Practical 1 - Position (Angle)

Armed with my new Strobe, I plunged right in with the first of the practical lessons from Lighting 102: Unit 1.1 - Position (Angle). I have to say at this point I'm hugely excited about my new Strobe. In total I have taken 463 Images tonight testing out different ideas :-)

None of the Images were Earth shattering to say the least, but I was more interested in the effects of the light than the technical quality of the Image, so I feel I have benefitted hugely from my evening's endeavours.

For the first time ever, I can see ways to reproduce some of the lighting effects of the coolest shots I have seen other Photog's create, and I cant tell you how excited I am about that. Only problem is, now I "need" another 2 Strobes and all the gadgetry that goes along with them hehe.

So, the idea of the exercise tonight in David's words..

"the idea at this point is not to create flattering light for a subject, but to explore the way off-axis light reveals and defines an object."

Let me introduce you to Caeser:

This shot was taken with the Strobe as if it was mounted on the Camera Hotshoe. Nothing special here, this is what I've been used to for a long time now. Flat, uninteresting, little substance.

This shot was with the Strobe at about 45 Degrees Left. Hard to see with the small image, but it definately adds an element of Spatial Awareness to the Image. Also the texture and softnessof his Fur is much more apparent. His features have become much more interesting.

As with the above Image, but 45 Degrees Right. Same effect (Obviously).

Strobe at Right angles to my Subject. I really liked this, again it added a lot of interest, and a "moody" feeling in my opinion. This is definately a setup I will be playing with in the future.

This was looking at the subject from the perspective of the light source. Each time I moved the Strobe I was trying to envisage what the light could "See", and my guesses at the results were surprisingly accurate :-)

The Strobe here was hidden directly behing Caesar, and aimed at the backdrop. The moment I saw this, I could feel the Pounds slipping from my wallet as I realised how much I now want a second Strobe hehe.

After completing these shots, I set myself an exercise of "Targeting" the shadow. So I would pick a point on the Backdrop, and just by guesswork try to make the shadow on the image end at that exact spot. Was very tricky when using my Trainer as a light stand, but by the time I finished I was getting pretty good at it, and I'm happy with my progress.

I knew that getting the Falsh "off" Camera would have a drastic impact on the Images, and now I can see first hand just how much more revealing it can be. I also feel better equipped since doing this tonight to reverse engineer other peoples Images.

A huge Success.