FDA Advanced Photography
As of April 2021 we learned that Photoshop can't edit .RAW files directly without losing information. The information is lost on the conversion from cameraRAW to Photoshop but it is preserved on the original .RAW file that was saved previously.
The difference isn't so huge when analyzing the photoshopped images from a regular laptop monitor or a phone screen per se, however, for printing purposes or bigger scale viewings the loss of information is noticeable.
To maintain the information we were advised to utilize a workflow that incorporates opening a .RAW file as a smart object and going back and forth between cameraRAW and Photoshop as long as we save the .RAW file. The same could be done with Lightroom Classic and as long as we save the psb filed (smart object file) it will be shown on the Lightroom Catalog and the information will not be lost.
Not only that but we also learned how to organize pictures on a Lightroom catalog, set colour labels, favourite the pictures, give them star ratings and stack them into groups to make our workspace easier to control and the pictures we want to develop easily accessed.
Finally, we had a lighting workshop where we learned how to emulate Rembrandt lighting on a human subject within a studio.
Before we commence allow me to state that I, like thousands of other students stuck in an international setting, am working remotely having to do everything by myself which complicates things however it has shown me a great deal in how to hustle my way to achieve what is needed to get the job done. Without further ado, let us observe these pictures that were taken inside a studio and how I managed to achieve the look.
1. I bought 2 2m tall stands that could extend to roughly 2.4m tall but we would be risking it's stability considering it is not an ideal stand like a C-Stand or a sturdy stand that is often found on professional studios;
2. I collected 3 long pieces of aluminum shaped like thin cylinders that connect to each other;
3. I bought black paperboard that is 4x4m and 3 clips to hold the paperboard in place.
Here is the set up of the lights without the homemade studio with one single light and a reflector:
I tried utilizing 2 LED panels that allow me to change how much light I want to direct onto the subject, however, I realized that they were not the correct LED panels because they have a lot of mini LEDs stuck together and with that in mind the shadows are multiplied making it hard to play with the shadows.
[SAVE SPACE FOR INITIAL SETUP]
Here are the results from the initial set-up:
As we can see, through the observation of these images the shadows are not ideal, no matter the placement of the lights the shadows kept looking dull. In spite of the problem with the lights my directing of the model was also quite weak as I did not indicate her where to look or how to be positioned which I later learned was also quite important after asking one of my tutors and he briefly explained the importance of directing the lights but also the models.
With that in mind, I bought a new more powerful LED YN216 from a Chinese brand and utilized a reflector to reflect the lights and shadows so that it would look better and also tested different ways of positioning the model's body and face for the pictures.
Here are the final results:
In hindsight, I learned how to achieve a similar look to the Rembrandt lighting that we were taught but I also realized I could have applied other techniques such as lighting the arms that are hidden because of the shadows either by positioning the reflector better or applying other lights to light up the background, apply a hair light, also remove the reflector and buy a soft light to play with the shadows on her face better because the triangles are not exactly triangles seen how they have a slight curve. Regardless, for my second attempt I am happy with these pictures and would have them on my portfolio so I at least achieved something that is always on my mind - can I or can I not use this? I also noticed that on some of the pictures of people that apply this kind of lighting, their shadows tend to be less harsh and that is with either how they place the reflector and/or how they use a soft light. My biggest critic here is also how powerful the light was. I tried utilizing vegetable paper to diffuse the light and keep the light in low power but it was still harsh - would have been handy if I had a diffuser.
Other than shooting and editing we were also tasked with printing images. Due to me being abroad and with limited items I had to find a way to calibrate my laptop's monitor with the proper colour code to make it easier to print. It was impossible to calibrate because my screen can only calibrate to LCD. That wasn't going to stop me, I checked with the histogram and still managed to apply my signature look without affecting the colors too much. To compare I printed on 3 different types of paper both images - Satin, Matte and Glossy.
TOP - SATIN
Finally, after observing my work, I have evolved on the editing side and all of the photos were edited with the technique taught in class, the selection tool with refine edge was used for the purpose of the class but I found other ways such as utilizing the magic wand and playing the tolerance, using other types of layer mask with the smart object and applying selective colour on the selections which means the layer was considered a smart layer with the only implication being that it could not be used with the layer mask. In terms of lighting, I still need a lot to improve and by working with the little that I have and cheaper options it means I am on the right track because it requires more work and attention to detail since I had to improvise a lot and in terms of printing, it is hard to assess just on the histogram I need to redo a project with printing so I can use my eye and the histogram to better judge.
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