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Posts Tagged ‘Complexity’

10 Ways to Use the Beauty and Complexity of Reflections in Photography

27 Mar

The post 10 Ways to Use the Beauty and Complexity of Reflections in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.

I’m a huge fan of simple ideas that will create immediate effects for your photography.

Photography is a vast subject and learning all the intricacies of your camera, shooting on manual, as well as processing can seem overwhelming.

But there are so many ways to take wonderful photos, using simple ideas you can play with, that will create compelling photos for you right now.

When you take great photos, it inspires you to keep learning and pushing yourself on this intensely fulfilling creative journey.

In this article, you’ll learn how the simple idea of reflections can bring a wonderful complexity, beauty, and depth to your images.

The fantastic thing is reflections are everywhere! In the puddles you pass on your way to work, on shop windows, and on the sun-soaked sea of your holidays. They are on shiny cars, floors, walls, rivers, and streams. They are, of course, wherever you can find a reflective surface.

Reflections are fun to play with – bringing humor, abstraction, and patterns into your images. Here I’ll suggest many different ways to use them in your photography and give you tips to use right now, to create new effects and new looks in your images.

And, by focusing on one technique or one concept and really learning how to use that, you will become incredibly strong in that area.

By picking up one technique at a time, you can build a toolbox of skills that will help you feel confident and able to create magnificent photos.

Let’s get started. Let’s look at all the different aspects of capturing reflections in photography.

1. Reflections create depth

A reflection can create a feeling of depth within an image.

In the photo above taken in the early morning in Venice, the subtle reflection in the puddle on the street creates an image with a strong midground, background, and foreground – so the image isn’t so flat.

Here is another image from Venice, where the rain on the streets creates long reflections from the street lamps. They enhance the journey down the street and help draw you into the scene.

Tip: To get a smoother look for your reflection, use a long exposure, like in the photo above.

2. Reflections create eye-pleasing patterns

The eye finds symmetry and patterns very pleasing. In the photo below, I needed absolutely perfect positioning.

Tip: Finding the best angle for your shot is incredibly important. Many people get so awed by their subject they just start shooting instead of working out where the very best angle for that subject is.

So go up somewhere high, or lie on the ground. Move around until you find the perfect angle for your composition.

Try capturing patterns in the world around you, that when photographed as reflections, become an intriguing abstract image:

3. Reflections can create humor

As well as wicked patterns, reflections can be used to enhance or create humor.

I am not a particular ‘humor’-driven photographer – but occasionally I find something funny I want to capture.

Tip: There are two focal points in most reflections: the surface and the subject of the reflection. Shoot reflections using different shutter speeds and this will blend the colors. This sounds tricky, but with practice, you can nail it.

4. Reflections can create mystery and abstraction

“In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz

I have taken a lot of photos of reflections in shop windows. I love to play with the different shapes you can create, superimposing the outside reflection onto the items in the shop window.


Of course, don’t include yourself in the image – unless you want to! I sometimes do for added interest, but generally, I keep out of my photos.

The photo below has a very intriguing reflection. What is it? Where is it? I know, of course, but I sometimes like to create mystery. To remove reality from reality and play with shapes, textures, color, and reflections.

When I am wandering around, I look everywhere. I look up, look around – and then my favorite – I look down.

I think we get so used to our environments we often don’t look all around us – particularly upwards or downwards. Think of a street you walk down every day. Do you look at the tops of the buildings, the roofs, the upper floors? It’s the same with the world at our feet. There is so much going on down there that we don’t notice.

Colorful, strong light reflecting off the wet pavement.

5. Reflections create texture

In the photo below, whilst walking past a canal, I noticed some strong yellow light that, with the texture of the water, created a sensual reflection and a lovely pattern.

When you see a reflection it’s not always obvious where it is coming from, look for the source, seek the light!

6. Reflections to enhance your photo

I often like to use reflections in quite subtle ways in my photography. It doesn’t have to be a big obvious reflection to be engaging.

One question I always ask my students on my workshops is, what is the light doing here in this situation?

We are all able to see the apparent sources of light, but what about the more subtle ways that the sunlight is bouncing off the glass and into the puddle on the floor?

In the photo above you have reflections in the water which are quite subtle but add a nice complexity and depth to the image.

In the image below the scene is made intriguing by the reflected light of sunrise in the windows of the buildings. Without it, the scene would be flat and boring.

The glint of golden light on a dark morning brings beautiful color as well as a hint of magic and mystery. The scene has turned into something quite compelling.

Tip: Always be looking to see what the light is doing, and how it’s affecting everything around you.

7. Reflections are beautiful, passing moments

I feel that reflections are little pretty moments, bringing an appreciation of the present moment of lovely light:

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” – Aaron Siskind

In the photo above of some birds in Istanbul on a foggy day, the reflections are subtle but create some depth to the photo. I think the movement of the birds is brought to life by the reflections.

8. Reflections create an alternative reality

Wherever I have beautiful light and reflective surfaces I am looking for reflections. In the photo above I like that the water is moving just enough to make what would be quite a bland photo a little surreal.

Tip: As you often have a lot of different and contrasting light sources in a reflection, expose for the brightest part of your photo.

9. Reflections of light create exuberance

Here is a simple photo with the sunrise reflected in the sea. Warm, beautiful sunshine is a wonderful thing to photograph. Sometimes it’s the simplest elements in your image that create the most impact.

In the photo below it’s also the sea, but this time the reflection of the moonlight:

What a gorgeous scene, right? And to show the wash of reflected moonlight makes the image stunning.

10. The sheer joy of light reflected on water

Water is involved in so many of my reflection photos. Here we have gorgeous light reflecting off the moody sea with the clouds reflecting the light around them.

I find clouds endlessly fascinating to photograph – they create wonderful texture within an image.

Last, but not least, I love having fun taking my own portrait using reflections. I mean, why not?

I hope this lesson has helped you with new ideas and ways to capture the complexity and beauty of reflections in photography.

What I love about photography is how much it helps us see the world in new, fresh ways. So keep going on your photography journey. There is always more to capture, more to see and more to learn. It’s a wonderfully enriching life pursuit.

“Through this photographic eye you will be able to look out on a new light-world, a world for the most part uncharted and unexplored, a world that lies waiting to be discovered and revealed.” – Edward Weston

I’d love to know what you thought of these ideas – let me know in the comments below.

The post 10 Ways to Use the Beauty and Complexity of Reflections in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.


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Studio Lighting: Unravelling the Complexity of Multiple Lights

20 Apr

As one gets started in studio lighting I think it is pretty common to get over ensconced in the lighting scenarios. It is funny because everything you read tells you to start with one light until you really start getting a feel for how to shape, angle and manipulate it with purpose. Most of us end up getting lost in multiple light set-ups struggling to find proper lighting solutions. I was not any different.

Soon after I got started, I found myself using 4-5 lights in every setup and then getting frustrated with the nuclear explosion of light that was going off with each shutter click. It makes me laugh now, because at the time I was solely focused on getting light on the subject, background and in most cases everything else in the room that was touched by the mushroom cloud of illumination. I did not understand the importance of shadow, shape, depth and form.

Maturing with studio lighting takes time and patience, and always remember that each light should have a specific purpose. Understanding how to build the lighting with intent in mind takes plenty of practice and a fair number of mistakes and experimentation. Just remember to keep an open mind and never stop learning from both your successful and failed attempts. So, let’s get down to business and walk through a more challenging lighting set-up being mindful of the reasons and rational for each lights use.

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Concept

In pre-planning for any shoot it is always good to have some structure and direction to the idea or concept. Some focus, no matter how vague, will always be helpful. Understand what sort of mood, feel or emotion you hope to portray and have some insight into what you want presented in your final image. In the shoot presented in this article, the overall theme was a creative portrait based on the beauty of ice, winter and cold.

This already set most of my color palette to blues, whites, silvers and other cooler tones. I also wanted to give a feeling like the model was being seen through a pane or block of ice and knew I wanted some crystal like texture incorporated. Simply put, I needed a lighting set-up that would maximize the crystalline texture, but that would also provide a flattering light for the model. Sounds simple right?

Lighting Plan

Let’s think through this lighting for a moment. In order to light for texture, one needs to light from the side so that the light skims the texture and creates shadows that give some shape, depth and form to the surface. Great! We can side light our crystalline forms. Oh but wait, if we side light the model we are likely going to see every blemish, hair or imperfection on the skin and either are going to resort to a lengthy saddle-sore ridden editing session, or have a very unflattering photo of our model.

How can I get a nice beautiful light on my model? I know, butterfly or clam shell lighting provides a very flattering look and has a way of smoothing out the complexion. Awesome! But wait, if I front light the texture, I will lose the depth and form of the crystals. Quite a conundrum, huh? Well, at least it provides a framework to help me set-up my lighting. I want some sort of combination of side lighting and butterfly lighting that will accomplish both of my needs. Lets break it down in a diagram.

LightingSetup

Set-up

All make-up and styling was performed by the amazingly creative Dina Bree. The model, Leslie, was shot against a blue seamless background through a piece of plexiglass that had been treated to create a crystalline or frozen texture. White and silver confetti was released over the model during shooting to gain an effect as if snow was falling lightly.

I had two strip boxes, one on either side of the plexiglass skimming the surface and providing some side lighting to the model. The key light was a diffused beauty dish that was placed directly above the plexiglass and angled down at the model and positioned so that it would not spill light on the textured surface. My fill light was a 7” reflector with blue gel bounced off of the floor beneath the plexiglass up at the model again trying to avoid spill on the plexiglass. I knew I wanted both the textured surface and the model in sharp focus so I chose a very small aperture at f/16 to gain a large depth of field.

Thus, I had found a pleasant combination of side lighting and butterfly lighting to accomplish my goals within the original framework I had outlined.

When I conceived the idea for this shoot, I have to admit I was not sure if I could pull it off effectively. I knew the lighting would be tricky and that it could take some subtle changes or modifications as I progressed through the shoot. I also knew that it could be a complete disaster with an ultimate failed result. Either way it was going to be a great learning opportunity. Lighting with intent and purpose is critical as you move into multiple light set-ups. Planning and understanding the need for each light serves to unravel a lot of the complexity encountered in studio lighting scenarios.

Also, don’t be afraid to experiment within the set-up. This final shot was a fantastic accident as I decided to turn the key light off for some production shots and I got a whole new look and feel to the image. Take your time and think it through and make sure you have an idea of where you are going before you start. There is no need to fly completely blind. Be confident, clever and calculated and you will soon find that you can amaze yourself and satiate that starving creative beast inside you with a nice healthy meal.

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Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Studio Lighting: Unravelling the Complexity of Multiple Lights


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