Assignment #20, Copying & Emulating "Forbidden"

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:25 pm

For this assingment I have asked permission from Walter to use the same photograph. I wanted to use this photo because from the moment he placed it on this forum it has been on my mind and I want to try some more things with lighting.

I have been looking at this photo for ages and have made a very basic setup and took one shot from where I will go on. My objective is to achive a similar efect in max 5 shots.
Original photo

first tryout.

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:43 pm

What is your light source? You need a light source that you can focus. The original used a police flashlight.

If you have an old slide projector that might work for a light source. A long snoot made from black paper might work to control the spill of the light.

It looks like the original was either processed to increase the red, or a red or pink gel was placed over the light source.

I think that he used a flashlight similar to a mini-mag light and it is small enough to be hidden behind the apple.

This type of exercise accomplishes several things:

It teaches you to analyze a photo to learn what the photographer did. After a while it is not hard to figure out.

It teaches you techniques. Once you figure out the method and you are able to repeat it at will you will have a viable technique. If you cannot summon up the technique and get the desired result on command then you have not learned the technique.

You can learn an enormous amount from these exercises. I taught myself to shoot studio photography in just that way. It takes some time to learn that way but the depth of your knowledge is greater than if someone just showed you the right way.

Good start. Not quite there.

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:06 pm

Packard, here an answer to your question. As a light source I used a small halogen spotlight 50 watt. I knew that it would give too big a light spread. I used it on the basis that it was very likely easier to reduce light than to boost it up. In the original photo use is made of a fairly strong light source.

My first objective was to see if I could create the light rim around the apple. I'm now experimenting with various ways of reducing and directing the light and still keep the rim. Up till now not good enough yet but it is coming closer. I have also processed my first shot in PS and I came very close to the colour of the original one.

This experimenting gives me an enormous insight in how you can manipulate light and shade. I'm enjoying this. As soon as I can see a potential better shot I will take it and post it.

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:05 pm

That photo really caught my attention also. I had thought to maybe try and use it for this assignment but so far I'm on the loosing side of emulating it. I'll leave it to you peninna, I'd love to see how you progress. :)

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:09 pm

Ok, second try, I processed it a bit, not very precise, to give a better comparison with the original one.
Set up:
The table is actualy too low and we bought a new table which will arrive coming week. This means I have to do the setup again wich will also be a test to see if I can repeat it.
I still use the halogen spot but I have made a snoot, not of black paper but of alu foil. The lamp gets so hot that paper would burn. I have put a black paper sheet in front of the installation, with a hole for the snoot. In front of the snoot I have a bit of translucent material to diffuse the light a bit.

Next tryout wil not be before the new table is here.

My observations.
Light is much better but not yet how it should be. I think I have to narrow the snoot a bit more.
Lost the rim, but that can be because of a wrong positioning of the hand or not sufficient light reflection. I have not yet figured that out.
The apple should have been a bit more to the right, for the light spread. (I should have seen that in the viewfinder before I took the shot.)
Hand is not sharp due to a long exposure and no support so my husband wobbled.
The table needs dusting (before someone else says it) LOL.

Btw Ass. #16 and #17 will be done when the weather is better.

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:16 pm

You are needing very little guidance from me on this. You seem to have a good handle on how to approach this task.

I would provide something out of the viewing frame for your husbnd to rest his arm on.

With a shot like this, the final lighting adjustments have to be made in the view finder.

Can your camera be hooked up to your lap top in real time? I think it would be better to look at the larger screen than look through the view finder.

If you don't know how to do this, post a question at the appropriate forum. This has come up before and with a lot of cameras it can be done. You might even be able to do this with a TV set. Ask.

Once you have completed this shot, you should try a few more emulations (not so esoteric as this). You will learn a lot about still lifes from working this way. And you can self-critique better than when you are starting out from whole cloth.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:23 pm

Third attempt. After the arrival of the table I made a new set-up. The other table was very low so I had to sit on the floor to look through the viewfinder. The new table is a normal size dinner table (always handy later when you get visitors for dinner lol.)
Basically I made a longer snoot and narrowed it a bit. I left a gap on the top for more light to shine on the hand to get a better reflection on the apple. I placed translucent material on the front, but maybe I have to make it a bit less translucent although, imho, there are some blown out places on the original It is difficult to get exactly the same light but I think I'm coming closer. The biggest problem will be the hand. Even with supporting his hand, my husband has difficulties in keeping it still (age). Also it is difficult to judge the lighting in the viewfinder. I understood that it is not possible to connect my camera in real time to a laptop. Nevertheless I'm not giving up. I have to think for a while to see if I'm inventive enough to get the photo right.

Third shot.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:41 pm

peninna wrote:

The biggest problem will be the hand. Even with supporting his hand, my husband has difficulties in keeping it still.

1. Chop off the hand and glue it to a stand. Should keep pretty still that way.

2. I think that the original one has the light minutely higher and aimed slightly lower. Take a look at them side by side for comparison.

3. I don't know your camera, but some will allow you to watch the image in real time on your computer monitor. If you can do that with your camera I think it will help a lot. Post a question in the appropriate forum and someone will know the answer.

Getting close. Learning a lot.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:56 pm

packard wrote:

peninna wrote:

The biggest problem will be the hand. Even with supporting his hand, my husband has difficulties in keeping it still.

1. Chop off the hand and glue it to a stand. Should keep pretty still that way.

My husband just asked if you are old enough to remember the horror film "The hand"?

@2. I will try that out. Thanks for the tip.

@3. A Canon 30D. I posted that question and the answer was, no.

Quote:

Getting close. Learning a lot.

Sure and enjoying it a lot as well

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:35 pm

This one?

Or this one?

I am old enough for one, but not the other. But I don't know either.

(Did you tell him you'd still love him even if he had just one hand? That might have helped.)

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:26 pm

He meant the first one. (I thought only women were fooling about their age LOL)

It was easier and less messy to borrow another hand, one more flexible and steady. Here is my attempt #4.

It is noticeable that I'm not a very good fiddler with PS, but I did a bit of colour change and shadow and highlight (and blobbed the dust out.)

I placed the light higher and at a different angle, as you suggested. You were right, of course, the lighting and shadows are better.

I also changed the exposure time. aperture and ISO to minimise the movement risk, but I don't think they are very much in balance. I know the influence of one and the other but I still can't get to grips on the exact figurs. One day it will become clear (I hope.)

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:07 pm

I think this is close enough to call a success.

Not as easy as it would first seem.

The nice part about doing a shot like this is you do not need a critic to tell you if you have gotten it right or not. If you were shooting a still life from scratch you might need a critic to suggest ways to improve on the image.

But if you have chosen a still life image that is truly excellent and emulate it then you will, at the end, know how to take that quality of image.

If you do this 10 times with 10 different images you will have gained a lot of control over your medium. It is how I taught myself to use studio lighting for portraits. It was harder then because I would shoot, send out the film, get it back in 10 days and then make the needed corrections. And if I didn't make good notes on the original setup I could easily have forgotten exactly what I have done. And in effect would have learned nothing.

Note: it is not a technique unless you can repeat it at will. So make notes and keep it with the image so you can use this as a reference. Make notes on the earlier attempts too so they become part of the reference too.

Nice job. Next assignment.

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:42 am

Ok I will move on to the next assignment. Thanks for your help and advice. I have liked it very much and I have learned a lot from it. I have kept the previous shots and made some notes. My note book is growing.
I will certainly try some more copying and emulating of still lifes. It gives you a very good sense of how to use light.

You are right that it is easier nowadays. You can see the result straight away and you still have the whole setup in mind. For me it has become even easier because I now have a room for myself (baptised by my husband who placed a sign on the door "STUDIO") and I can leave setups as long as I want to study them.

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:28 pm

He is very understanding.

A "studio" where you can work and return to finish is really a fine thing. It makes the work more productive with less time spent.

It also makes studio lights a likely Christmas Gift.