Contrast and shadow fill

In order to experiment with contrast and shadow fill, I used an artist’s doll as I felt the contours of the body and face would show contrast to its full extent. I lit the subject from the left and used various reflectors to fill in the shadows on the right.

In the first image, I used an undiffused light with no reflector. This image was generally brighter than the others because of the lack of a diffuser so I underexposed by half a stop; this ensured that the comparison was based on contrast alone. The harsh light from the left with none from the right gave this image the highest contrast of all. 

 

Moving through the images in order of contrast, the next was with diffused light from the left and again, no reflector. This was no surprise as I would expect high contrast with light only coming from one direction.

 

 

The next highest in contrast was the image using a white reflector one metre away. As this was the furthest distance used for a reflector, this was to be expected.

 

 

 

In fourth place came the image taken with tin foil, crumpled up and then straightened back out to form a reflector and held half a metre away with the shiny side facing the subject. I thought that with the light being scattered around, this would create less contrast than those taken with flatter tin foil but this was not the case. I suspect that as a result of the light being scattered, less was reflected back towards the subject so the shadows weren’t filled so efficiently.

 

 

 Next in line is the photograph taken using the shiny side of a sheet of tin foil, held half a metre away. Again, I had assumed that the shiny side would reflect back more light so am also surprised at this result. I wonder if surfaces which are too shiny have difficulty reflecting light evenly which could affect the result. I will look further into this in the near future.

 

 

 

 Second to last is the image taken with shadows filled using the dull side of the tin foil, held half a metre away. The matt surface reflects the light back quite well, leaving quite an evenly lit result.

 

 

The most evenly lit image is that using a white reflector, held half a metre away. The colour of the reflected light being white mirrors the white light provided from the left and creates the best shadow fill.

 

I have made several discoveries from this experiment; the most important being that distance and colour of reflection have an impact on contrast and shadow fill. The experiment with crumpled tin foil has given another option for shadow fill; in the case giving quite a high contrast result. I rarely use my studio lighting as I have limited space and prefer outdoor photography using natural light. Having done this experiment, I feel that it is an area I would like to revisit in the near future as I know I have a lot to learn on this subject.