Planning My Fashion Shoots

Firstly I had to find a suitable and willing model. As the two shoots I would be doing are my first studio shoots and first time working with models I chose to work with people I know so I will have a slightly easier time communicating with them. So with my models selected and organised for time and location I organised with Steve the use of the studio for a few hours to give me plenty of time to work.

The Studio and Risk Assessment

Here is a screenshot from a 3D model of the studio, it is a basic model but it shows the general layout.

The main difference between this model and the actual studio is that the lights are hung on rails from the ceiling instead. This also reduces the risk of tripping as there are no stands or power leads on the floor.

Before the model entered the studio I will make sure the lights and camera are positions to avoid moving them large distances with the model in harms way. I will then make sure the model understands that they need to keep clear of the lighting because they get very hot due to the model light and could cause an incident if touched.

Cameras and Lenses

Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras:

Due to previous experience I have chosen to use a DSLR for my studio photography, as I feel they provide more flexibility.

In the studio I will be using a Canon 5d,

Technical specification:

• Sensor
• 12.8 million pixels
• 35.8 x 23.9 mm CMOS 
• no field of view crop
• ISO 
• 50-3200 (when extended)
• Flash sync
• 1/200s 
• 3FPS

This camera suited me well because of the ease of use of the canon cameras. the full frame sensor means i'm getting the maximum field of view out of the lens I choose to use.

I will also be using a canon lens to maximise compatibility and performance from the both the camera and lens, the lens I use will be the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/EF_Lenses/Image_Stabilization_Lenses/EF_24-105mm_f4_L_IS_USM/) 

This zoom lens gives me the flexibility to produce head shots or full length without changing lenses speeding up the shoot and keep the time actually taking photos at a maximum.

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken

Theme one, Fashion photography.

My first theme is fashion photography but also paying close attention to the use of lighting. I have drew inspiration for this theme from many source including just simple internet image searches, an artist I particularly like the work of is Rankin, and some of his photos such as this one, 

(http://rankin.co.uk/fashion/#/pic108)

When I have completed this unit I will have a set of images showing different uses of light within a studio and a high level of fashion photography.

To help me achieve this outcome I have drawn from a number of source to get a wide view of fashion photography enabling me to draw from that research into what I feel will be my own style.

I gained some experience of the fashion industry as a whole by reading, A Year In Fashion by Prestel in cooperation with gettyimages.

For the technical side of the studio work I drew from the massive wealth of sources available on the internet. One of these sources has been youtube, with over a million videos being returned when searching for "photography" there is an almost endless supply of tutorials for nearly every aspect. A particular set of videos I used a lot were Digital photography 1 on 1 by snap factory. This is an example of a particularly helpful video

Fashion Photography - Inclusion of Shadows (How the brain perceives an image) (under construction)

I want to focus a lot on lighting, to include shadows and contrast across a subject, like this:

The way the light falls on the subject draws attention to the head a shoulders area even though it is 3/4 shot.

I also like the use of shadows to give more depth to the photo, like this:

To me the addition of the shadow to this photo gives it a more 3d feel. The brain plays a major part in understanding the 3d world we live in, most people presume that we see in 3d because we have two eyes spaced a small distance apart and these two images combined produces a 3d image. In some ways this is true but at any considerable distance the angle of the eyes is so small that there lines of sight are practically parallel, therefore the brain has to rely on experience to understand what it is looking at. One of the major factors of understanding the 3d world is shadows, the size and orientation of a shadow in relation to the subject lets the brain determine distance, shape and size, for this reason I feel it is important to include shadows in a photo because the image produced is 2d there is no chance that the eyes can do the work of making it appear 3d it must be the way the brain perceives the image, therefore the inclusion of shadows will let the brain perceive the image in a more 3d manner. The one thing to remember is that the image is never actually 3d it is just the brains perception of 3d.

Liquid Droplets

When taking pictures of falling liquid droplet the main and obvious way to alter the pictures is to alter the composition of the liquid in both the droplet and the liquid it is dropping into.

The main qualities that affect the behavior of the droplet are:

• viscosity-how the thick the liquid is.
• surface tension-water has one of the highest surface tensions of any liquid.

The viscosity of the liquid can be altered by changing the temperature of the liquid, the hotter the liquid the less viscous it will be. Adding other substances such as glycerin increases the viscosity. The higher the viscosity the smoother the splashes will be but the splashes will not be as big.

Surface tension affects the movement off the splash, during and after impact, if a column of water is formed after a splash it will "fall" five times faster than gravity intended it to due to the surface tension pulling it back down. Surface tension in water can be reduced by adding soap a lower surface tension increases the height of the column.

Depth of field

Since I am using a macro lens at very close distances, I am having issues with depth of field.

I have found a depth of field simulator that helps to explain the use of different camera settings to alter depth of field: Depth of Field Simulator