Project 7: Depth - Images with Depth

Exercise: Images with Depth
Objective: I found the objective for this exercise a little confusing but I think I need to produce three images illustrating three of four atmospheres. Here is my first:
Dynamic/exciting/adventurous
These armoured personnel carriers drive up and down the main road near my house constantly. I have always thought it would be exciting to drive one myself. I made a couple of images to try and sum up something of how it may feel to hurtle down the road in a tracked vehicle.

This was the first image I made using my DSLR. I kept to a slow shutter speed 1/25s to blur the action and give the impression of movement. That’s the stills photographer in me. The depth of field is not really relevant. (1/25s @ f32). There are a lot of diagonals here which add to the dynamism.
The equivalent moving image would hopefully keep the tank in focus as the pan blurs the background. Even though I panned this on a monopod it’s not as sharp as I expected but it still works. The sound is also very loud.

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This one was easier to photograph as it was on the other side of the road. This would be the frame for the start of a shot. I chose a point a which the sun was lighting the front of the vehicle, I have included a lot of diagonals and the lens was set at 105mm so this is a medium telephoto shot. Thinking about the moving image, I would probably use a shorter focal length and not alter the zoom as I panned right. the exposure setting is 1/500s @ f6.8. I think this could be a good exercise in panning – I’ll give it a try on the next driver training day that coincides with my morning off. I think this works well. As moving images, these compositions will have depth.

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Oppressive/dull/stifling

This is a picture of the scenery store backstage at the local theatre. It was made during the late evening with daylight coming from a high window above the stairway. I had it in mind that the sunlight would give layers of light which would emphasise the dull and oppressive foreground.

It is a small, narrow space with muted colours and dark shadows. I thought It would also work in monochrome but without the colours, the image is a bit flat. I am happy with the image, the placing of the objects in the foreground and background add to the depth created by the various colours and patches of light.

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Refined/mature/reasonable

For the third image I visited the National Trust at Hinton Ampner where I was able to photograph a refined atmosphere. I have included two images, the first of which uses diagonal lines, foreground and background objects and light to differentiate different depths. I am happy that I have achieved what I set to do here.

My second image uses differential focus and light and shade to indicate depth. This dining room was lit only by window light from the left and lamps around the room. I chose to focus on the decanter and the narrow band including the first place setting on the left,.

• Probably the most successful way of creating depth in an image is using diagonals. If they converge, so much the better. Other ways, demonstrated above include the use of foreground and background objects, differential focus and  layers of light and dark including the use of colours.
• Visual depth is very important to the overall feel of the shot, it can help to create atmosphere and mood, it can help tell you create and understand a character’s mood or mental state.

Exercise: Creating depth with lighting

Objective: To create at  least three images giving distinctly different impressions of depth in the same space.
Using my small sitting room I have experimented with the effects of using different combinations of room lighting, basically by turning lights on and off, zooming in and out and looking at the effects.
I produced this contact sheet to work from, enabling me to select the most suitable images.

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My first useful shot was a wide angle with two areas of lighting; the back wall and a table lamp on the desk. The laptop screen is lit. I can see a distinct separation between the mid ground and the back ground. Although the room is rectangular and the photograph is taken along the room, the camera position and the wide angle make the room seem square. There is one more light out of shot to the right, lighting the right side of the table and the floor. (The camera was mounted on a tripod in the same position for all of the subsequent shots. I’ve used my DSLR to record these images.)

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Keeping the same camera position and angle of view, I switched off the background light at left and the light at mid right  to give a greater separation of the two lit areas. This combination has produced a diagonal movement, making the room seem wider and as there is no light on the ceiling it has reduced the apparent height of the room.

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For this shot I killed the lights in the background and to the right, leaving just the desk lamp to illuminate the scene. I zoomed in on the desk from the same camera position. Depending on the effect required, varying the exposure would make the dark background more visible. On my monitor I can see twilight just below the curtains and the shape of the lampshade just left of centre. Sufficient to show there is something there. The scene itself now looks a bit cluttered. The spill from the table lamp highlights the globe and the CD rack and  the long focal length has compressed the scene markedly. (The blue cast from behind the camera in this scene comes from an un-curtained window behind me – dusk, overcast evening light)

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This is the zoomed out version of the previous shot with the “mid” scene lit from the right as well as the table lamp. The back ground in now more distinct but not distracting. The light from the right  gives a more open feel to the scene.

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Finally, I switched off the “mid” scene lights and fully lit the background with the table lamps and the ceiling lights. This has the effect of pushing the rear of the scene back, making the room appear longer rather than square. The lit computer screen maintains a focal point for the mid ground while the foreground is rendered insignificant by the low light level.

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Conclusion: I have made a lot of images and tried a lot of combinations of lights. I think I have demonstrated how to create depth using lighting. Like all photographic lighting, each situation requires a unique approach. I am becoming aware of how lighting is used to create space, atmosphere, colour, shape and simply as part of the composition of a frame.

Project 7: Depth

Exercise: Depth Although all of the principles of creating depth have been covered in the Art of Photography course blog, I thought it would be useful to include a “live” shot of the effect of zooming on depth of field in this section of my log.

I set up a long table with two objects along it for the short take. I started with the zoom set at approx. the mid point of its range, zoomed in and then out again. I found that I had to manually set the focus onto the nearest object otherwise it would not come into focus as I zoomed in. Autofocus tended to bring the far object into focus. This was probably due to the relative spacing of the objects but it was a worthwhile exercise and good practice. Another reason for shooting this frame is to get some use of my new editing software. I have changed from Nero to Sony Vegas for HD. I’m hoping it will be easier to use and enable me to manage my projects in the way I want to rather than the software dictating how and where I can save my files.

Exercise Depth from Richard Down on Vimeo.