Flash and Manipulating Lighting

On Thursday, the class went out to Hartlepool Headland with the Hassleblad and Phase One back, a portable Bowens light and a battery pack. The idea behind the lesson was that even on a sunny day, the lighting can be manipulated to look like evening. By making the light from the flash overpower the background, it blackened the sky even though it was a very sunny day. the image below was taken on my own camera at the right exposure with no flash. This is a comparison between the flash and the ambient light together in a picture, and manipulating the camera to only react to the flash.



For example, I set up the flash and the 'Blad at the same f-stop by metering. The shutter speed was the only setting I had to change. I started at 1/500th of a second with the ISO set at 100 (1) The ambient light (the light from everywhere but the flash) is altered dramatically when set on a really high shutter speed. On picture two, the shutter speed was 1/125th second and picture 3 the shutter speed was 1/30th second.

(1) (2)
(3)

I learned a lot about which settings to have and how to achieve this outcome, but I also had a good chance to set up the light and camera properly which I'd not really done before. A very successful exercise me thinks.

The Flash Center // Elinchrom

Today we had a fabulous demo from The Flash Centre representatives. They were showing us the Elinchrom lighting systems for studios, and it was a really good lecture. They were trying to sell their product to us (which, if I had the money, I would totally buy because it is amazing) but not only that, Chris talked us through good lighting techniques for studio portraits, how to use all the different accessories (and why its good to use them) and all sorts. I wrote 4 pages of notes!! (these are notes that I have written based on the lecture from Chris Burfoot.)

I shall try to be brief but honestly, I think the tutors at uni should take some pointers off the guys who came in today. That's the best lecture I've had yet!

Elinchrom
Swiss manufacturer of lighting since 1967
-high quality, excellent value

The Flash Center
Importer and distributor of Elinchrom since 1980, and are now serving professional photographers in Leeds, London and Birmingham.
-They are a small firm, they only emply around 30 members of staff. Everyone gets listened to!

Why Choose Flash?

• Speed
• Power
• Cool in temperature
• Daylight balanced

In 2008 they launched the BX 500 RI flash heads shown below :

• Only 2 wires inside the light, the rest of the electronics is made up of circuit boards
• Makes the light cheap, easy and environmentally friendly to repair.

In 2009 they launched the Ranger Quadra RS (portable flash)

• Daylight balanced
• 3 hours run time
• LED light runs at a cooler temperature than a bulb

They are currently looking into using UV lights in the Ranger Quadra to assist forensic professors and the forces.

Chris Burfoot (was one of the lecturers who took us on a step by step guide on how to use the lights;)

• Has been teaching lighting for over 25 years
• Lectures for the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), the Master Photographers Association (MPA) and the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP)

The Basics
Shaping Light - Hard? Soft? Diffused?
Fill Light - Reflectors? Second source?
Monoblock - flash head plugs straight into the mains

Chris told us that any accessory (old and new) will fit on any of the Elinchrom flash heads. However, only the Elinchrom branded accessories will fit on their kit. (A bit like Canon lenses only fitting Canon cameras.)

They have a basic flash head kit called D-lights, and a more professional kit called...

The BX Range.

• Has a better flash ring inside, as the power is distributed from 2 points (that are opposite each other in the tube).
  
• Means that the flash only has to travel halfway around the ring, so it is faster than the D-light range.
• Has slave cells (so when one flash goes off, it sets the other one off at the same time.) These can also be turned off manually.
• Can be used controlled with infra-red triggers (no cables between the camera and the light. Is also picked up by the slave cell) and also radio controls (see more detailed description below.)
  

Flash duration is important when taking photographs. If the flash takes a long time to go on and then off, you're pictures will not be very good as slow shutter speeds will be needed. If the flash is very fast, your photographs should be sharper because you can use faster shutter speeds.

There are digital buttons and a digital screen on the back of the BX lighting range. The BX250 RI for example, has a maximum power of 5.3. When you need to change this to get the right f-stop on your camera, simply press the buttons (either up or down) 10 times for a full f-stop higher / lower. This is very accurate as you can change the numbers by 1/10th of a stop each time, and you can be certain that once you've pressed the buttons and got your final f-stop, you do not have to go back and meter to make sure. It is that accurate, that you do not have to keep double checking. Time efficient much! The modelling lamp (that is used as a guide) changes power when the flash is changed (although the lamp can be altered manually)

Radio Controlled Flash

• Fits onto the hotshoe of camera and can be used outside.
• Can control the power of the flash
• As 4 lights are usually used in a studio scenario (A main light, fill light (or reflector), a back light and a hair light) the radio controller can control all four of these by putting them in 'groups'. By flicking between group 1, 2 3 etc the controller can control the power of each one, then change the dial to 'all' and press the trigger and all lights go off at once.

As these flash heads are made in Switzerland, when the beep goes off to let you know that they flash is ready, you know that it has been charged to 100% (apparently flashes can be used when only charged at 80%, but Swiss standards say that flashes can only be used once they have been charged up to 100%)

Lighting Techniques

Transfer Edge - the line between shadow and light:
Hard line = high contrast
Soft line = low contrast

The bigger the light source, the softer the light.

Hints and Tips

• "Custard Pie Lighting" - light hitting the face flat on and giving exposure all the way around. Not flattering, don't do it!
• Put reflectors (in holders) really close to the subject, otherwise they do not really work.
• Umbrellas are fabulous light accessories...(Chris's words, not mine!)
• F8 or F11 is the best f-stop to use for portraits, as it gives a good depth of field (subject in focus, background blurred) and uses the best part of the lens (the most part in focus) for the picture.
  
• Honeycombs are the best for lighting backgrounds as they give a controlled pool of light with a graduated edge. Accessories can also be added to hold gels which can change the colour of the light.
• Meter for the mid point in the graduated edge to get this effect behind the model.
• Elinchrom soft boxes are very easy to put up, just push out the arms. You don't have to fiddle around bending the arms to put them in.
• Rotalux branded soft boxes come in various shapes and sizes. The largest octagonal soft box (if the photographer stands in front of it) can act like a ring flash, and the catch light in the model's eyes can be achieved by doing this.
• Beauty dishes are very large metal discs with a plate of over the flash. It is placed over the model at the front to smooth the skin and get rid of shadows.
• A triflector underneath the model reflects light around the underneath and sides of the face, but results in 4 catchlights being reflected from the model's eyes.
• When metering the light, take the reading from the part of the body closest to the light, so this part, the brightest part, is not burnt out.
• When deciding on a background colour white and black are a must, but grey also holds coloured light really well. White tends to reflect it too much and black tends to absord too much. Mottled grey holds colour and provides a texture.
• Use more that one coloured light for a dynamic background colour.The Octagonal 1.9m soft box
  

Ring Flash

Is a flash gun most commonly used for macro photography. It fixes onto the front of the camera around the lens, which provides shadowless lighting on the subject. In the fashion industry ringflashes are really big to provide quality catchlights and flawless skin.




White Backgrounds

• Underexpose a white background and it will turn out grey; over expose it and it will bleed onto the subect back and burn out their outline.
• Light the background 1/2 or 1 f stop lighter than the main light for a pure white background.
• If the background is grubby or creased, more stops are needed to burn them out.
• Fill light should be 1 f stop less that the main light
• Meter to where the cam is going to be with both fill and main light on together eg. 8.3
• Turn both lights down by 0.3 to get a perfect F8.
  

And there you have it. That must have been the longest blog post in history, but it needed to be done. I've learnt an awful lot from the lecture, and would love another lecture like this one in the future.

Photography and the Law

In a lecture last week we were told to do some research on photography and the law today. Things to look at included the terrorism act, what to do if a police officer arrests you and policies on photographing in public places in general.

After being grouped with a few other classmates and talking with the other group in the class, we found out a few vital things.

Photography and Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000

• Police officers can only stop and search a person they reasonable suspect to be a terrorist under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
• Digital images can be viewed as part of a search under Section 43 to discover whether the person has in their possession anything which may constitute evidence that they are a terrorist.
• Cameras, film and memory cards can be seized if the officer reasonably suspects that these may constitute evidence that the person is a terrorist.
• Officers do not have the power to delete any images or destroy film.
• Once cameras or other devices are seized, to preserve evidence, officers should not attempt to examine them further.
• Seized cameras and other deivces should be left in the state in which they are found in, and forwarded to appropriately trained forensic staff for forensic examination.

Photography and Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000

• Powers under this section of the act enable uniformed police officers to stop and search anyone in an authorised area for the purposes of searching for articles in connection to terrorism.
  
• The powers should not specifically target photographers.
• Section 44 does not prohibit the taking of photographs, film or digital images in an authorised area and members of the public and the press should not be prevented from doing so in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 44.
• If a police officer already suspects the person to be a terrorist they should use section 43 guidelines to view images.

Photography and Section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000

this offence concerns information about persons who are or have been at the front line of counder terrorism operations, namely the police, the armed forces and members of the security and intelligence agencies.

• An officer making an arrest under section 58A must reasonably suspect that the information is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. An example might be gathering information about the person's house, car, routes to work and other movements.
• It is a statutory defence for a person to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for eliciting publishing or communicating the relevant information.
• Legitimate journalistic activity (such as covering a demonstration for a newspaper) is likely to consititute such an excuse. Similarly an innocent tourist or other sight-seer taking a photograph of a police officer is likely to have a reasonable excuse.

I'm A Photographer! Not A Terrorist! // Article from the BJP

Your Rights:

If you are stopped and searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act you do not have to give your name, address, date of birth, DNA, reason for being there or where you are going, or comply with any attempt to photograph you (although you can not flee the scene.)
You do however have to give your name and address if they do decided there is reasonable suspicion.

Police Powers:
Police in uniform are entitled to:

• pat you down
• detain you for the duration of the search
• remove outer clothing
• require you to remove any item that they think may be concealing your identity
• look through your pockets and anything else you are carrying
• seize any article he reasonably suspects is intended to be used in connection with terrorism
• search your vehicle and anyone in it.

What you should do:

• insist on a written record of the search
• make sure it is legible and includes details of the officer's shoulder number and the reason for the stop
• note exactly why they said you were being stopped and searched - this may be more extensive that then reference in the record slip
• ask to see the officer's warrent card and note the number (this is useful when making a complaint id they have moved stations and their shoulder number has changed)

NOTE: A Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) may not perform a S44 search without a police officer present.

Other Laws:

• It is not against the law to photograph police, vehicles or equipment, unless the images are "likely to be usful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism."
• Using a tripod or other equipment on a public right of way can be considered an obstuction. Simply standing still on a public right of way can also been seen as an obstruction in certain circumstances.
• Although it is rarely used, the Official Secrets Act prohibits photography that threatens the security of the state. This includes military transport, railways, roads, power stations, and generally anywhere that has been prohibited by the Secretary of The State.
• You can photograph private properties if you are on public property or a public right of way.
• Restrictions on private property may not always be obvious, but still apply. They can not be imposed after the photography has occurred.
• Private property owners or their agents / security guards may not view or delete images on your camera or demand your name and address. They may however ask you to leave without giving any reason if they choose too.
• There is no right to privacy in a public place, however, there are circumstances in which a person does have privacy, particularly if they are inside their own homes. Children's privacy is particularly protected.