My Family Studio Potraits

I joined the Photography Society of Singapore in Dec 2013 to explore my interest in photography. 

In 2014, I have attended their 4 basic modules of Photography and one of them is Studio Lighting. I bought a simple studio lighting set, comprising of a main strobe light with a large reflector, backdrop set and the trigger. 

Ideally, I should have bought another 2 set of strobe lights for the background lighting but it would have exceeded my budget and the total cost would have been more than S$1,000.

When Jason was 12 years old, we went to a studio to take a set of glamour photos and the intention was to take a couple of family photos again when Jason turns 21 last year.

I discussed with my family that instead of going to a studio for another photo shoot, let me invest the cost of it into buying a simple studio lighting set and let me take the family photos myself. They were supportive and gave me the green light to proceed.

So this is my home studio setup that I have also used to submit my photos for my class assignment for Studio Lighting module assessment.

Luckily, I have a large enough hall or living room to set up the home studio. 

During Chinese New Year, we always take a family photo on the 1st day since we are dressed in our best outfits to go visiting and for the first time, I use the home studio setup to take a couple of family photos.

Well, I am glad to say that my family is happy with the results as shown above here.

The main difference between using a professional studio and my home studio setup is that we do not have a professional make-up staff to work on our faces and I have not applied much Photoshop or editing ( other than cropping ) to the images; ie we do not look so glamorous but more natural..... !

Unfortunately, Jason just completed his SAF exercise so he was very tanned from daily exposure to the sun.

I am still learning and playing with the studio lights now and then so I hope to show you better photos again soon.

Studio Lighting Photography Course Certificate

I was awarded a Pass with Credit for my Studio Lighting Photography Course that I attended in May 2014.

The class was conducted by the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS).

Here are the 6 photos I submitted for the class assessment :

Jason's graduation bear

Wine and grapes 

Old film camera

Butterfly portrait - studio lighting

Rembrandt portrait - studio lighting

Model portrait taken during the class

My photos mounted on black cupboard for submission.

I actually bought a set of basic studio lighting with a background cloth and set it up at home to practice what I have learned. Of the 6 photos, 3 of them were taken at home ( graduation bear and portraits of Jason and I ) and the others during my class. 

This is my studio setup at home :

Ideally, I should have two more lights for the background but it would have exceeded my budget.

I bought a photo light box to take still photos and a couple of desktop lamps for lighting in this set-up.

To-date, I have attended the following classes to further my interest in Photography:

- Digital Basic ( Night & Lighting ) Photography

- Digital Basic ( Foundation ) Photography ( using a DSLR camera )

- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Image Editing

I look forward to my next class, Basic Travel Photography this month.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Image Editing Course

I attended a short Adobe Photoshop CS5 Image Editing course over 4 full Saturdays in April 2014 and after passing their test held on 3 May 2014, I was awarded an ICDL certificate recently.

I am also learning Lightroom 5, on my own by referring to books ( borrowed from our local community library in Bedok.

Lightroom is a similar software but designed specifically for Photographers and has an interface to Photoshop too.

Here is a sample of the capabilities of Lightroom 5 and Photoshop:

This is a photo taken at my own home studio and no editing has been done to it yet.

This is the result of editing done with Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CS5 software.

I used Lightroom to crop and enhance the image and then used Photoshop to replace the background by making use of Layers which is not available in Lightroom.

I also refer to YouTube videos on how to use certain features in Lightroom and Photoshop; eg Filter - Extract, Refine Edges in replacing the background of the photo.

If you are into Photography, you definitely should learn how to use Lightroom and Photoshop software to enhance your images as and when necessary.

Digital Basic ( Night & Lighting ) Photography Course Certificate

I was awarded a Pass with Merit for my Digital Basic (Night Photography & Lighting) Photography Course that I attended in Feb 2014.

The class was conducted by the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) ;
http://www.pss1950.org/

For some details on the course, you can refer to my previous posting at
http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.sg/2014/02/night-photography-class.html

Here are the 6 photos that I submitted for the class assessment :

 Scene from Anderson Bridge in the evening.

 

Scene from Anderson Bridge at night.

 

Marina Bay Sands

 

Garden by the Bay

 

Chinese New Year light at the Floating Platform in Marina.

 

 Papaya leave

I have just completed my Studio Lighting course and submitted my 6 photos for assessment.

I look forward to taking another course in Basic Travel and Techniques soon.

Digital Basic ( Foundation ) Photography Course Certificate

I was awarded a Pass with Merit for my Digital Basic (Foundation) Photography Course that I attended in December 2013.

The class was conducted by the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) ;
http://www.pss1950.org/

 http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.sg/2014/01/my-photos-submission-for-basic.html

I just completed another class, Night Photography, and awaiting the assessment results from my submission of 6 photos on the class topic.
http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.sg/2014/02/night-photography-class.html


I am now attending a class on Studio Lighting.

Night Photography Class

I attended my second class and it was on Night Photography in Feb 2014.

There was an outing for a night shoot held at Anderson Bridge and it was quite an experience to see the colour of the sky changing during the sunset...

See for yourself below the series of photos taken...

Taken at 6:40pm

Taken at 7:10pm

Taken at 7:40pm

( I like the blue sky in the background )

Taken at 8:25pm

( The background is now dark )

 

I am the one in the red polo shirt with my instructor on my right,

camera set up on tripod and waiting for the sun to set.

 

I am really enjoying myself and learning new skills in my photography class.

For those who are interested to find out more on the classes, please visit this site to find out more about Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS):

http://www.pss1950.org/

My Photos Submission for Basic Photography Class

At the end of my Basic Photography Class that I attended in Dec 2013, I have to submit  6 photos for assessment in order to pass the class.

So far, no news from the instructor yet on my grading of these photos; at least an Overall Pass is required but Passing with Distinction would be ideal.....!

 

 

  The above 2 photos were taken in Botanical Garden during the outdoor class.

This photo was taken outside Tangs Departmental Store, Christmas decorations.

 

This is a close-up of one of the many colourful Hibiscus flowers in my garden.

 

This photo is on the zooming effect on a Transformer toy, taken in front of my garden.

 

 

 This photo was taken when I first took my Canon DSLR camera for a shoot at the Lantern Festival in Clarke Quay, about 2 years ago.