Photos with graduated backdrops

["Bill Urmenyi" <bill@zzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

You can only use digital techniques for web photo's and for that purpose a
good quality digital camera is probably best. Galleries will generally want
transparencies but sometimes will accept high quality photographic prints.

I use 4 different cameras for my work. I use video as my work is generally
kinetic and interactive and make DVDs. I use 35mm slides (transparencies)
for proposals, digital for web and if the proposal requires an image of
something that does not yet exist and medium format if I want to take a
photograph rather than just documentation. If you want to have your work
published, publishers like medium format slides.

Unless you have a professional studio flash system which includes
incandescent lights at the same points as the flash and have reflective
umbrellas, I would not use flash as you can not see what the result will be,
especially with regard to shadows which can be very deep.

If you take your photographs from a distance with a long lens, you will
flatten the perspective and loose the 3D effect. Flattening the light to
give an even light from all directions will also flatten the image and you
may loose any dramatic reading of the work. If you look at portraits of
young women they often appear to lack noses or any volume to their heads,
they are like blanched cardboard cut-outs but you can't see any blemishes.
You will note that theatrical photographs are often in monochrome and use a
strong side light.

Now consider film. Your best bet would be to use a film with good mid-tones.
Some of the popular snap films deliberately accentuate colour at the expense
of mid-tones so go to a proper photographic shop and ask for a film with
good mid-tones. You can use a portrait film if you like and push the film a
stop or two. Pushing film is exposing the film as though it were a faster
film than it is. For example using a 100ASA film but setting the camera for
a 200ASA film. You will have to go to a professional photographic shop to
get it processed and if you tell them at what speed it has been exposed,
they will process the film accordingly. What happens when you push film is
that it zips it up. The contrast and colour intensity are increased to give
much richer and more 3 dimensional looking images. In portraiture, some
people do the reverse and pull the film which reduces the contrast and
softens the image. One of the problems with a lot of modern cameras is that
they are made for ta king holiday snaps by people who do not know how to use
a camera and they automatically read the film speed and set the exposure
automatically. This prevents the user from either pushing or pulling the
film (bastards).

If you want dramatic 3 D looking images, get up close and personal, push the
film a stop, open up the lens (well actually the iris of the lens, as in,
set it to as low an f number as you can) and use a strong side light. You
will note that if you push film the exposure needs to be much more accurate
as the contrast is increased.

It's a good idea if you are taking slides to take a number of identical
shots as you may not get your slides returned after you send them out and
getting copies made is very expensive and they are not as good as the
originals.

Bill Urmenyi