Photographer: Melissa Fague
Single subject, single source
The front light put on the same plane as the dog in this photograph creates drama. The focus on the dog in this lighting gives it a serious feeling, the dog seems to emerge out of the background as if pulled out of the darkness behind. This portrait effect is developed through the placement of the light and the centering of focus on the dog.
Storm Brewing
When I think of Storm Brewing I think of tension or a build up. Something dramatic. I feel this picture fits that mood very nicely due to the dim lighting up close and the the part of the picture that has light being out of foucus. Also the person in the picture is frozen mid motion adding to the tension of the picture.
1) DATE-TIME-LOCATION: 3/27/12 – 1:34 A.M. – Design Studio
2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was working late in the studio on my 555 project. It was very dark outside the window and the lights were on inside. I was working on tracing over my drawings on the light table. I looked up and saw my reflection in the window and saw that the light was adding a yellow tint from the bottom of my face.
3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION:I was working late one night in the studio. I had been working for ten hours straight on the project and was sick of looking down at my paper and trying to draw the figures that I just could not understand how to draw. It was early in the morning and it was very dark outside the windows of the room. Inside the studio we had the florescent lights on and the light table. I was frantically running back and forth between my desk and the light board to see how my drawings matched up with the old image. I was having lots of troubles and becoming extremely angry with myself.
I threw my head into my hands and grunted and blew off some steam. I took a deep breath and slowly raised my head to look off into distance. I happened to look at the window and noticed my reflection. I stared at myself for a while realizing how awful I looked and how it reflected how my brain was feeling at that moment. I then noticed the interesting (and unflattering) lighting that was being cast upon my face. As I hovered over the light table the light from the lamps inside the table were casting upward and casting dramatic shadows from directly under me. The light of the room was very flat and white while the light that was beaming out of the table had a yellow tint to it and added an interesting and dramatic contrast on my face. I was finally distracted from my frustrated mood and began to play with the lighting on my face. Next thing I knew I was staring at myself in an empty room with my head cocked back and I was attempting to light the inside of my nostril. I was there standing trying to illuminate my nostril with the amber light from the light table as I studied myself in the reflection of the black window in front of me. I realized at this moment that this is why I am a lighting designer not a costume designer. With light, I loose all awareness of the things around me and play with my nostril but when I try to figure out how fabric falls on someones body, I rip my hair out.
1) 2/15/12 – 11:23 AM – Sitting in the house of Adams Playhouse.
2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was sitting in the house waiting for the symposium to begin and was finishing mu math homework as I waited. There were only the scoop lights on in the house and the work-lights over the stage. The shadows were really intense and made it hard to work.
3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was sitting in the house of the Adams Playhouse waiting for the symposium to begin as I rushed through my last few questions of my math homework. I was leaning over in the uncomfortable seats as I used my legs as a table. I was about halfway through my first problem and I realized that I couldn’t see my work in front of me. Without realizing my struggles I automatically found myself straining back and forth in my seat to just a small bit of light to hit my paper. The Playhouse was plenty bright but all the light was coming from one direction, behind me.
I strained for a good minute before I realized I was simply blocking all of the light that was being cast down behind me. I looked up at the lights that were on and the house was solely illuminated by the few scoop lights hanging on the ceiling of the house. I looked back down at my paper and realized how defined my shadow was on my paper. the top and edges of the paper had plenty of light but the outlined shadow of my head was extremely dark and impossible to work under. I was slightly confused as to why there was no other light hitting my paper from any other angles. I looked over the stage and saw that the work-lights were on but after studying them I realized that they were not illuminating anything other than what was on stage because the fixtures were hung so hight and bleeding was prevented by the borders in the flys. I noticed that around my main shadow there were two other very faint shadows that were hardly noticeable until I really studied the light. These shadows were cast off from the reflections of the lights above the house. I sat there and played with my shadows until the symposium started, looking up at the lights while I did so. I was able to realize the characteristics of this form of lighting and saw that with just this one light being projected on me as opposed to the full house lights, my visibility had been severely decreased.
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