Using Alex as a model I took head and shoulders shots of her in different lighting conditions. My challenge is that Alex wears glasses full time and I found that with some types of lighting and body position I had reflection present in her glasses. There seem to be two schools of thought on glasses - either take them (or ask model to remove them) off or learn minimise glare by understanding the physics behind the refection. Alex's glasses are part of who she is so removing them was not an option.
I found a diagram on strobist which helped explain the physics behind the issue. Although I have this in my head, I have discovered through trial and error that it is not this simple! Reflection also depends on what my model is doing - reading a book or looking at her mobile phone is also a reflective surface.
Hard midday light
Hard lighting shows shapes, textures and contours of faces, has dark contrasting shadows and I think the face needs positioning carefully to avoid shadows of glasses which detract from the features. Colours can be rich, but areas can be overexposed and harsh.
Edwards (2008) suggests that hard light is useful for "showing off muscle definition on your subject's body and for depicting character in his face by accentuating chiseled cheek bones and a strong jaw line." Until I came across this book, I had not considered that hard lighting could be useful for portrait photography, or that a photographer may use different types of lighting for men and women.
Side lighting
Side lighting minimised most shadows from the face. The contours are well defined and the skin tone looks smooth. This helps to soften the features. Alex still has a shadow of her glasses running across her face although this is not nearly as defined as above (hard daylight). This was taken in the afternoon so it is quite a warm colour.
Rim lighting
Rim lighting put Alex's face in the her own shadow. This separated her from the background with a rim of light. Her hair, hands and arm has caught highlights which adds warmth to the image and her features appear much softer than in the image above (side lighting), although they are still well defined.
This was taken in the afternoon when the sun was fairly high so the colour of the light is warm.
By angling Alex's head down and adopting a low shooting position, I have minimised the reflection from her phone but it is not perfect.
Dappled lighting
A tree lined drive provided dappled shade. The lighting is uneven with two patches of brighter skin drawing attention to Alex's forehead and hair rather than her eyes.
One piece of advice I discovered after taking this was that "the eyes or other important features should be placed in the brightest light." Bidner (2008) This helps the viewer connect with the highlights first.
Reflector used in shade
I positioned Alex under a shady wooden gazebo where there was not much light. As I have not had any experience with reflectors and we had a Lastolite gold reflector, I set up an experiment to see what happened when a reflector was used. Setting the camera to aperture priority and setting the aperture to f4, ISO 400 and standing in the same position, I took a control image with no reflector. The shutter speed was 1/200. Next I used the dull side of the gold reflector. Shutter speed 1/400. Finally I used the shiny side and the shutter speed increased to 1/500. This is what I expected.
 |
| no reflector |
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| dull |
The difference between using a reflector and no reflector in the shade is that Alex's eyes became brighter and the dark circles disappeared without me doing anything post processing. The dark shadows under her chin disappeared too. I was glad I took the time to experiment because I did not realise results would be this noticeable.
Alex's skin tones are soft and her features are well defined. there are no ugly shadows under her chin.
This is an area I have not experimented with much. I asked Alex to sit next to a north facing window where the light was diffused by a net curtain. This was more difficult than I anticipated because the contrast is high and half of her face is in shadow.
I felt the light was quite flattering, and once I worked out where the best position was to avoid reflection in Alex's glasses I was happier. This was taken at ISO800 which shows some grain and has retained detail in the dark areas. I think this image could do with some additional equipment such as a reflector to balance the right side of her face and lessen shadows.
Bibliography
http://www.dpmag.com/how-to/tip-of-the-week/how-to-photograph-people-who-wear-glasses-06-18-12.html#.U3CrCPldWSo accessed 8/5/14
Williams, A (2008) 99 Portrait photo ideas, Angela Patchell Books ltd, UK
References
http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/lighting-101-lighting-for-glasses.html accessed 8/5/14
Edwards, R (2008) Photographing people like a pro - a guide to digital portrait photography, David and Charles ltd, Ohio p86
Bidner, J (2008) Capture the portrait - how to create great digital photos, Sterling publishing, New York.p60
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