Idea Development & Shoot Preparation
Taking Part Letter
Since living at Gwydyr for little over a fortnight now, I've briefly associated myself with a few of the residents who I s'pose could be referred to as my immediate neighbors, two both occupy the same floor that i'm currently living on whilst the others are situated on various floors above and below me. At this point my encounters have been very short, I've usually come across them either passing through in the hall or in the elevator. As a new face to the block, most have introduced themselves which means I now know seven on a first name basis and already I can sense that there is definitely a diverse number of unique characters all inhabiting under this roof. The next step forward is quite a big leap. I now have to propose my objective to my new found neighbors which will determine whether or not my idea can be developed further. My approach is simple I've drafted a letter together listing all the necessary information about this project and what their participation would involve. I feel that by writing and posting a letter through their door is a fairly congenial approach. I see it as getting my message across without being overly direct and intrusive, as they also have busy lifestyles and chores that they need to attend so I feel that this won't bother them or form any distraction in any daily routines and something that they can read once their other priorities have been seen to.
Draft copy of letter.
Dear .....
My name is Kirstie Ashton. I'm the niece of Jacqui & Prakash who I'm temporarily living with at Flat 41 in north block. I'm currently studying a photography degree at Brighton University and my most recent assignment involves capturing people in their environment (either work or home surroundings) and wondered if I could invite you to take part. Taking part would mean me spending half hour to an hour (maximum) with you in your apartment, taking your portrait/photograph for possible inclusion in my assignment, its only for my benefit at university not to be used commercially. Your identity would also remain anonymous. As well as taking your photograph I'd like to learn a little bit about you. My main question is to ask how long and what experiences you have of living at Gwydyr Mansions. If your willing and available anytime from now until the 1st February could you please let me know on 911383 (Flat 41)indicating when would be an appropriate time for you.
Thanking you in anticipation
Kind Regards
Kirstie Ashton.
Equipment & Practice
Whilst waiting to hear back from the residents, another important aspect that I need to put into consideration is the equipment I will require. My main concern with shooting indoors is that the amount of light is limited and without the use of a flash unit my images could suffer in quality by being underexposed. Although I purchased a flash gun around about year ago, I still have very little knowledge in how it works.
Flash Techniques:
During a practical session with Andrew Wing, we were taught the principles of using the flash as well as being introduced to various other creative techniques.
In terms of a professional shoot is technique would often be used as a last measure. Even to consider direct flash, the quality of light in a particular surrounding has to be rather limiting, with no walls or ceiling to bounce off. In these tough situations direct flash is a lifesaver. However its wise to be conscious of the shadows that this type of flash casts. Since the flash unit is a small light source, its shadows will be rather harsh. There is a way to solve this problem and minimize them by paying attention to the background. Flash exposure is completely based on distanced. Objects closer than the flash's sweet spot will be overexposed and objects beyond the flash's sweet spot will be underexposed. Therefore objects in the distance will gradually fade to black to further away you move.
For this activity two models stood in front of the camera, one in the foreground 2m away with the other 4m away in the background. With the shutter set at 1/60 and a aperture dialed to f.4, the flash directly falled onto the model in the foreground. By using direct flash the shadows have been eliminated on the models face. Depending on where the model is standing; her silhouetted figure would either formed straight behind her or just beside her at an angle.
Bounce flash refers to when you bounce light off a light surface, specifically walls or ceilings. In the photo below, the flash has been bounced off a ceiling, we can tell this by the way the foreground model's shadow in the background is disproportionately lower than he is himself. The other quality of using bounce flash is that you get a much more softer, and in my opinion natural looking glow on the subject, rather than the harsh, interrogative light we get from using direct flash. Some shadows do still appear with bounce flash, particularly underneath the model's eyes. To counteract this "panda eyes" effect to use what is known as a bounce card; this is a white piece of card that is attached to the flash when in it's upright position. It will direct some of the light to fall directly onto the model. The additional light from the bounce hard acts as a fill-in for shadows and the light reflected from the ceiling acts as a main source of light.
The ring flash is a circular flash unit that fits around the lens of the camera. Its most important characteristic is providing even illumination with few shadows visible, producing a soft halo effect around the model. Its often easy to tell when ring flash has been used by the way circular catchlight is reflected around the models pupils.
Balance flash is useful when you are shooting a subject up against a light background. In this scenario, the model is standing against a bright window. For the first image no flash was used and the aperture was set to ambient with on flash. As we can see the from the result of the first image, the model is underexposed with dense shadows covering her entire figure. To get a balanced exposure between the foreground and background both aperture and flash were set to ambient so that interior and exterior light equally matched. If the aperture and flash were set 2 stops less than ambient glare would of appeared on the window.
Fill in flash is carried out to eliminate dense shadows cause by strong sunlight. In the first image no flash was used and the model stood at an acute angle to the sun which allowed heavy shadows to form across her face. By introducing flash the shadows were filled in by -1 & -2 stops, this made them appear a lot softer than what they had been before the flash was used. This technique regularly used for outdoor portraiture and wedding photography.
Flash blur is created when the flash is set to a slow shutter speed. It works most effectively when the shutter is programmed around 1/8 to 1/4 of a second. This technique blurs the traces of the subjects movement, however there will be one clear frozen image of the model in motion from where the flash has gone off.
- Ambient fill [Day to Night]
This occurs when the flash gun's function is set to auto which means that the flash has automatically increased by 2 stops. By doing this the flash has become overpowered, causing the image to underexpose significantly in the background which has not been touched by the flash generating a false impression that the image was taken at night.
In regards to my upcoming photo shoot, direct and bounce flash are to the two dominant techniques that are most relevant for me to carry out because the effects they give prove to be exceptionally suited towards portraiture. I personally feel a lot more ambitious to predominately use bounce flash for two main reasons. One being that I can at last familarise myself with my very own flash gun, which has been gathering dust, as I now feel much more confident to experiment with it now that I have been taught the basic knowledge on how it operates . My second reason for using bounce flash is because I generally like the natural looking result of it. I want my future images to resemble that the subjects are comfortable in their relaxed home environment which I fear can not be achieved with direct flash and the typically harsh intensive beam it generates.
Shoot Preparation
After hearing back from a few of the residents my idea seems to be coming together. The responses I've received so far have all been positive with two having already confirmed that they are more than happy to take part. Obviously most the residents I've asked work on weekdays and so will only be available in the evenings or at weekends. Taking this into consideration I've negotiated with the two respondents a day and time which fits into their schedule.
My equipment selection will consisted of three main components; my Canon 450D Dslr, a standard 18-55mm lens and 430EX II Canon Speedlite. In all honesty, I am a tad conscious that my 18-55mm might prove to be a little restricting. From what I've experienced by doing A level projects, its very useful for portraiture but i'm doubtful whether its wide enough to also accommodate a fair amount of the surrounding space. With this in mind I will address this issue when it comes to composing my images.
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