Studio In Context - freya

different types of studio photography

5 examples for each category
Photography in the studio often fits into 3 different categories: commercial, artistic and technical photography.
These categories also determine the potential set up and photography process done inside the studio as each has a very distinct appearance and style.

Food/still life: hi key setup is important. To make the shot more interesting you could add one or two props such as a knife and fork, a glass or bowl to the composition. Make sure not to over clutter or take away from the main product. Each part of the food should be decorated and placed in a aesthetically pleasing manner usually done by the food stylist. Given the choice between multiple of the same product be sure to find the most intact and ' perfect' ones to photograph as a blemish or messy product will not appear as appealing.

When taking the photograph it is important to take it at a low angle as the food needs to appear as 3D as possible to appeal to the target audience. The best camera lens to use is probably a macro lens as you can get closer than most lenses to the product and really accentuate the small details such as pips in fruit and textures which other lenses could not give as the focal distance is much smaller.

There are a few tricks to make food more appealing such as creating fake steam for warm food with steaming cotton balls hidden out of sight of the photograph. When photographing cold drinks or fruit and vegetables add misty condensation to give it a more refreshing appearance.

Fashion: It is the fashion photographers job to photograph garments but also convey ideas or a theme that will portray the items in an imaginative and creative way.As fashion photography has such a variety of looks and styles, it is difficult to pinpoint any perticular lighting used so i shall show a varity of popular ones used.

Product hi key, sharp, simple and strait to the point. This is what is expected of product photography as you want to see the product clearly and know exactly what you are buying.

portrait: A good portrait can show a lot about the personality of the subject using the correct lighting, angles and techniques.

editorial: To share a message or story with the use of photography. These images could go in magazine, newspapers or anything informative.

Studio set ups Then and now
in 1839 a man named Louis Daguerre announced the famous daguerreotype the first publicly announced photographic process. There was earlier attempts to record a photographic image in a camera obscura made by Josiah Wedgewood however he failed due to the light sensitive materials not being powerful enough to record the image.

The images were one of a kind and duplicates could not be made making the images special however the images were small and often portraits that needed a magnifying glass to see them. As this studio method became more popular the first ever studio was created in london 1841 using the daguerreotype method. The studio had a large glass window to let light in and the sitter was placed in a neck clamp and the chair adjusted into the correct lighting. The clamp was nessisary as the photographic exposures lasted around 20 minutes per exposure so no smiling was essential to avoid blurry images. The images take 2 days to process.

A modern studio set up is a lot more conveniant as there is a lot more control in terms of lighting and a cameras ability. A modern studio is usually a well lit room with changable backdrops to give a smooth simple background. The large windows often have black out curtains and blinds that is essential to allow more control over the lighting in the photographs. Artificial light can be placed practically anywhere outside of the cameras view and the capacity of light which it emits is very exact and controlled. The cameras ability to take long and short exposures allows for the model to be more fluent with movement and can move more freely giving for more relaxed facial and body positioning.

I chose these too images to show comparison as the lighting and model positioning is almost identical and this makes for easier explanation to differences.

The first image is of a 1910's-20's silent actress Loive Ann Alcorn, the reason behind this image is sadly unknown. You can clearly see the folds in the backdrop as the lighting is not strong enough to blow out the background behind her. Her hair is almost pure black showing little to no details unlike the modern image which small details are more crisp. The lighting is clearly less controlled as her face should be more lit up. The studio would be similar to the image below wwith a simple backdrop and minimal lighting and if lucky a flash bulb. The camera would have most likely been a bellow camera which needs a sheet over to see the shot more clearly.

The next image is of Chloe-Jasmine Whichello who is a model so the purpose of the image wasnt to do with being famous but more likely cause she was commissioned to do the photo shoot. The photographer who took this image was a man named Dave Kai Piper a UK based photographer.The colours are more controlled and vibrant and there are no harsh tones anywhere on her face. The backdrop is very matt and doesnt draw you away from the subject as much as the other image. The studio has a variety of lights at disposal some pointed towards the model and some at the backdrop to blow it out.

two studio portraits
convey how the photographer makes the lighting fit the sitter/model

Philippe Halsman

Salvador Dali was a very eccentric man known for his surreal artwork and grandiose lifestyle. I believe Philippe Halsman did a splendid job of portraying Dali's personality. The compositioning of the photograph is peculiar and doesn't follow the basic rules of studio portraiture having Dali half cut off and off center from the camera. I believe this makes his most prominent feature,his moustache, a very central focus to the image. The lighting is set from above using hard lighting to create dramatic dark shadows underneath his nose and on his neck. This could be compared to old black and white drama movies or horror only made more apparent with his bulging eyes focusing directly into the camera to make the image more piquant.The lights from the studio can clearly be seen shining through his eyes giving an indicaton of where the lighting was placed.

Martin Schoeller

Schoeller makes a very shallow depth of field to bring focus to the eyes and lips of his subject to capture the most expression on their face. Due to the shallow depth of field you find that areas such as hair and body are out of focus leaving you purely with the person in front of you. His camera set up has two lights either side of the subject who is facing head on towards the camera. This is clearly seen through the reflection on Jack Nicholsons eyes. As an actor he is more known for his phychopathic and dark character screenings from his stern face and ability to act well. I feel the photograph may show him more as an actor opposed to the roles he plays.