Photos 9 - Light

Choose three from the following list: Hard, Soft, High Key, Low Key, High Contrast, Low Contrast, Graduated Tonality, Top, Under, Side. Label them accordingly.

Photo #1

For this group of photos, I wanted to challenge myself again. Use a single light source: My trusty Quasar LED tube. Another difficult thing was I had to take pictures of myself (no friends, you see), and -- even with a handy mobile app that allowed to view frame and make adjustments -- this proved to be a difficult task.

For this first picture, I attempted to create High Key lighting. I believe I was successful, and in the process I realized something. Normally, High-Key lighting is bright and happy, but this picture seemed a bit threatened. Contributing to this were 1) The camera well above eye line, 2) the darkness in the background, and 3) my Oscar award-winning performance, of course.

Photo #2

For this second picture, I kept everything the same, but moved the light source to a 3/4 behind me. It was also low...mainly because I had no extension cord and the Quasar cord is like 6 inches... Anyway, I'm glad that the quasar was reflecting off of the stove in the kitchen, for a beautiful eye light was formed that allowed me to see my eyes still, despite the heavy shadows. I wanted me centered in frame, staring dead just below camera, for a creepy Hitchcock-ian vibe.

Photo #3

So...this last one was lit only by my phone light. I always look at people staring, zombie-like, at their phones, with the phones light casting an eerie glow on their faces, and I think to myself, "I probably look like that too when I look at my phone." And I do. The under-lighting, in this case, creates a unhealthy and slightly spooky feel, and that feeling is enhanced by the skewed shadow being cast on the wall behind me.

-Tanner