Lighting

The Basics

Soft Lighting 
Soft light is when a light source is large relative to the subject. Things that can effect the softness of the light are : - Distance. The closer the light source, the softer it becomes.
        - Size of light source. The larger the source, the softer it becomes.

Soft lighting is used in photography and cinematography for the following reasons : 
- Shadow-less light is cast.
-  It can be used as fill lighting,  reducing shadows without creating  additional shadows, so doesn't indicate where the supplementary light source is positioned.
- Makes a subject appear more beautiful or youthful through making wrinkles less visible.
- Soft lighting makes the subject very well lit and looks more natural. 

An example of soft lighting is a person (the subject) and the sun (the source). 


 Hard Lighting 

Hard light is when the light source is small relative to the subject. candle light or a concentrated light source  would give this effect. The type of lighting instrument used can effect the hardness. Fresnel lights can be focused so harder-edged shadows are produced, having less transition between illumination and shadow.

Low Key Lighting 

Usually photograph and studio have use three-point lighting, consisting of a key light, a fill light and a back light for illumination. Low-key lighting, on the other hand often uses only one key light, and may be controlled with a fill light or a reflector. 
Low key lighting is a necessary element to create the chiaroscuro effect and is commonly used in film noir and horror genre films as it tends to heighten the sense of alienation. 

Portrait Lighting

There are three main types of portrait lighting; Rembrandt, Edge and Butterfly. All of these lighting techniques only use one light source, this is cheap and therefore, used in new wave, so by practising and using these lighting techniques we are sticking to the new wave style.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt lighting is characterised by an illuminated triangle under the subjects eye of the shadowed side of the face. It's named after the Dutch painter Rembrandt who, in his paintings often lit his subjects faces in this way. to achieve this type of lighting the angle and height in comparison with the subject must be considered and the degree that the light is pointing (measured from a horizontal plane, like the floor).
- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, facing away at a 20 degree angle.
- The main light source is at a 25-35 degree from the camera, about a foot and a half above the subject and tilted down about 45 degrees also. 
- When using a fill light or reflector this has to be at a 45 degree angle from the camera also but on the opposite of the camera to the light. the reflector will lower the contrast. 

Analysis

As you can see from the clips above, we did manage to achieve this technique, not as distinctively as image above, but the signature light of triangle can be seen, more so without the reflector than with. The footage was edited in high contrast monochrome to show the light and dark contrast more effectively, but also by doing this a style from French new wave has been incorporated. 

Edge Lighting

Edge lighting is more drastic, defining and separating one side of the face from the other more obviously. It makes the lights light and the darks dark. To achieve this edge lighting, like with Rembrandt, the angle and height in comparison with the subject must be considered and the degree that the light is pointing (measured from a horizontal plane, like the floor).

- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, facing away at a 20 degree angle, once again.

- The main light source is at a 90 degree from the camera, eye level with the subject and kept at 90 degrees to the vertical stand. 

- When using a fill light or reflector this has to be at a 70-80 degree angle from the camera also but on the opposite of the camera to the light. And once again the reflector will lower the contrast. 

Analysis

The edge lighting technique that we practise was done very well; a stark contrast between the lit and shadowed sides of the face was achieved - as the footage above shows. Once again the footage was edited in high contrast monochrome to show the light and dark contrast more distinctively.

Butterfly Lighting

Butterfly lighting is a classic Hollywood technique that offer a much softer way to light the subject. This lighting technique highlights above and below the eyes, while the eyes stay in shadow. The name of this lighting style stems from the butterfly shadow cast under the nose from the lighting angle. The butterfly  pattern can be quite useful for a variety of faces, but is at its best on lean subjects with high and pronounced cheekbones. To achieve this edge lighting, once again like with Rembrandt and edge, angles and positioning have to be considered. 

- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, this time directly facing the camera.

- The main light source is behind the camera, 2-3 foot above the subject and at a 70-80 degree tilt to the vertical. 

- No fill light or reflector is used with this technique as is would lighten the subject to much and the lighting would not be seen.

Analysis

I feel we mimicked the butterfly lighting technique very well. not only have we achieved the correct shadowing and highlighted the cheek bones, we have stay with the typical use of this lighting in the 1930s to enhance the beauty of female subjects, by using a female subject.