SPRING 2023: ASSIGNMENT THIRTY THREE: TWO IMAGES THAT RELATE TO EACH OTHER

DUE: OCTOBER 10, 2023

TWO IMAGES THAT RELATE TO EACH OTHER

That’s the assignment: Two images that you shoot that relate to each other – by YOUR influence.

I guess that makes it a “Sort of a Free Shoot”.

This is a portfolio-builder exercise and I need you to pour your heart and soul into these two shots.

The goal is to do two images that relate to each other. Two portraits of the same person, two shots of food or candy. A lifestyle shot, or a fond product placement shoot. Whatever you choose, you do two shots of it that can “relate” to each other. In other words, they push the narrative of each other.

Here’s the thing though – yeah, there’s always a ‘thing’ – one is to be lit with artificial, and the other with natural.

There is a reason for this. Preparation. Planning. Getting down with the idea that sometimes the stuff we own will break someday – most likely during a shoot, or the light we expected changes, or we just want to do something different and have it blend well.

This can be a chance to make natural light and artificial light blend so well we cannot tell the difference. As best you can

An example.

You choose to do a portrait. One is a soft shot in the open doorway of a barn, and the second one is a large scrim set up in a dark room and illuminated to look exactly like the open door. Hint – do the natural light first, you can not move it around all that well.

A food shot can be shot under a canopy with soft, even light (boosted with a silver reflector, and the artificial shot can match with a scrim and a snoot, or it can be lit with a softbox with a soft gradient. As long as both shots relate to each other with a single style of lighting, you are good.

CHALLENGES:

Color.
I would make sure that I had something, even a gray card, in the frame for the first shot. Then you can help color control the image with that. We cannot have colors not matching. The blue skirt must look the same color blue, the salad the same colors of greens.

Depth of Field.
One of the things that continuous or natural light gives us is the possibility of a shallow DoF. Make sure you match that look as closely as possible with the artificial lights if you are using strobes.

Concept.
Make sure you are conceptualizing the image to allow these two images to be made to complement each other. Setting yourself up for failure is a danger here.

Time is a constraint.
Gear is a constraint.
Location may be a constraint.

Plan your images carefully.

Use the Facebook group for questions and comments on your planning. Tag me if you want me to weigh in.