Concentrating light

In order to concentrate light on one particular area of the shot, I fashioned a homemade snoot from rolled up black card. I used various small props and experimented focussing the light from different angles.

Russian dolls – the lighting creates sharp shadows along the ground as well as throwing shadows onto the dolls. The background is much darker than if I hadn’t used a snoot as it has the effect of directing a narrow beam of light onto the subject.

 

Artist’s doll lit from above-left – a dramatic, high contrast effect, reminiscent of a theatre spotlight.

 

Plant lit from a slightly steeper angle – the light reflects off the corrugated pot, creating sharp highlights and shadows. A lot of the plant is thrown into darkness as only leaves facing the light are lit.

 

For this shot of my elephant, I set the light as high as I could, facing almost straight downwards with the beam of light shining down only on the face and trunk. Again, this creates a dramatic effect as the back of the elephant is in total darkness, leaving the face only partially lit.

 

As a result of the high contrast created using a snoot, dramatic and emotive images can be created. The narrow beam of light has the added benefit of throwing background clutter into darkness, giving an even backdrop.