24.09.2013 Views

Focus On Lighting Photos Focus on the Fundamentals.pdf

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Lots of moti<strong>on</strong><br />

Sometimes we actually want a lot<br />

of moti<strong>on</strong>. In <strong>the</strong> photo below,<br />

we wanted a photograph that<br />

c<strong>on</strong>veyed activity. To accomplish<br />

this, we need a c<strong>on</strong>tinuous<br />

light source—could be sunlight,<br />

quartz-halogen, or a house<br />

lamp with a tungsten bulb. You’ll<br />

have to set your camera to a<br />

l<strong>on</strong>ger exposure. How l<strong>on</strong>g? That<br />

depends <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> brightness of <strong>the</strong><br />

light source and <strong>the</strong> speed of <strong>the</strong><br />

tungsten<br />

As we write this, we have little<br />

predicti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> future of tungsten<br />

lighting. Existing laws will<br />

prohibit manufacture within<br />

a few years in <strong>the</strong> United<br />

States, but <strong>the</strong> definiti<strong>on</strong> of<br />

“few years” could be modified.<br />

O<strong>the</strong>r countries have laws<br />

that d<strong>on</strong>’t specifically prohibit<br />

tungsten but prescribe energyefficiency<br />

standards. Can<br />

tungsten lighting be improved<br />

to meet those standards? We<br />

d<strong>on</strong>’t know. Whatever happens,<br />

<strong>the</strong>re are good alternatives<br />

to tungsten, but <strong>the</strong>y may be<br />

more expensive or may offer<br />

inferior color. When we say<br />

“tungsten,” adapt your thinking<br />

to whatever is available when<br />

and where you read this.<br />

moti<strong>on</strong>. For a ballroom dancer,<br />

we may decide that 1 ⁄30 sec<strong>on</strong>d<br />

is too short; for a bullet emerging<br />

from a pistol barrel, 1 ⁄1000 of a<br />

sec<strong>on</strong>d is way too l<strong>on</strong>g. The trick<br />

is to get your timing down for<br />

when you fire your flash. (Note: If<br />

you’re using a house lamp, you’ll<br />

probably need several for a shot<br />

encompassing this much space.)<br />

The room had very little ambient<br />

light. We set up a hot light<br />

at camera left. Our off-camera<br />

flash was placed behind <strong>the</strong> loom<br />

pretty much directly in fr<strong>on</strong>t of<br />

<strong>the</strong> camera. The flash was high<br />

enough and angled so it lit <strong>the</strong><br />

foreground. Our in-camera flash<br />

was covered with a bit of neutral<br />

density material. We attached<br />

a cable release to <strong>the</strong> camera<br />

and a homemade trigger to <strong>the</strong><br />

off-camera flash (l<strong>on</strong>g enough<br />

to reach from <strong>the</strong> flash to <strong>the</strong><br />

photographer). We locked open<br />

<strong>the</strong> shutter with <strong>the</strong> cable release,<br />

letting <strong>the</strong> moti<strong>on</strong> be recorded,<br />

and triggered <strong>the</strong> flash when we<br />

thought <strong>the</strong> hands were in <strong>the</strong><br />

right place; <strong>the</strong>n we unlocked<br />

<strong>the</strong> cable release to end <strong>the</strong><br />

exposure.<br />

Moti<strong>on</strong> 167

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!