Wednesday, November 25, 2015
3 Things To Improve Your Photography: Color, Fog And Magic
Rosco Spectrum: One of the earliest users of these new kits was photographer Eva Creel. After seeing her fabulous work on Facebook and seeing the images she shared with us using the CalColor Flash Pack, we learned that Eva uses color in a very creative way – she creates her mood with it, and then she turns it into magic. Her photographs inspired us to shoot this video that showcases how she put the three new Flash Packs to work on a photo shoot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I love photography and it is an incredibly difficult art form. Lighting is the most important part of photography. Major differences in lighting can change a photo drastically from calming to dramatic. My first adventures in photography were my attempts to photograph my different hair colors and styles. When I was younger, I thought that I was going to go into hair and makeup, and so I wanted to start my portfolio with my crazy colored hair. My uncle who works at Nikon gave me a pretty nice camera, and I went to work. I quickly found out that photography is hard, and photographing yourself is harder. It’s especially difficult when you’re a teenager with no training and no way to take any classes. So, through hard work and practice, I have gotten pretty decent at photographing myself, and learning basic lighting techniques to make photos go from terrible, to decent.
It's interesting how light can dramatically change your perception of something, whether it be a photograph or a scene in a performance. The emotional manipulation that the right lighting can achieve is similar to background music in that it can subtly make you feel certain things without you even really realizing why. I loved the way that the colored gels had such an impact on the photos, turning them from just a girl in a dress to something eerie and supernatural. I always assumed that effects like that were only achieved with lots of photoshop, so I was surprised to see that you can do something to the lights themselves to change how they show up on camera. I also didn't realize that photographers used gels, since I had always thought it was just a theater thing. I didn't know that photographers used special effects like fog machines in their shoots, and it makes me think about all the people required for a photoshoot-- did they need a separate special effects person, or are the lighting people also in charge of things like fog?
I think Eva Creel's usage of the gels are fantastic and they produce such a unique quality in the end result of the photograph. The effects almost look like they were photoshopped into the image but knowing that they were produced in the raw form is baffling to me. I must say however that I am not a fan of the effect that the gels give and I actually enjoy the photograph without the gels better, but I can certainly appreciate and learn from the technique being used at hand. I am not a fan of the effect because I like it when the photo has a softer quality, but I guess it also depends on what one is trying to aim for. For me, photography was a hobby that fortunately developed into a paycheck and so I'm always looking for new things to learn and incorporate into my own photography. To use theatre gels to light and create different moods is a brilliant idea and I think I may just have to steal it!
Lighting photography is a trade that it seems like every lighting designer has been picking up in recent years. With the advent of iPhone cameras that rival what you get from a Nikon, every designer can take professional quality shots of their shows from the angles they want in the cues they like. However, Rosco has chosen to invert the paradigm, and give the tools of the lighting designer to photographers with the gel packs. The gel packs get strapped over the speedlights - the tall lights at any shoot, and immediately create an atmosphere at the photo shoot rivaling that of any theatrical production. The way Eva layers each of the packs over one another to create a full world in her photo shoot is awe-inspiring, and I think is something that we will see reversed in future years. The way photographers use gel to influence their photos will, in turn, influence lighting designers to take a more acute look at how the gels they use and the atmospheric effects they pump out effect not just the stage picture, but the actual photograph. The fog tech used in the shoot is also cool, and shows the lengths at which photographers must go to account for temperature and conditions out in the world.
Post a Comment