Representative works of living light

The application of spotlight in color photography-David Hamilton's masterpiece.

Although we usually associate spotlight photography with black-and-white images, in which the shadow part loses all details and is submerged in black without any obvious features, spotlight can also be used for color photography. Let's introduce the representative works shot by photographer David Hamilton. Hamilton is famous for his beautiful color photos of young women. Let's discuss how Hammy combines the use of live light with other skills you have learned, so as to get an emotional appeal that can convey innocence and sexiness in his photos.

While looking at these photos, we should understand that all Hamilton's photos were taken with a 35mm single-lens reflex camera with a lens of 50 mm.. In other words, he didn't use any strange equipment or lighting devices. Even his models are not particularly good-looking. Therefore, when you study these photos, you should ask yourself: How did Hamilton apply the three principles I learned in lesson 1 to achieve these fascinating effects? How can I sample the effect? In the photo of this project, you will see an example. David Hamilton gained a soft and provocative mood with the live lighting. In our opinion, this photo hints at a woman's sexual mystery at maturity. Let's study Hamilton's way of expressing this theme.

The first is the direction of light. Light enters the room through the invisible window on the right side of the picture. One side of the model is bathed in warm light, while the other side is in a mysterious and hazy shadow. This kind of light is similar to sidelight, and the oblique sidelight produces a strong texture on her skin and pajamas. It also provides the profile light that is often used in backlighting, thus showing her side face. The use of light provides a good example to show how side light and backlight can produce dramatic texture effects, which are in contrast with shadows.

Second, the color of light. Obviously, the photo may have been taken at dawn or dusk, because the model was bathed in orange light, which produced a sexy warm tone. You can ask yourself: If the midday sun illuminates her, what difference will this photo make? Will it make people have similar associations?

The third is the pose of the model. She avoided the camera and looked out of the window. What is she looking for? Is she waiting for someone? This is the mystery of the photo. What is she wearing? Are they pajamas? That's the sexy part, but the shirt collar is open and the belt at the neckline is not tied, which enhances the sexy of the photo.

Can you think of a way that Hamilton can simplify this photo? We can't figure it out. In fact, this diagram has only two components-modeling and running out. Everything else is omitted.

All the excellent photos in David Hamilton have the style of old paintings, as shown in figure 10.6. This photo, in particular, reminds people of the work of a Dutch painting master. In fact, the lighting of the face-the face facing the camera is basically dark except for a small piece of light-is called Rembrandt lighting. We will discuss this method in detail in the portrait photography course.

This photo also clearly shows how light from one direction forms a pattern of light and shadow, thus providing a three-dimensional effect. Please pay attention to this photo, especially the fruit in the plate, and the characteristics of round objects are clearly depicted. Also pay attention to how the side light shines on the wall to show the texture of the wall. Imagine what the photo would look like if the background was changed to white seamless paper. Will it be so conspicuous? We don't think so. The texture of the wall makes the scene look suitable; An old-fashioned girl lives in an old-fashioned house.

Notice how Hamilton follows the principle of the trichotomy. His subject is not in the center of the picture, but in the third position near one side, and his face faces the wider side. As you know before, this is usually a better arrangement, because it is more vivid than putting the subject directly in the center of the picture.

Please also pay attention to how to arrange the main body into a triangle, forming an angle from the upper left corner down to the lower right corner. Finally, please notice how Hamilton draws the audience's attention to private technology to his theme (girls, flowers and fruits). He framed them with strong light on the wall. Do you think it's simple? We can't see anything that can be removed without weakening this beautiful photo.

In the picture 10.7, two young women are looking out of the window. This is a photo showing innocence and friendship. Let's see how Hamilton expressed this theme.

The first is to run out. Compared with the hot light used in the cover photo, the cold light is used here, and it is diffuse light, which is just the opposite of the warm light that shows sexy. Notice how all the shadows turn black-a sign of living light photography.

Followed by posture. The purpose of this photo is to show harmony. We will discuss this concept in detail in later portrait photography courses. Now let's look at this excellent example. When you shoot two or more people together, you usually like to make them look like a whole, not scattered individuals. This is called harmony. In order to achieve harmony in this photo, Hamilton used some classical techniques. He kept the subjects close together, leaving no gap between them. In order to enhance their sense of relationship, he put one person's arm on the other's shoulder. In addition, when arranging the model, he adopted a classic form of expression-triangle. Notice how the position they occupy forms a triangle with the head as the top and the diagonal arms as the two sides. When arranging people and things in a painting, this triangle layout is very effective, which we will discuss in later courses. Finally, in order to enhance the sense of harmony, Hamilton asked two subjects to look in the same direction, possibly the same object.

Notice how Hamilton draws our attention to his theme. The characters are very successful: they are full of pictures from top to bottom. They are illuminated by bright light and surrounded by a black frame.

Finally, please pay attention to how he arranges the subjects. He didn't put them in the middle of the picture, but followed the principle of three equal parts: they were one third away from the left, and the right left a lot of room for them to look there.

Is the picture concise? Should he remove the window in the upper right corner? Might as well have a try. Let's cover this window. We think you will agree that this window is a complement to this painting. Several straws on the windowsill also have this function-indicating that this is an old-fashioned European farmhouse. But what about the metal tube in the upper left corner? Obviously, they distract people's attention and have no practical significance. They should be removed. There is a good saying: no matter how smart a person is, he is careless.

Photo 10.9 For centuries, the beautiful torso of women has been the creative inspiration of artists. On this point, we will discuss it later in the nude photography course. The skill needed is to emphasize the beauty of the body without using any kitsch hints. In this photo, Hamilton undoubtedly achieved this goal. Let's see how he does it.

First of all, light itself has some kind of cool color. If this photo is taken in the early morning sun, just like the cover photo of this class, warm orange light will make the whole image sexy. On the contrary, the light here is cold and dark, and its effect is that people are unmoved.

Secondly, the posture of the model. She is looking away. We can't see her face, which adds a sense of mystery. She is looking out of the window, but we don't know what she is looking at. This also adds to the mystery. She covered herself with pajamas so that people outside could not see her. This shows purity and dignity.

The third is the dress of the model. Her hair was combed in a bun. Although long hair will enhance sexiness, this upward comb hairstyle is more solemn and unobtrusive. Please also note that this upward comb hairstyle adds beautiful lines to her body curve from hip to neck.

The fourth one is her shirt. This is a simple pajamas. Indeed, if Hamilton chooses to dress her in silks and satins, the effect will be very different.

We will discuss this problem in more detail in the later course of "Human Charm Photography". However, this is a good example of how to take nude photos perfectly.

In all these photos of David Hamilton, we can see how spotlight is successfully applied to color photography. Now, let's discuss some other examples of using spotlights in black and white photography, because black and white photography is very attractive.

Figure 10. 10 We just saw how David Hamilton used color film to shoot charming and sexy portraits of young women. Here is an example of taking the same effect with black and white film. The photo was taken by MaryEllenMark. A girl leaned against the window, lost in reverie-a typical scene lighting environment. Mark asked bright light to outline the beautiful silhouette of this woman (actress karen black). In order to create this dreamy artistic conception, she let this bright light dominate the picture, which actually blurred the front of the cat and Karen's hair by the window. Although the lighting environment of the scene is usually dark, this is an example of using brighter light, and a portrait with soft lighting and fantastic effect is taken.

Let's take a look at how the harmony of the pictures here is realized. The method is to let Karen hold the cat and kitten in one arm and let Karen and the cat look in the same direction. The key point is that the concept of unity goes far beyond letting a group of people stand closely together; You must strive to make all the important subjects in the picture, whether people, animals or things, be in harmony.

Figure 10. 1 1 In the next class about running out of the studio, you will see the wonderful portrait of Albert Einstein taken by Philip holman. That's a close-up photo. In this photo, Einstein's eyes have become the focus of attention. In this photo of Ernst Haas, we see Einstein in his usual residence. He is depicted as an absent-minded professor. His expression is a little confused, surrounded by some seemingly messy books and manuscripts. The natural light on the right expresses this sense of reality-this is a true portrayal of Einstein in his daily environment.

Figure 10. 12 The word persuasive is used to describe W.Eugene Smith's excellent photos. For example, this world-famous photo is very convincing. The photo first comes from his special report on Minamata disease caused by industrial pollution. Judging from the posture of the child lying in his mother's arms and leaning back, it is obvious that the child, the victim of mercury poisoning, is in extreme pain. However, Smith let the creepy harsh light outline the deformed hands of the child and draw the audience's attention there, thus making the photo clearer. Smith is a master of running out of light. Not only can he use exposure to produce unique light effects on film, but he is also famous for comprehensively processing images to further enhance the effects he pursues when developing and enlarging. In the next lesson, you will learn to use similar darkroom techniques to lighten or darken different parts of a photo.

Photo 10. 13 In this interesting exercise, Dennis Stock captured the glare of the stage footlights from the background. There are gypsies on the stage, and everything we see has changed because of this bright light. It outlines the outline of the actor; It covers a part of the actor's body. The audience can't see it. The audience can only see the illusory smoke rising above the orchestra pit. This is a very interesting photo, and the stage photos taken from the audience in peacetime are different.