You get to meet a lot of interesting people.

·         It’s very easy to be a cosplay photographer.

·         You get to visit events and conventions.

Cons:

Cosplay isn't exactly the most popular form of photography and it is marketed to a very specific audience so it could be hard to get paid work from this.

·  

·     Michelle Monique

      Michelle Monique is a very successful cosplay photographer and she has won a high amount of award for her work. Doing cosplay photography has allowed her to gain popularity in the photography industry and she has gained work from well known brands and designing the front cover of books.

    Camera she uses:
    Canon EOS 40D

    Editing software:
    Photoshop CS3
   The editing process takes her about 10 - 15 hours.


      Editing is a very important feature of cosplay photography because it allows you to make the step from real to fantasy and it gives an exciting edge to the pictures. The purpose of editing is to make the model look like they belongs in the world that the character they are portraying is in.

     Here are some before and after shots of Michelle Monique's work, this shows how much editing is actually put into it.

Music photography

Music photography is a photography which is mainly used to promote bands, artists and even the instruments they use.

Music photography is most commonly done during a concert which is being performed by a certain band or artists. This will help advertise the band and make people want to listen to their music. Music photography can also be mixed with advertising photography when they are taking a cover photo for their album.

Concert photography can also be used for posters in music magazines.

Pros
Travelling around the world
Working with new artists
Working in different places

Cons
Waiting for a time that suits the client
Long flights
Long scene setups

Still life photography

Still life photography is genuinley used to take pictures of objects that you can manipulate into any angle you want and won't move. This could include any object that isn't alive. You can take pictures of food, cars, perfume bottles and other things a long those lines.

Landscape photography

Landscape is a photography which is used to take impressive photographs of places. This could incude the sky, the sea, the forest. Anywhere in particular that has an appealing view can be used for landscape photography.

Pros
Get to see beautiful scenary
Can get some excellent shots which doesn't really require a lot of editing

Cons
Managing your shoot around the weather conditions
Being stood outside in the cold a lot