Category Archives: Year 2

Semester 2 – Studio Photography

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Coming into the second semester we were told that we would be learning how to correctly use a studio and how we would need to think about the safety when using it. The first thing that we went into was a recap on how exposure works and how it can be used to its full protentional within a studio and out. Our first task of this semester was to math the cards to the fright information. The cards we had to match was a series of photography related facts and with those we had to match them to the correct use/context they would be involved with. At first it was quite hard as when you put the relatively simpler cards together the harder one became harder to match as there were a few cards that could match the other ones so it became a game of arguing over which one was right. In the end my team were able to get most of them right apart from two but the overall idea of the game and playing it helped us remember some key facts that we should know when shooting with a camera or knowing the right information to use the camera.

Correct Answers

There was one video that was shown to us and it was the idea of giving photographers the chance to create something from nothing. The photographers were not told that they would be shooting a blank canvas so when they first arrived they had to shoot only what would come to their mind and their idea of what you could do with a blank canvas. The video was a great example of creating something out of nothing and how the human mind can still find ways to be creative and think outside the box. This was the video:

Seeing how these photographers worked, you can see that they look at it from other angles and different ways that they could use what they have on them or what is around them to create art.

Exposure Recap

Origins of Studio Photography

During the Victorian era around 1837 to the 1900s studio photography was made of lighting techniques similar to those used by painters to create photographic portraits. The primary source of light was a natural light such as a large window or skylight. Lighting would be usually be above the subject or to one side of them. At this point there wasn’t much the artist could do other than use the natural light. But because of the limitations during this time, it was the best technique so photographers adopted this technique.

Examples of past photographers

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 1879):

Julia was born in Calcutta, India. She received a camera later in life around the age of 48 and began photographing as a hobby. She mainly photographed people she knew or was acquainted with such as philosophers, authors, poets and even inventors such as Charles Darwin. Julia did not want to open a commercial studio and from this she developed a style that was unique and an opposite to other portrait photographers of the era. Although her work would be a great step for the future of photography her work was criticised by her peers as out of focus and poor quality.

and was a pioneering portrait photographer who applied the principle of fine art to photography using controlled available light in a studio that was similar to a way a painter worked. She was one of the ground-breaking photographers who opened a new door for others to follow and expand on.

“I believe that… my first successes in my out-of-focus pictures were a fluke. That is to say, that when focusing and coming to something which, to my eye, was very beautiful, I stopped there instead of screwing on the lens to the more definite focus which all other photographers insist upon.” – Julia Margaret Cameron

Yousuf Karsh (1908 – 2002)

Yousuf Karsh, an Armenian-Canadian photographer, is likely THE most famous portrait photographer in history. I’d be surprised if you haven’t at least heard his name. He is also referred to as Karsh of Ottawa, Not to be confused with his brother Malak Karsh (who was also a great photographer in his own right), Yousuf Karsh was famous for his portraits of politicians, royalty, and celebrities.

To give you some idea HOW many famous people he photographed and how famous he was as well, consider this. In 2000, the International Who’s Who produced a list of the 100 most notable people of the previous century.

Here is just a small list of some of the people he photographed during his illustrious career, and this is just the tip of the iceberg:

  • Winston Churchill
  • Queen Elizabeth II (and as a Princess as well as the royal family)
  • Ernest Hemmingway
  • Albert Einstein
  • Muhammad Ali
  • Eleanor Roosevelt
  • Henry Ford
  • Hellen Keller
  • Elizabeth Taylor
  • Walt Disney
  • John F. Kennedy
  • Picasso
  • Multiple different Popes
  • Martin Luther King
  • Leonid Brezhnev
  • Fidel Castro
  • Mother Theresa
  • As well as many other famous scientists, world leaders, actors, photographers, painters, dancers, etc…
© The Estate of Yousuf Karsh

In Canada, we were SO proud to be able to call him Canadian, we put him on a stamp after his death in 2002. He was also awarded the highest honour available in this country as a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Irving Penn (1917 – 2009)

One of the 20th century’s greats, Irving Penn was a top photographer with Vogue for over 60 years. He is famous for his images in the fashion industry and his personal work. The simplicity of his portraits (often a plain backdrop) allows the subject to stand out and their personality and character to be at the forefront.

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” – Irving Penn

Origins of Artificial Lighting

Flash Powder

Flash powder was the first means of artificially illuminating photography sufficiently brightly to freeze the action. However it was messy and not very safe so as electricity and the vacuum tungsten light became available this was gradually adopted for studio photography.

Flash powder is a composition of metallic fuel and an oxidizer such as chlorate. When the mixture is ignited, it burns extremely quickly producing a bright flash that can be captured on film. Before being used for photography, flash powder was commonly used in theatrical productions and within fireworks — a practice we continue to this very day.

Needing to ignite flash powder by hand was an extremely dangerous endeavour that could seriously injure the photographer and those in close proximity. As a result, a safer solution had to be devised that could ignite while reducing the chance one’s face might get burned. A bit of improved safety came from the flash-lamp that was designed in 1899.

Advances and Impacts

Advances in camera lenses and the development of faster film speeds and better lighting meant that studio photography became easier to achieve. Glass plates were replaced by celluloid film in the 30s and the quality became better and better and the ISO increased progressively over the next 20 years. To give an idea of the ultimate quality of 35mm film remember that, until recently, what you saw filling a cinema screen was a projection of a 35mm frame. It is only now that
digital cameras are achieving similar quality levels.

The difference separating studio photography from other types is that the photographer has to create and manage EVERYTHING eventually appearing in front of the camera. Usually your starting point is an empty studio. This gives significant creative potential but usually means considerable planning, sets, props and pre-visualisation are required.

Artificial Studio in the 40s

Electric studio flashes became available in the 40s but were extremely expensive and dangerous (they could explode). By the 60s they were in common use in professional studios, but small time portrait photographers would of still been using tungsten lights (or hot lights). It was until as late as the late 70s that flashes (sometimes called strobes) were affordable by the small studio.

Modern Artificial Lighting

As the years past from using the sun for lighting to having a full on electrical lighting set up. You can see how much has changed. Especially with how we use these tools to create better work. Not only has the lighting changed the way we shoot in the studio but it has also changed the creative industries as now a days a lot of these equipment can be used for a various amount of creative work such as for videography and other studio works.

Studio Techniques

Egg set-ups

up coming brief idea – Because we have to photograph a person/people an idea was to focus on their fashions sense as it can be apart of someone’s lifestyle. Often someone’s outfit can represent what kind of person they are and I think that I will focus on that more while also trying to find a unique way I could photograph them.

bibliography:

Past Photographers – https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/famous-portrait-photographers-history/

Camera Flash – https://petapixel.com/2015/10/05/a-brief-history-of-the-camera-flash-from-explosive-powder-to-led-lights/