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Module Two: Mastering Light and Colour
Week Eleven: TASK NINE:
MATCHING LIGHT QUALITY TO SURFACE REFLECTANCE
USING AVAILABLE LIGHT TO CREATE GOOD TRANSLUCENT, REFLECTIVE AND MATT
STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHS
Your task this week is to take nine still-life photographs – using Translucent, Reflective and Matt
objects, in appropriate environments. You will need to match the surface reflectance to the light
quality – ie. Small light source for matt objects, Large light source and bright reflections for
reflective objects, and either back or side lighting of translucent objects (with clean and appropriate
reflections).
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You may use any focal length setting setting on your lens, and make your ISO sensitivity
setting 400 or 800 ISO if you are inside, or 100 or 200 ISO if you are outside.
Shoot with your camera set to a quality setting of Large Fine Jpg.
Meter the light, using your hand positioned in the light your subjects are lit by – make sure
no shadows are falling on your hand. Remember to add one stop of light to achieve correct
exposure. If you are aiming to use some kind of back-lighting, meter from the position you
wish to be correct exposure. You may need to ‘bracket’ (shoot a range of exposures) to get
the best result for some lighting situations.
Also remember to use DAYLIGHT white balance. Daylight white balance will show you the
true colour of the light you are photographing in (ie cloudy day or shade will be colder light,
while tungsten will be hot orange light – use the colour of the light creatively).
You subjects should be three still life setups – choose your transluscent, reflective and matt
objects (or groupings of similar objects) and think about simple backdrops or environments
you can use to express something about the subject.
Shoot a range of images of each still life – using different angles and reflections. Select
your favourites of each and send those to your tutor.
Experiment! Try a range of lighting opportunities, and see what happens when you alter the
direction of the light, and also when you alter your exposure.
Please use the Task Submission Template for week 11 to submit your images – you will need to
insert 36 or more of your images in the proof sheet section (with filenames inserted below each
thumbnail), followed by thumbnails of your final chosen images for the task in the table, with
technical data for the images, and explanations for why you have chosen those images. You will
also need to insert large versions of each image underneath the table, for the tutor to see your
work in more detail. Include all relevant information, and give thought to the final section which
asks you to comment further on your images.
You will need to email at least three different photographs of each still life setup to your tutor –
make sure you downsize them for email before you do so. Depending on your picture viewer, you
should be able to do this quite simply – in Windows Explorer, you should be able to select the
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images that you want to email, (by using the control key as you click multiple images to select
more than one) and then choose to ‘email the selected items’ (this option appears by default at the
left side of your screen).
You should select the option to ‘make all my pictures smaller’ – so that you aren’t sending 9 giant
files to your tutor’s email inbox! When you click ok, your email program will open, and from here
you can enter your tutor’s email address in the ‘to’ field. Make sure you put ‘Week 11 Task 9’ in
the subject line.
Record your steps as you go:
Image Number / or
Filename
DSC_01.jpg
Aperture, Shutter
Speed, and ISO
settings
F5.6, 1/60
second, 200
ISO
Surface
Reflectance and
Light Quality
Matt object, lit
by early morning
sunlight (small
light source)
Description of Results
The broccoli and pumpkins in the basket
are in bright light on one side, and deep
shadow on the other. I like the way the
sunlight shows up the texture of the
surfaces, and makes the colours rich.
2009 Copyright The Photo School