Assignment #3 - Black and White

DUE DATE:

Thursday, January 22th

This assignment will be similar to the bracketing assignment, in that it will teach you to find the right exposure depending on the subject matter.

This assignment is basically two assignments in one. Treat it as such and it will be easier to break down.

You will shoot high-key and low-key images. What is high-key? The majority of the image (85%+) will be tones of light grey to white. It will help you to think of shooting white objects placed on a white background. So, then the opposite of high-key is low key right? Think of low key as grey-ish to black objects. Shoot your dark objects placed on a dark background. You might need a tripod/beanbag for these shots.

For both of your shots you will want to pay close attention to the background. Don't let stray light/objects ruin your clean shot. Also it helps to isolate the objects by getting close. Take a look at the examples below.

You will want to shoot both of your high-key and low-key shots using the bracketing technique that we learned. Go from very very VERY underexposed all the way to very very VERY overexposed for each of the shots...both high-key *and* low-key.

Using the extreme bracketing you will find that buried somewhere in those images is a nearly perfect exposure. That will be your starting point. We will take those good exposures into post-production in the studio.

Here are some examples:















HERE IS A SLIDESHOW of student work.

Yes, this is an assignment that I even give to my basic black and white film class. Here's the proof...



Things you will definitely want to be paying attention to:

Focus - make 'em sharp

Light - will make or break the entire assignment. Move the light around the objects if you are shooting indoors...more the objects around into different light if you are shooting outdoors.

We will lecture and show examples of this in class. This WILL BE an assignment you will want to go back and re-shoot a few times. Don't consider doing it wrong the first time a failure...consider it good practice.