Colour negative film

 

Shooting film is something I'd never done up until recently. It is very different as you can't see the result of the picture until the film has been processed and developed. 

 

 I was given a Canon EOS 300 28-75mm to go out and shoot a subject of my choice. I chose to photograph textures, brick walls and trees.

 

After the film had been processed, I scanned the negatives in. I needed a special bracket to hold the negatives whilst being scanned. Then I had to set the scanning mode to negative so that when it was scanned, it would appear positive. I needed to set the dpi to about 2400 otherwise it would have been too small. This took about 10 mins per scan!

 

Here are 2 of my scans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After scanning, I opened them in photoshop, cropped each image and then enlarged.

 

Here are some of the images.

 

Large Format

Large format cameras are anything that uses 5x4" film or larger. Because the film is so large,  you don't have to enlarge it so much These cameras are very flexible and you have full control of your image, however they are quite heavy and bulky and not easy to carry around so are mainly used in a studio environment.

They consist of:

• a metal plate with the lens and shutter
• a standard at the front and the back
• a set of bellows to attach the two (extended for macro and compressed for landscape)
• a frame that holds the focusing screen and allows the sheet film holder to be inserted

Different kinds of films are needed for different light conditions are there is no colour balance setting. Film needs to be loaded individually after each exposure.

When photographing architecture, the image can be distorted by just tilting the camera upwards. However, the front and back standard of the camera can be lowered and raised. instead of tilting it, you would raise the front and lower the back so that the lens and film are still parallel with the building causing no distortion and converging verticals.

The focusing screen is made from glass. The image will appear upside down and can only really be seen properly in the dark (hence the cover that people put over their heads in the olden days!). 

To chance from landscape to portrait or vise versa, you don't have to 

 

 

 

Photographic Media - Shoot images

Here are some of the images from the shoot. In this post I will evaluate the images and explain how I processed them.

I used photoshop to edit the images. For most of the images, I have increased the contrast and used levels to exaggerate the shadows and highlights as I wanted quite a harsh and powerful result. Also, as the back wall wasn't lit, I could see some of the flaws in the wall such as small marks and cracks, so I used layers and layer masks. I would duplicate the background twice, use Gaussian blur on the middle layer and then on the top layer, create a layer mask. Then, I'd use the brush to paint over just the background, revealing the blurred background from the middle layer, being careful not to go over any of Paul. This gave a nice flawless background whilst keeping Paul crystal clear.

                                                    © Holly Bailey

         This is my favourite image from the shoot. This particular pose shows off lots of different muscles in his upper body. I like the contrast that has been created by the lights, however I did adjust the levels in photoshop to really exaggerate the shadows and highlights, creating lots more definition in his muscles. I took this shot head on and at eye level to create a kind of symmetry. I purposely didn't light the white wall as I wanted this grey looking background which makes him stand out more.

                                              © Holly Bailey

 I told Paul to bring along some weights to pump up before the shoot.....but also to use as a prop during the shoot. I directed him to face his back towards the main light and look down to his forearm. The beauty dish here is illuminating his back and creating shadows and definition on his flexing arm muscles. I did zoom the lens for this shot but I also cropped even further into the image at editing stage, as I wanted the main focus to be on his back and left arm.

                                                          © Holly Bailey

 For this shot, I got him to sit on a step ladder and lean his crossed arms on a stool in front of him. You can clearly see the effects of the honey comb light at the back if you look at our left hand side of Paul. There is a slight highlight on the side of his face and on his shoulder.

© Holly Bailey

I used the stool for him to sit on and a step ladder for his left foot to rest on so he could rest his elbow on his raised leg and then rest his head on his hand. This pose gave some nice shapes and also shows his body from a different angle. Again, there is a nice highlight on his back due to the honeycomb at the back.

© Holly Bailey

This pose shows the muscles in his back and also on his arm. At this point, I turned off the honeycomb light and just used the main light with the beauty dish. This gave a shadow at one side of him, creating more of a contrast between him and the background. 

© Holly Bailey

Again, I have tweaked the levels a little bit more for this one to really exaggerate the definition. There are some strong shadows on the left side, which show the contours of his muscles.

© Holly Bailey

For this one, I intended to pose him so that we could see his triceps and the muscles above his ribs (obliques). I told him to pretend his is rubbing his right shoulder with his left hand and then hold his elbow......it looked quite un-natural as he grabbed his elbow to firmly but I wanted it to look quite relaxed and natural (he has never modelled before!). So to try and get more of a natural look, I told him to touch his elbow after the count of 3 and then I would take the picture. This looked a lot better so I am pleased with the image now.

© Holly Bailey

© Holly Bailey

I wanted to focus on his back for this shot. I cropped in closer so that his back fills most of the frame, cropping off part of his head and more of the bottom of the image.

© Holly Bailey

I asked Paul to bring along a black t-shirt to use as a prop. I asked him to hold it in certain ways that showed off his arm muscles.

© Holly Bailey

© Holly Bailey

I think I went over board with the levels and contrast in this image as detail at the bottom of the image is totally gone and is too dark. I do like the top half of the image though. I like this one because of his natural expression.

© Holly Bailey

© Holly Bailey

© Holly Bailey

Looking at this one, I should have cropped a little bit more from the top of the image as it doesn't look very balanced. It looks like he is slipping down the frame.

© Holly Bailey

Cyanotype

Cyanotype is a historic photographic printing process that produces a cyan blue print.

 It is quite a cheap and easy process and is traditionally done with film negatives. However, when I tried this process, I used a digital image that I'd taken.

First of all I prepared the paper. Cartridge paper is used as it is quite durable, can cope with water well and has a nice texture to it. The chemicals needed for the process are potassium ferricyanide and ammonium ferriccitrate. I poured equal quantities into a dish and then brushed the solution over the paper evenly. Once dried, the paper becomes light sensitive, so I put it into a dark cupboard whilst it dried.

Whilst waiting for my paper to dry I chose an image that I thought would suit this effect and that was quite high in contrast. I opened the image in photoshop, changed it to black and white and then inverted it so that it became a negative image. Then, I printed the image onto acetate and this acted as a film negative.

I haven't yet done the next step because there wasn't enough equipment for everyone to do it but I'll talk about what I'll do next....

To complete the process I need to clip the acetate between a piece of glass and some board and then leave it exposed to UV light for about 10 mins (either sunlight or an electric UV light) or until the paper appears a kind of dark green colour. Then the paper needs to be rinsed with water. The parts of the image that were shadowed from the UV light by the dark parts of the acetate print should appear white and the exposed parts should be a cyan blue colour.

Results to come...  

It is a really sunny day today, so i only had to expose it to the light for about 4 - 5 minutes.

Here are the acetate negatives and the final result after rinsing them with cold water 

Photographic Media - Shoot planning

My shoot will take place in a studio and I will be using my digital camera. I am choosing digital as apposed to film for convenience as there are less variables to control and I will be working at quite a fast pace. Also, in this case, only the digital files are required for the client (Paul, the model), not prints. I will get my desired results from using digital a lot quicker and easier than if I was to use film. Post processing will be quicker too by using photoshop.

 

If I chose to do a landscape shoot, I would have considered using film, as I do prefer the tones and colours that can be created with film but the main purpose of my shoot is to show shape, texture and definition rather than colour, so the majority of the images will be black and white. 

 

Film can also look quite grainy, but I want my shots to look clean, crisp and modern.

 

The problem I might have with shooting with digital is highlights. Highlights can be easily overexposed if using digital and appear pure white with no colour or tonal information. I will need to consider my lighting and meter them correctly according to my camera settings to get the right exposure.  

 

The cost also has a part to play in my decision to use digital. The cost for film is a lot more expensive and there is less room for mistakes.  

 

So, I will be shooting images of Paul, a personal trainer who has been doing a strict 10 week diet and training plan. Paul wants a set of images to show the results on his body at the end of the 10 weeks. I will use certain lighting techniques combined with different poses to best show off the tone and definition in his body muscle. Paul would like the images to promote this kind of diet and training plan to his clients. I aim to produce images that convey how his body looks now after all the hard work so that it will make other people desire to look like that too and try out the plan for themselves.

 

 

I am already aware of how to light this sort of subject, as explained in earlier studio photography posts. However, I have never done this kind of shoot before where the main subject is just one (topless) man and the purpose of the shoot is to show off the tone and muscle in his body and Paul has certainly never done anything like this before, so I have done some research on male models and what kind of poses I could try in order to portray this. I also have some ideas of my own that I will try.

 

Here are some images I looked at for inspiration..

 

 

As you can see, the lighting and the poses used, really exaggerates muscle definition which is what I aim to do. However, Paul is not an underwear model and I hope to produce images that look a lot more natural than these!!

I will be shooting on a plain white background using my Canon EOS 500D and a 24-70mm f2.8 lens. I have chose to use this lens as it is a great all round lens and is good for portraits. It can go to quite a wide angle so that I can get some full length shots of Paul without having to stand at the other side of the room and it has enough zoom for me to focus on certain areas that I want the focus to be on.

 

I will shoot consistently on f11 as I think that this is the most appropriate aperture for this kind of shoot because everything will be in focus. I will meter the main light to f/11 and the other light to about f/16 to ensure I get the correct exposure. I am aiming for quite moody lighting with lots of contrast.

When it comes to colour space settings, I always shoot in sRGB rather than Adobe RGB because I feel that I get accurate, saturated colours, whereas if I was to shoot in Adobe RGB, the colours would appear duller to me because it squeezes colours into a smaller range before recording them to a file as it has a larger range of colours than sRGB. Special smart software is then needed to expand the colours back to where they should be when opening the file. So basically, shooting in sRGB for me is a lot less hassle. It fits in with my simplified workflow and I still get the colours I want. Also, as I am shooting specifically just for digital images and not to print, sRGB will display the colours correctly digitally on a computer monitor because the monitor can read a lot more of the colours in the sRGB gamut than the Adobe RGB gamut. If I was to shoot in Adobe RGB, I'd have to use special software to convert to sRGB in order for it to display correctly on the screen.  After explaining why I shoot in sRGB, like I explained earlier, I think the majority of my images for this particular shoot will me monochrome.

 

This shoot will require a certain lighting technique to achieve the results I want. I will use just 2 lights with modifiers to create these effects and a flash trigger.

My main light will be to one side with a beauty dish. I have decided to go for a beauty dish so that the light can be focused on the model and nowhere else and also because it gives quite a dramatic light which will work well with the style i'm trying to achieve. I will position the other light at the other side of the model, pointing at him but further back.

Here is a diagram of the setup I plan on using

 

 



 

 

 

Health & Safety

Everyone needs to be health and safety aware in all jobs and just general day to day life. We are always risk assessing in everything we do.

 

In this post I will explain what I know about being able to use photographic media, techniques and technology safely.

 

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

 

When shooting in film, a darkroom and different kinds of chemicals are required to develop the negatives. When using these chemicals, you need to be aware of COSHH (Control of substances hazardous to health) and the COSHH logos. All chemical containers should be labelled with COSHH symbols that identify how hazardous they are; whether they are an irritant, harmful, toxic etc. Understanding these symbols are important so that you can take the right precautions when using them.

 

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

 

Because I shoot in digital, I need to be aware of the health & safety regulations of the use of work equipment.

 

• PAT testing must be up to date and done annually. This is a test to ensure that electrical equipment is safe for use.
• If working in a studio and ladders are required, they must only be used by people who have received adequate training to use them safely.



 

Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

 

 

With digital photography, a computer is required for editing. Computer workstations or equipment can be associated with neck, shoulder, back or arm pain, as well as with fatigue and eyestrain, therefor health and safety regulations need to be taken when using one.

 

• screen glare - the screen shouldn't be too bright
• the chair should be able to be adjusted to help with posture, preventing strain on the back or arms
• you should look away from the screen at least once every 15 minutes to prevent eyestrain and headaches
• ergonomic wrist rests should be used to prevent strain on the wrist

 

 

Risk assessment

 

In all workplaces, risks must be assessed. To carry out a risk assessment you must;

 

• identify any hazards
• decide who might be harmed and how
• evaluate risks and decide on precautions
• record your findings and implement them
• review assessment regularly and update If needed

 

Here is a basic risk assessment I have conducted for working in a portrait studio:

 

• wires for lighting equipment - these could be a tripping hazard to adults and children so can be taped down to the floor
• studio lights are heavy and would be dangerous should it fall on somebody - should have a weight at the bottom making it harder to be knocked over
• plug sockets - children will be in the studio and could possibly try to tamper with plug sockets so should have a protective socket cover when not in use
• lights can get hot and can burn - make sure they are out of reach of children
• some light modifiers can be sharp such as barn doors - keep away from children
• rooms with lighting equipment that can be sharp or dangerous if they fall on someone - lock doors where equipment is kept

 

 



Research in a different way

I chose to go to some farmlands near where I live for this task. These are the pictures and notes a took whilst I was sat there for 15 minutes. The pictures were just taken on my iPhone without any editing.

 

It's very cold and windy. It is overcast but the sun is trying to push through.

 

There are a couple of trees around with no leaves.

 

I'm leant against an old wooden fence/ post thing.

 

There is a giant pile of logs.

 

There are wood chippings and mud on the ground.

 

 

 

I can see buildings and moving cars in the far distance.

 

I can very slightly hear the cars in the distance.

 

 

 

There are farming vehicles around. Some look like they're not used anymore

 

There are tractor tyre tracks in the mud on the ground. 

 

Nothing different is happening. There is no one to be seen. I can hear the wind, the trees rustling in the wind, birds tweeting and the faint sound of cars in the distance.

 

It is quite peaceful and serene but feels deserted.

 

I can't smell much, just fresh green air is how I'd describe it.

 

Here is a video of the location.

 

 

 

Some images I took on my SLR and a 10-20mm wide angle lens that Andy kindly let me borrow.