Portraiture
Soft light is light that creates shadows with a gradual transition from light to dark. There are no hard shadow lines. It is created from a scattered or diffused light source. Soft light is found where the lighting is indirect or where it passes through a diffuser, clouds or some other medium which scatters the light. Diffused light can be light that has bounced off one or more surfaces before it hits a photographic target.
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Soft light may be created by many light sources which prevents the harsh shadows created by a single hard light source. A soft light source is large (relative to the subject being lit) and/or close to the subject.
Hard light creates shadows with a sharp edge. There is a harsh transition from light to dark. Hard light is created by strongly focused light travelling from a small (or relatively small), single-point light source like the Sun, a focused beam of light, or an undiffused light bulb.
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Hard light is found where the lighting is direct, undiffused, and is not bouncing or scattered by local objects or conditions. The flash on your camera is a hard light source. When direct and undiffused by clouds the sun is also a hard light source. A hard light source is relatively small and/or large and distant.
Thomas Ruff : soft lighting
Thomas Ruff had studied at the Düsseldorf Kunstakademie in 1977–85. These four images are part of a large series of works entitled Portraits that Ruff began in 1986–91 and resumed in 1998.
This is a large coloured photograph by the German artist Thomas Ruff depicting a young man, shown from the front and gazing out towards the viewer. The man’s head and shoulders fill most of the frame, and his features are set in a neutral arrangement. Although his hair is styled and he wears a grey shirt and a silver chain, the coloured background, the blank expression and the even, flat tones in the image reveal little about the personality of the sitter. I like the colour contrasts within the image and how evenly the soft lighting goes from a lighter shade to a darker one (from right to left) in the Photograph. I also like how he has used a coloured background to make this piece stand out. using these simple colours and tones really brings out how soft the image is from the lighting and how it is such a smooth transition from light to slightly darker.
This image has also had soft lighting to create a smooth feminine look towards the image. I like the use of contrasting colours through out his work. however, i do prefer the use of black and white in his work too, it makes the model really stand out from the white toned background. the lighting seems to be more centred in this piece rather than from a side, this makes her face look slimmer as the darker end of the light is where her face is contoured, this really frames the shape and structure of her head. this use of soft lighting gives off a light and smooth look to the sitter. I also like how Ruff has almost used all of the image with the sitters head and shoulders. I would like to use such techniques in my work, mimicking Ruff, and be able to be successful in re-creating a few of his images. however, i think i would be using either a white or black background in my work instead of coloured ones.
I'm not sure if i would count this image as using soft lighting as yes, it is in the whole image. however i feel like it gets darker too quickly through out the image. I would disagree to say it was harsh lighting as well as it isn't likely that it is one beam of light towards the model. i would rather have even lighting throughout my work with not too many shadows. i would have to place the soft lighting in front of the sitter to be sure of this. i think i would prefer to use simple coloured backgrounds and to have my sitter's wearing different and bright coloured clothing to make the image stand out and become more effective. i like the use of using the light source from either the left or the right side of the models body. however, i think the use of the centered lighting which is level with the face really brings and emphasises the shape of the body in the final image. i would like to use the use of colour within the model from this piece by Thomas Ruff and incooperate it into my own.
I like the simpleness of this image. It seems like a normal working woman, sitting in front of a camera to have her picture taken for something like a licence or a passport. I feel like the image is too bland and could do with a strong and bold pop of colour in maybe her clothing, accessories or makeup. I like how Thomas hasn't edited out her beauty marks because most fashion photographers do that and mess with every aspect of the sitter so that if you were to see the edited image it wouldn't look nearly the same as the original one. i like the distinct shapes of the jewelry, clothing and facial structure of this image.I would like to use a similar idea in my work to go along with the soft lighting. I much prefer the lighting being at the front of the model and how it shades the contours of her face and neck. As a viewer of this particular piece i like how everything in this image stands out from the models hair to the colour of her shirt, all the (muted) colours stand out.
Overall, Thomas Ruff's work with soft lighting is very effective. even when there is a shading it is gradual and doesn't change too quickly. I like the use of colour blocking in his work as-well, this makes his work stand out compared to the other soft light using photographers.
Irving Penn
Irving Penn (1917-2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at Vogue magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Issey Miyake and Clinique. His work has been exhibited internationally and continues to inform the art of photography.
i like the use of harsh lighting in this image. how bright the front of her face is in contrast to the shading of the rest of her face and neck. I also like his use of having the models face the largest thing in this picture, almost filling the frame. i like how the lighting really makes the models freckles darker around the edges of her face and really light and some of them may not be visible in the photo. I like the harsh lighting image being in black and white, it gives off a better effect and you can notice the different tones easier as well. The harsh light also bounces off of her ring and reflects back brighter lighting in the image. you can also see the effect of the harsh lighting on the models lipstick, how it is brighter and shiner in the middle along with the no-shine and darker edges if the coloured lips.
again, i like the use of the hard lighting in this photo as well. I can really see the different tones in the image from 0 to 10. however, i don't like how smooth the photo is, it looks too fake and too edited. the shadow work has been presented really well in this too. I like how one side of the background is a light grey and the other is completely black as if the model is blocking out the light source from the rest of the image. I like the way Irving Penn has made the model look carefree and rather spiritual as well as interpreting her to look like a modern-day woman of work.
This particular piece by Penn seemed interesting to me as the harsh lighting increases the effect of the man looking stressed either by work or the family life. I like how the lighting hits the left side of his body as moves over to the left with a shadowy look to it as well. i also like the use of the glasses prop, they reflect the harsh and bright light back to the original light
source and shows this tired look to what we can assume is a working man. I would like to maybe use a directional harsh light in my work and use a prop that reflects that light that i will be using in my work. I would like to make my work look more fun and less serious as well.
Again, i like the use of the directional forced light from the right to the left. with a ring to reflect the light, I like the continuous use of the reflection of the light throughout his work too. I would like to mimic his way of using hand or props to create stretched out skin, to then create wrinkles and lines in the models skin. the use of the harsh light really emphasises this as not much of the light goes into these lines and wrinkles. This harsh light and dark look gives off a serious tone to the image. i feel
that maybe the photo could be improved if the light was coming from the left instead of the right as the model is faced towards the left.
I like Irving Penn's use of harsh lighting, it gives off a serious tone to his work and how the shading changes very quickly. I also like his use of props to reflect the light ( this is shown in most of his work, not all). I would like to use some of the techniques he has used in my work such as directional harsh lighting.