Taking Pictures for Magazine: Lighting and Background

When first setting up the studio lights and background for the magazine photoshoot, I used a white background to start. Due to the nature of keeping of wanting to keep brand synergy through out my three products I needed the actor to be wearing the same clothes she was wearing in the trailer. The white t-shirt blended into the background to much and this would have made it to hard to edit in post production.The lighting in the first picture was also to far away from the actor and there was minimal light to her face which is not effective for creating a good quality photograph. 

To avoid using a white background which blended in with the actors costume, I switch the screen to a black one. The black one allowed for her to be seen much more clearly in her blue and white clothing. However, the lighting here was far to bright and caused many unwanted reflections. These tow pictures show the washed out look the actor has due to the lights not being placed correctly. I had to play around with the lights in order to achieve a successful picture. 

 

Next after I had moved the lights repeatedly to achieve a darker background but still keeping the light hitting the actors face, there was yet again another problem. The actors hair was to dark and therefore it would have been extremely difficult in post production to edit and crop around the hair professionally. Although the lighting was now a success I still had to avoid a black screen and a white screen. 

Finally, I decided to use a dark navy screen to allow for there to be no blended or hidden part of the actor. Her hair was darker than the background and her clothes were now lighter in appearance on the background. This balance between a good background and good lighting meant that i good achieve a high quality photo and it would make post production a lot easier in terms of cropping out. 

Taking Pictures for Magazine: Analysis

In oder to convey the correct magazine feature font cover photograph I had to portray the right angle, framing, lighting and facial expression of my actor; in this case the female protagonist was on the front cover therefore I had to convey a sense of danger and fear on her face. As I had previously already played around with the lighting I knew the type of lighting which worked well for this particular shot (high to mid key lightning). Below are all the shots which made the short list to be the on the front cover of the film magazine. 

Magazine Photoshoot Setup:

In order to have a professional set up and atmosphere to take the feature photograph for the magazine cover, I set up various pieces of equipment to help produce the best quality photos I could.

First of all, I set up the screen (backdrop) which would give a 'flat background' of block colour - in postproduction this would make it significantly easier to manipulate and edit the photo on the magazine layout. Next I set up three soft box lights, from previous camera workshops in AS, I had knowledge of how to set these lights up in a way which would gain me the best quality picture for post production use. The light on the left, placed at a higher angle and slightly forward (usually the main light focused on the models face) is the main light used and can be moved further away/closer to the model in order to convey the correct tone to the photo - less shadow, a brighter cover, more engaging/more shadow, low key lighting connotes a more mysterious and ominous feel. The next light is placed on the background, this backlight helps to put emphasis on the background, therefore lighting the whole photo rather than just the models face - the balance of the lighting means that there is not extreme contrasts between the background and the face of the model, this can lead to over exposure and consequently a less effective photograph. Lastly, The light on the floor, again, is there to help balance the light over the models body, this is not essential if taking shots such as close ups yet for long shots, this can help evenly light the model. 




I broke convention when lighting my model as I used a well lit environment, with little shadow being cast on her face - this can be seen to be brake convention for a magazine advertising a film in the thriller genre. However, I did this because although it is promoting  thriller genre, this particular character is the female protagonist ("the good guy" if talking about Vladimir Props theory of narrative)and therefore I thought it was appropriate for the audience to be able to relate to an more innocent looking character - this lighting help convey the fact that she was the protagonist in the film. If I would have used the antagonist (the "Killer") I would have made drastic changes to the lighting such as using low key lighting thus putting the character in shadow - this would have made it clear that this particular character was one of mystery. There was a reason why I didn't use the male antagonist to promote the film and this was because I wanted his character to be ominous and not stand out - this would add to the surprise element of his being the unsuspecting killer.

Here it is clear that the photo was taken in highly lighting for the reasons I have explained above. 
I did not take the poster photographs in the studio using the lights and backdrop as I wanted the poster to convey a scene in the trailer so as to keep the brand synergy to a maximum - I took the poster picture on location in the "Bath Scene", this picture was taken in low-key lighting and connoted the female protagonist in danger. The contrast between the my two ancillary products shows the before and after of the equilibrium's disruption. Although the two cover photos convey a slightly different feel, by using the same protagonist on both, it is clear it's all part of the same end product. 

Designs For Thriller Film Magazine Front Cover: Killer Next Door

These are the three drafts which I have designed for my film poster. From these three I will chose a final design which I will then create on photoshop.