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Experimentation Dark Field Illustration 

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Experimentation Dark Field Illustration 

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Studio Booking System - WARNING: Make sure you book for the member of staff you want NOT the anyone tab. The member of staff will get a confirmation of the booking! 

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Studio Booking System - WARNING: Make sure you book for the member of staff you want NOT the anyone tab. The member of staff will get a confirmation of the booking! 

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When starting out in photography, you are bombarded with terms, definitions, and a whole new universe of things you must know as a photographer. Sometimes the definitions are confusing at best, seemingly conflicting at worst. When it comes to lighting, there's a big list of terms and jargon that you need to know. Here are some of the common ones with simple definitions and explanations.

Ambient

Light that is present in a scene, often originating from the Sun or an artificial light source such as a bulb. Ambient light is controlled using shutter speed and aperture. When mixing ambient with flash, photographers resort to controlling ambient with shutter speed as it allows to keep the preselected depth of field. More often than not photographers shoot wide open in ambient light situations, so the shutter speed is the only option(assuming ISO is already high).

Artificial

The light that is generated by an electric flash tube or an unnatural source. Usually comes from a flash and is often what you can control. Although light bulbs in an event venue are artificial light, most photographers regard them as ambient if there is no control over them.

Backlight

A light that comes from behind a subject. A backlight increases background separation as it highlights the edges of your subject. An effective backlight is often hard but not too bright.

Broad Light

A portrait lighting pattern where the whole face is lit evenly. The light direction is hitting the cheekbone.

Catchlight

The reflection you see in the eyes of the model. A square light source will produce a square catchlight, a round one-round.

Clipping

When highlights, commonly skin parts, are overexposed to the point of no return. Can be fixed by dialing the power down or talking to the makeup artist about it.

Columella

Area of the nose with the nostrils. It is generally good to keep it darker than the nose bridge.

Continuous Lighting

Light source that has constant output over time e.g. a tungsten 3200W light. Commonly used in video. Strobes feature a high but not constant output of light.

Contrast

The difference between highlights and shadows in an image.

CTB

Colour temperature blue gel: used to cool the light down.

CTO

Colour temperature orange gel: used to warm it up.

Diffused

Light that hits the subject from a wide family of angles.

Falloff

The measure of how fast light loses power over distance. Follows the inverse square law for small light sources.

Fill

Commonly a large diffused light source used to bring out shadow detail and reduce contrast.

Flag

A studio accessory used to cut light or introduce negative fill.

Gel

A piece of semi-transparent plastic that will color the light. Don't use gels with modeling lamps as they melt.

Gobo

(1) An optical attachment used to create precise light patterns, or (2) a flag (or diffusion fabric) with holes that is used to cast uneven natural-looking shadows.

Gradient

The transition between highlight and shadow. A smooth gradient suggests diffused light, a hard gradient suggests hard light.

Guide Number

A quantity describing what f-stop or distance to use if one of the two is known. Guide number is f/stop multiplied by distance. Most on-camera flash manufacturers give these in manuals.

Hard Light

Light with sharp shadow edges and little to no gradient. It is defined only by shadow edges, not contrast or scene.

High-Key

A scene that is largely bright or white. Commonly used in headshot photos and can be done with minimal gear.

Hotspot

Part of the surface that is significantly brighter than the rest. Commonly used with softboxes that have a hotspot in the center.

Incandescent

A light source that is producing relatively warm light by burning a filament. These light sources are often inefficient and currently are rarely used in professional applications.

Inverse Square Law

Relationship between light brightness and distance. Light intensity/brightness will decrease in inverse proportion to the square of the distance.

Key Light

The brightest light on the subject.

Kicker

A light used to highlight the contour of the subject and separate it from the background- commonly placed behind it.

Lighting Ratio

The exposure ratio between shadow and highlight. A high lighting ratio means a lot of contrast while a low one means no contrast.

Low-Key

Photo that is largely dark/shadow. Unlike high-key, the key light will be very prominent here while everything else will fall into shadow. Much harder to do compared to high-key as it requires more nuanced light shaping.

Penumbra

The area between shadow and highlight. A large penumbra means smooth gradient, a small one means hard light and no gradient.

Quality of Light

Described in terms of 4 things: hard, soft, diffused, specular. Some regard high quality of light to be something soft, but this puts hard light in jeopardy hence I advise against this version of the definition.

Ring flash

A special flash that mounts around the lens and creates even light that doesn't cast visible shadows.

Self-Shadow

A shadow that appears because of the change in the shape of the object (e.g a dark edge of a cube)

Shadow edges

Fancy light nerds will call this penumbra. See above.

Short light

A portrait lighting technique where the front of the face is bright while the cheeks remain dark. The light direction is hitting the face.

Soft Shadow

A shadow that has long graduated transitions from highlight to shadow. The term 'shadow edges' doesn't practically apply as they are extremely large and hard to pinpoint.

Spill

The angle at which the light spreads over the area. A spill kill or a grid will reduce the light spread (spill) to a smaller angle (e.g. 5 deg)

Thrown Shadow

A shadow that is cast by an object to a different surface, e.g a shadow on the table from a cup.

Closing Thoughts

These are just some starting points in learning light. Naturally, there are a lot more niche terms. Yet, just knowing the definitions won't enable you to master light. Practicing with these ideas in mind will. For example, a possible task could be to create a short and then broad lighting pattern. Another test could be to create a hard, diffused light. Sounds odd? Check the light quality definition again.
Credits: Header photo: @ginte.studio, Makeup: @karinajemelyjanova, Styling: @nagyemesestylist, Model: @mirinkoli, Agency: @annelise_arieli @facemodelmanagementhungary, Retouch: @justlike_magic.

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A Glossary of Lighting Terms Used in Photography

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When starting out in photography, you are bombarded with terms, definitions, and a whole new universe of things you must know as a photographer. Sometimes the definitions are confusing at best, seemingly conflicting at worst. When it comes to lighting, there's a big list of terms and jargon that you need to know.

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https://www.creativereview.co.uk/landing-page/the-annual-2020-winners/

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The Creative Review Annual is one of the most respected and trusted awards for the creative industries. We celebrate the best creative work from the past year, and those who create and commission it.

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https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/careers-in-advertising/the-right-role-for-you/creative/art-director

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Art Directors are responsible for the creation and development of advertising ideas, with particular focus on their visual appearance. These ideas can exist in many formats from print to film to online.

Also known as...

Creative.

The role in brief...

Art Directors are responsible for the creation and development of advertising ideas, with particular focus on their visual appearance. These ideas can exist in many formats from posters and print advertisements, to TV commercials, cinema, radio, experiential, Direct Marketing leaflets, mobile applications and websites. The Art Director combines artistic sensibilities and understanding with knowledge of design and production processes to create work that engages those it is aimed at. They ensure messages are strengthened by conveying meaning visually, as well as through the accompanying words.

Working with...

Internal: Copywriter(s); Creative Director; Account management team; Planners; Creative Services, Studio and production staff.

External: Print producers; Commercials directors; Commercials producers, Animators, Illustrators, Radio Producers, Photographers.

Art Directors often partner with Copywriters to form creative teams for the purpose of working on creative briefs within an agency, with the Copywriter having greater focus on the written material (copy) within the final creative output.

Responsible for...

Understanding and appreciating the context that lies behind a client's business and communications need, and the key proposition and creative brief that is provided as the basis for their work.

Understanding the target audience and proposed media to be used in the campaign.

Devising and developing original advertising and communications ideas. These ideas need to be relevant to engage the target audience and address the client's business problem.

Presenting ideas to the Creative Director for approval and development, and amending the look through several stages of concepts and executions.

Generating and maintaining enthusiasm for ideas within the agency (and with clients in more client-facing Art Director roles) as they move from concept to execution.

Producing sketches, visual references and storyboards to convey the concept to the agency team, and then on to clients, designers and producers.

Responding positively to client and research feedback and continuing to develop the work until final approval stage.

Staying up-to-date with available talent for commissioning among photographers, illustrators, typographers and film directors through regularly reviewing their books and showreels.

Selecting photographers, illustrators, TV Production companies and Directors, animators and models and cast involved in the creative production. In larger agencies they will also work closely with Art Buyers and in-house TV Producers to achieve this.

Overseeing the production of creative outputs e.g. print advertisements, TV commercials, mailings, social media content, etc. In some agencies they may work with Art Buyers and in-house TV Producers and Studio, if there is one, to accomplish this.

Those who succeed are...

Imaginative and able to generate a range of ideas whilst applying their creative thinking to solve business problems.

Able to distinguish between a central, core idea and the executional possibilities it gives rise to. Able to defend against changes to the execution which would change the idea; also able to let go of details that would not be as necessary.

Strong communicators who can 'sell' ideas in an inspirational way.

Team players, who can operate effectively under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Tenacious and resilient throughout the frustrations of an iterative process.

Knowledgeable for historical changes in design, with an eye for the best in contemporary art and design.

Aware of the latest production techniques, tools and materials.

Fascinated by people, advertising and brands. They are curious about culture.

Aware of the basics of legal and regulatory background which must be adhered to.

Keen to learn from other creatives and legendary art directors for example by reviewing award winning ads, for example D&AD 'pencils' or reading books about art and design in advertising.

Aware of the power of brands and very clear on a brand's look, knowing that it must be strong and consistent to register in seconds.

Where they come from, and where they go...

Art Directors come from a variety of backgrounds, although will typically have a degree or postgraduate in a relevant subject such as creative advertising, or design. Those studying on dedicated advertising courses will often form partnerships with a Copywriter while studying. They will then look for a first job as a team. This is done by developing a 'book', or portfolio, of work to show Creative Directors at meetings and interviews.

Art Directors can also be taken on following agency apprenticeship schemes where there is no requirement for a degree, although A-Levels, or equivalent are still expected.

As Art Directors become more senior, working on bigger and more important briefs within the agency, they are often referred to as 'Middleweight' or 'Heavyweight' Creatives, with some then becoming Group Heads then Creative Directors in their own right. Others may choose to ply their skills independently as freelancers, working across a number of agencies and clients.

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Art Directors are responsible for the creation and development of advertising ideas, with particular focus on their visual appearance. These ideas can exist in many formats from print to film to online. Creative. Art Directors are responsible for the creation and development of advertising ideas, with particular focus on their visual appearance.

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Finally Done, sorry Elysia and Tia :(

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Week 4 Theme Idea Generation                         Where do ideas come from?                                 Task1: Identify an image in an advert where you can tell where it’s influence has come from? Discuss the brand/product. i.e Corporate colours, ingredients etc. Brief Havana Bottle: Explain ‘What is a pitch?’                                                                      Task 2: Draw concept and create a pitch document to advertise Havana Rum. Task 3: Pitch to the group their concept for the brief Live job presentation ‘The Tale of Alcemey’ how ideas were born for Grand Manier campaign   

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Week 4 Theme Idea Generation                         Where do ideas come from?                                 Task1: Identify an image in an advert where you can tell where it’s influence has come from? Discuss the brand/product. i.e Corporate colours, ingredients etc. Brief Havana Bottle: Explain ‘What is a pitch?’                                                                      Task 2: Draw concept and create a pitch document to advertise Havana Rum. Task 3: Pitch to the group their concept for the brief Live job presentation ‘The Tale of Alcemey’ how ideas were born for Grand Manier campaign   

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Week 2 Theme: Influence

Where does it come from?

How do we identify influence?

Can you identify influence?

Research 8 Historical Photographers with influence

https://petapixel.com/2018/09/06/how-still-life-came-to-the-world-of-photography/

https://www.creativebloq.com/photography/still-life-photography-1131688

Ansel Adams, Edward S Curtis  ,Andre Kertesz,

Irving Penn, Gyula Pap, Man Ray, Josef Sudek

Edward Weston

Research 8 Contemporary Photographers with influence

Jonathan Beer, Giorgio Cravero, Gunther Egger,

Joe Felzman, Antti Karppinen, Jonathan Knowles, Onni Wiljami Kinnunen, Andrew Potter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY5CO_Q9zbI&vl=en-GB

https://www.hasselblad.com/stories/gunther-egger-quality-and-details-with-the-hasselblad/

Task In depth research of 1 Historical and 1 Contemporary practitioner.

Practical Task: Create an image in the style of Edward Weston

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Week 1: Theme Lighting

Task 1:
Identify 10 light sources

Task 2 Identify Direction

Task 3 Identify Quantity of Light and how it affects final output

Task 4 Quality of Light-  Video by Broncolor

Task 5 Lighting Accessories research

Task 6 Research 2 Photographers that have a distinctive lighting style: 1 Historical and 1 Contemporary

The Umbrella Vs. Beauty Dish - What you need to know about these studio lighting modifiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY5CO_Q9zbI

Experimentation with studio-based lighting techniques ‘Bright Field Illumination’ and ‘Dark Field Illumination

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The Umbrella Vs. Beauty Dish - What you need to know about these studio lighting modifiers.

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https://www.creativebloq.com/career/art-director-11121180

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Most creative fields have an art director. It's an impressive job title that exists in graphic design, advertising, marketing, publishing, film and TV, web design and video games. Many creatives aspire to become one and if you're just starting out you probably want to know what you have to do to get the top job. If you are already heading down the path to becoming one, you might want to read on to check you haven't stumbled off the yellow brick road.

There are a number of so-called soft skills and character traits that are essential to the role. Added to that, of course, is a killer portfolio so if this has prompted you to make sure yours is up to scratch, we've got loads of portfolio inspiration to get you started in our rundown of the best portfolio examples.

To get the lowdown on art directing, first we asked art directors from leading studios to share their thoughts and experiences on what art directors do and what makes a good one. And if you're convinced the role's for you, you can read on for some top tips for how to become an art director ( skip to the tips here), or head over to our shiny new design jobs board to find your next career challenge.

What is an art director?

So what exactly is an art director? It can mean different things in different organisations. Broadly, this job involves managing a team of designers working on a creative project, but the degree of responsibility and autonomy can vary.

"As an art director you must be a leader; someone who inspires and guides the vision of the design team," explains Blimp Creative founder James Fenton. "You have to be able to recognise the talent in those around you and learn how best to get the best from them."

Art director Jenny Theolin comments: "For me, the main difference between working as a graphic designer and as an art director was that I worked more with people than computers. And since I prefer to see the creative industry as a peoples' industry, this collaboration and co-working was key to creating exciting new work."

Ben Brears, strategic design director at Robot Food, points out that 2019 agency models have become more fluid, and individual roles have become less defined. Indeed, there is a bit of a backlash surrounding job titles in the creative community - after all, accurately summing up someone's role in one or two words is surprisingly tricky, and in many companies, employees will take on a number of different tasks within their day-to-day structure.

"Designer, art director, creative director - all these titles are necessary to create a structure within agency departments, for the client's benefit, and for the recruitment process," counters Theolin. "And to add to the confusion, descriptions like 'Web Ninja', 'Pixel Guru' and 'Creative Wizard' infiltrate our world as well. But how relevant is all of this to the job we do?"

What does an art director do?

"We create a culture of exploration and experimentation, but equally one where we are guided by the brand strategy and creative brief," sums up Claudia Morris, design director at B&B studio. "We need to make sure our team is empowered and grounded, whilst being excited and inspired to push boundaries. We need to maintain a culture where the team feel nurtured and free to be the best they can."

We need to make sure our team is empowered and grounded, whilst being excited and inspired to push boundaries

Claudia Morris, B&B Studio

One key aspect of the art director role is that of management: for example, critiquing people's work, working to deadlines and budgets, and (on occasion) disciplining any designers who have become lazy. However, according to Fenton, an art director's primary concern is to inspire and guide their team.

"The role of the art director could be compared to that of a chef, fusing together ingredients to produce a menu of delightful dishes," he explains. "All designers inject their individual personalities, tastes and style into their work. It is the art director's role to identify and understand the different flavours each member brings to the team, and then carefully infuse them to complement one another."

The role of an art director is not limited to considering the visual side of things - they need to be able to guide an audience through the information being presented to them, using words as well as images, and creating structure and emphasis through the layout and typography. "An art director must appreciate the written content as much as visual, taking on the role of a storyteller," comments Fenton. "You must be a mediator between writers and designers, understanding both disciplines and working closely with each."

"'Art director', at least to us at Robot Food, is less a role and more a skillset, one that we nurture in all our creative team," says Brears. "We believe in great ideas and bold opinions, and we encourage them from all across the studio."

Day to day, he might be designing with the team, providing feedback on different jobs, attending meetings to define the direction of a client's wider creative strategy. Or he might be helping the team with a tricky bit of Photoshopping or teaching an Illustrator shortcut. But, Brears points out, that doesn't necessarily equate to a job description for a typical art director.

"How much of this is because of a title, how much of it is because it just 'feels' like the right thing to do? Would this title mean a damn thing in a different agency with a different philosophy?" he says.

As we touched on earlier, studios are increasingly developing in such a way that there is a less clear distinction between what different creatives do. "In many companies the traditional team structure has evolved into paired creative polymaths," comments Theolin. "Ask any creative team working today, and you will see that they share a lot of their work tasks. Copywriters scamp, art directors write, including contributions to blogs, books and magazines. But does this make them any less an art director?"

What makes a good art director?

So what makes a great art director? Well, you'll be working with people a lot, so one thing's for sure: it's not all about creative talent, you're also going to need to have the right temperament and personality for the job.

"A fundamental aspect to the role is having the ability to foster the best possible creative environment," says Shaun Bowen, creative partner at B&B Studio. "Having the leadership skills to do this effectively and consistently is one of the most challenging requirements of art director roles - and is not always easy to find in a portfolio. Along with the highest creative flair and talent, it involves an emotional intelligence, compassion and the ability to understand overarching business objectives."

Know when and where to best invest your energy, when you need to get involved and when it's better to be more hands off

Shaun Bowen, B&B Studio

There are a number of skills that will help you shine in this role. Brears sums up his views: "Time management. Knowing when and where to best invest your energy, when you need to get involved and when it's better to be more hands off. When to say yes, and importantly, when to say no."

"For me, a good art director has to be open to influence, inspiration and the expertise of the people around them, appreciating their talents, strengths and weaknesses, while maintaining a clear vision of delivering a message that speaks directly to the reader, viewer or user," says Fenton.

Ultimately though, the role is often shaped by the person in it. "There is no single formula for what makes a good art director: it's not a discipline taught in design schools, there are no books or guides that define the steps to success," adds Fenton.

"Every art director will have forged their own path, have their own definition of what their role is and their own approach to getting the job done and done well. Sometimes, this may be learned from their own mentors and passed down in a master-apprentice way, while others may formulate their process utterly independently, through their personal experience and trial and error."

Top tips for becoming an art director

01. Remember, it's all about teamwork

A big part of the job of an art director is knowing how and when to use different team members' talents.

"No person is an island; design and studio life are rarely a solitary endeavour. We're all products and producers of our environments," says Brears. "Being able to craft a beautiful illustration or piece of typography yourself is a wonderful skill set to have, but equally, so is having the foresight to recognise when it's not you or your team's strength, and then commissioning the right person for the job. The journey is as important as the destination and being able to communicate the whats, the whys, and the pit-stops along the way is crucial."

That means, when you're putting together your portfolio or application for the role, you need to be clear on the role you played in each project. It's not all about you.

02. Put together a killer portfolio

As with any creative role, your first stop is to make sure your portfolio is up to scratch. "Show a good design portfolio of work that represents the style of art direction you employ and want to strive for," says OneRedEye founder Ed Robinson.

Brears is more succinct with his advice: "I want to see great ideas beautifully executed."

For more advice, see our post on how to curate a creative portfolio.

03. Don't focus on hierarchy

While you will be managing people, the job of art director is not about throwing your weight around. "Someone who sees themselves as the design top dog will inevitably be heading for a embarrassing fall," explains Fenton. "You have to be able to recognise the talent in those around you... An art director who sees themselves in a position of hierarchical authority is simply a glorified manager."

04. Be confident with feedback

To be the best art director you can be, you'll need to be confident giving feedback, both internally and outside of your studio. "Internally, feedback and providing critique is a piece of cake. There's no egos here at Robot Food. We don't care if feedback comes from an intern, or an account manager - if it helps make the work better it's valid," says Brears.

However, feeding back to external specialists - illustrators, photographers, animators and so on - can be trickier. "You have to get past your own impostor syndrome and be prepared to stand up for the studio's vision," advises Brears. "We aim to work with the best talent we can, and it's easy to default to thinking they know best and your own experience isn't as valid. But ultimately, you know the brief, the client, and the result you want to achieve - it's about working closely and collaboratively to get there."

For more advice, take a look at our guide to how to give and get more from art critiques.

05. Make friends

Of course, there is plenty that can be learned from those who have been in the role themselves. "Hound your heroes and ask to meet them. Many love to talk about themselves, so ask to meet them for advice, to pick their brains - and to see their work!" suggests Theolin. "However, don't be surprised if your icons actually turn out to be old, grumpy farts."

06. Gain knowledge of the job

You'll have a role in shaping the direction of projects and pushing the creative in new directions, so you're going to need to be aware of industry progressions and trends, and work hard to keep things fresh. "Stay on top of blogs and trend reports," advises Theolin. "Keep the momentum up and don't get stuck in a bubble. Creative exploration is one of the benefits of this industry, so get out there and do different things differently."
Related articles:

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Being an art director: all you need to know

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Most creative fields have an art director. It's an impressive job title that exists in graphic design, advertising, marketing, publishing, film and TV, web design and video games. Many creatives aspire to become one and if you're just starting out you probably want to know what you have to do to get the top job.

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Week 3 Theme: Colour is King

Research of the Theory of Colour.

Ref: canva.com/colors/colorwheel/

Describe colour Theory, Colour Combinations – Complementary, monochromation, analogons, triadic, tetradic, cool/warm, shades/tints and tones, Hue/saturation and luminance, colour meaning and colour schemes.

Case History: Green & Blacks Advertising Campaign

Task Research another advertising campaign and comment on the use of colour.

Practical Task: Create an image using colour theory