1. In class today we learnt about the different types of lighting in media. These were:
3-point fill lighting - 3 lights to create a normal-looking scene with soft shadows and
average colours, used with any object in focus. Opposite to chiaroscuro lighting.
Chiaroscuro lighting - characterised by harsh lighting that creates an extreme contrast
between different areas of the shot, such as a characters face. This helps create an
atmosphere e.g. for a thriller.
High key lighting - harsh, bright lights to reduce contrast in a scene, making it white-
washed, clean look with no shadows. Used for things such as police interrogation
rooms.
Back lighting - scene is lit directly from behind, usually natural light for example the
sunset, to make a silhouette. Common in romance films.
Natural lighting - usually from the sun, can be used with other types of artificial
lighting.
Artificial lighting - man-made light sources, e.g. light bulbs or fluorescent lights,
candle light. Gives off an orange/yellow tint.
We were shown an example video about the different ways you can use and manipulate
lighting. We were then asked to go and take some pictures using different types of lighting.
These were the pictures we took:
These landscape photos I used natural
lighting to outline objects such as trees
and buildings and make silhouettes of the
birds. Natural backlighting gives a
naturalistic theme to the photo.
In these two pictures we used a strong light
to emphasise the mood. We put the light
underneath her face making the mood
spooky and unsettling. In one we did a
close mid-shot just showing her face,
and the second one was taken further away
showing the shadow overpowering the
photo.
2. In the photo on the left we took it going in
the same direction as the sun showing all
the detail and making the shadow look
long. In the photo on the right we took it
from behind using the sun as a backlight
making silhouettes of the picture.