Workshop on ‘Basic Studio Lighting Techniques’ 2014 @ ICAT, Chennai

As a follow-up session to the previous workshop on ‘Basic Studio Lighting Techniques’, ICAT, Chennai conducted a workshop on ‘Advanced Studio Lighting Techniques’ on 29th of March, 2014. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Vinod Kumar, the Head of Photography department. A group of students from the ICAT Photography Club participated in this workshop, during which they incorporated their knowledge on basic light setup in the context of advanced lighting techniques.

During the workshop, all the students were allowed to experiment with the industry-standard approach to portrait lighting and direct a female model. While experiencing the direction process, the students were exposed to some major elements of Fashion Photography shoot, such as:

• Fashion Photography Lighting Kit: Students were given the latest update on recommended lighting equipments used in the industry and also discussed on popular lighting gears & accessories.
• Style of Organizing a Successful Shoot: The shoot organizing style of famous photographers were elaborated to inspire the students to manipulate the working process with a whole new understanding.
• Creative Ideas for Fashion Photography: Developing new ideas in Commercial photography have become very popular and mark a unique style for each photographer. Students where thought how to link their ideas with their photography skill to produce the final output.
• Key Lighting Techniques: The session’s core part covered everything the students need to learn about the key portrait lighting techniques, such as Paramount, Rembrandt, Loop and split lighting used in Fashion Photography. The knowledge over these lighting techniques will help them to shoot more efficiently and capture consistently well-lit images.
• Hair Styling and Make Up for a Fashion Shoot: Students were made aware of the use of hair and makeup styling to compliment the cloth and beauty. They were also taught how to direct a stylist during and before planning a shoot.

The direction experience was made very professional by using a live model, whose hairstyle was done by Mr. Gopinath, a professional in field. The students were excited about having a real-time experience directing a model and thus gained confidence to face the real world challenges. Forthcoming workshops aim to focus on outdoor fashion and portraiture shoots.

Student's Feedback:

"The workshop helped in carrying forward skills from the basic studio lighting session by providing the opportunity to be more experimental with the light set up" Shruthi

"The workshop was very helpful as it provided me a comprehensive understanding of an indoor light set up with varied possibilities. I look forward to forthcoming workshops involving theme based fashion shoots." Arjun

"It was very useful as I was given a clear idea of the aesthetics of advanced lighting techniques and understanding the importance of giving equal consideration to the staging of the lights and the model in order to create a dramatic shot." VarunAdithya

"The workshop was very engaging and struck a balance between theory of lighting and its practicality. It was a good follow up session from the basic studio lighting workshop." Kishore