Matte Surfaces
These are surfaces that are not as rough as texture, but not smooth either. Skin, cloth, natural leather, finished woods and many food items are examples. Most of what we deal with in our daily lives would fall under the Matte surface example.
Matte surfaces have a softer way of showing us the reflection of the light source. Where texture showed us mini sources next to mini shadows, the matte surfaces have less of a drastic presentation. The surface doesn’t have that much difference between the size of the components of the texture. A cloth book cover has texture, but it is much more tightly confined than say old barn wood.
And the reflection of the source is shown as a larger area rather than many tiny reflections. This gives the texture a smooth and not altogether recognizable shape. There is an angle where the incidence will match the reflection, and be seen by the camera, but it will be a muted reflection, not a harsh one.
EXAMPLE of Matte Surface reflection of the light source. You can clearly see the reflection of the source, but the transition to the non-reflective areas is gradual and not defined.
The ballet shoes are most defintely NOT a highly textured object, nor are they glossy.
Skin is one area of great interest. Portrait, beauty and fashion photographers have to be able to control the way skin looks for their imagery. And skin can present some widely diverse efficiency. Dry skin has a very matte look, wet skin becomes more efficient due to the water, and then the reflection is nearly absolute, and skin color can become an issue with the wrong kind of light presentation.
A good makeup artist helps to smooth out skin blemishes, we know. But the MUA also helps to matte the skin evenly so that the reflections of the light sources do not create very bright reflections on the face.
A model begins to sweat…err, sorry, perspire with the heat, and the skin becomes a bit more efficient due to the moisture. Liquid is much more efficient than skin, so the perspiration on the face becomes shinier. The remedy is a little bit of powder, which of course renders the skin more matte and less efficient.
Faces are full of contours and angles that can reflect the light source back to us. Tips of noses, eyebrows, cheeks, chins and foreheads are all areas of concern when we are shooting with light that has a small source. The small source can become a direct reflection on even matted skin, so keeping it within our tolerances is very important.
Again, you can see the very soft transition from the highlight to the non-highlight matte surface, where as the gloss lipstick provides a sharp, immediate transition to the non-reflective area.
Photoshop Note:
Trying to fix a small highlight on the tip of the nose, or one that is across the whole front of the forehead is painstaking and difficult. It can be done, of course, but working with the subject to make sure he/she is not rendering the light back to you in such a way as to need the Photoshop is much more preferable.
There may be times when we may want to enhance the matte texture, to make it more discernible, and bring out the texture instead of mitigating it.
Angle of incidence again comes to the fore. Angled to present even the smallest texture, the photographer can decide between broad light, like a softbox, or sharper light, like a direct, unmodified head, or a snoot.
Example of enhanced texture: Portrait of Tomas.
Even with the matte surface of the skin, by using a small lightsource (beauty dish at a distance) we can create more texture in this portrait by putting the light at more of a wide distance from the camera. This adds some texture from the sidelit properties of the subject. Enhancement in Photoshop is then easy, and keeps the matte surface for a cleaner presentation of skin.
Matte surfaces are where we can experiment and work with light to play down or enhance, or simply show it as it really is.
And most matte surfaces can be altered to create something more efficient or less. As we have seen, powder for skin can take away the ‘shine’ that we know is really the reflection of the light. Water or liquid can add sheen to the subject when we want the reflection. And we can use materials to create shine, like wax on a wood floor to enhance the matte to be more shiny by showing the reflection of the light as it renders back to us.
Remember that we all KNOW what shiny looks like, what matte feels like and how rough something is. It is part of what we learn from the beginnings of our lives. We touched, we saw, we felt… and we learned. Photographers aren’t creating anything new, we just learn to present it to others the way we want them to see it.
To recap:
Textured surfaces present small highlights and shadows because of the rough surface and how it reflects light. From a stone to a mountain, the texture can be enhanced by playing up the highlight and darkening the shadow.
Matte surfaces will show the highlight softly, allowing it to transition to the non-reflective part of the surface in a more gradual effect. This may be the most prevalent surface we have around us.
ASSIGNMENT:
- Look around at the matte surfaces. they will most likely be more numerous than very texturized things, or very shiny things. Take some time to quietly study what light does when it is refracted from them.
- Note how different light (direct / indirect) reflects from the surface. Make images showing the difference.
- Examine the ways that matte surfaces can become textured (heavy side/top light), or shiny (wetting the surface down changes its ability to render the highlight and now it becomes more efficient).
Meet David Giral: Montreal Photographer
David Giral is a photographer in Montreal, Canada. I met him a few years ago at a workshop near Toronto, and we have stayed in touch. He is a talented young man, for sure, but he is also tenaciously working on his business. From leave-behinds, to websites, to email...
Meet Hector Cruz: Emerging Pro
Hector "Big Boy Drums" Cruz... I met him a few years ago on on of the Flickr forums we were both hanging out on. His sense of humor and humility was something that was refreshing. He wanted to be a photographer, and was bound and determined to learn how. We bantered...
Rui Bandeira’s “Endangered Jobs” Project
I saw this work today by one of the Project 52 photographers. It began as one of our assignments: Photograph a Stranger. Rui jumped in and not only photographed some strangers... he is developing it into a very cool project. I will let Rui describe it in his own...
Clarion Call 2013: “Open to Creativity’
This will be a truly fascinating day. Plan now to make it a must listen. Selina is a great friend, and a consummate teacher/mentor. Her work researching creativity and its many manifestations will give you insights into the process you may never have touched. I am...
Thirty Three Tired and Dated Photographic Expressions: Un-Edited
Riffing on a post by Ash Ambirge today, I asked the intrepid members of my Lighting Essentials Flickr group to come up with a list of photographic cliche's and terms that they were also tired of. I did not edit them, nor did I censor any of them... 33 different pet...
Aputure Trigmaster Plus II Triggers
Wow... Have you ever gotten a product that made so much sense to you that you think it was made to order? That is how I feel about these Trigmaster Plus II's from Aputure. Wireless Triggers for flash is now one of the most important tools we have seen emerge in the...
Learn To Use A Light Meter
Do you have a hand-held light meter that is just sitting around gathering dust? Have you ever wondered how it would be beneficial to you? I have created a new, free class at UDEMY to help you understand the uses and reasons for using a light meter. There is over 2...
New Webinar: ” Up Your Game – One Assignment at a Time”
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR ALL WHO HAVE REGISTERED: You will be receiving an email newsletter from me on Tuesday, January 22. It will come from me through Mail Chimp. If you do not receive the email on Tuesday (check your Spam folder), let me know IMMEDIATELY. The newsletter...
Photography, I Hardly Knew You…
"...you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you, don't you, don't you..." Well, yeah. You see the problem with that grand lyric was that obviously the song WAS about 'him'. That mysterious beguiling playboy that Carly Simon sang about. I must admit I...
2013: Books Without Photos… Oh My!
I love books. My wife and I have enough for a small library I am sure. Every room of our home has books in it. And a good quantity of them as well. We read avariciously. Marian prefers fiction, while I spend a lot of time with non-fiction and poetry. It gives us a...
2013: Essay One: Distractions
2013. Seems like only yesterday we were all freaked out about the Y2K fraud. And we have made it 12 years into what was called the new millennium, to find that it is pretty much like the old millennium... with a few tweaks. This is New Years Day. A time for many of us...
Meet Matt Dutile: A Passion for the Image
Matt started his photography career here in Phoenix about 4 years ago. Actually, four years ago today as I understand it. His work is focused on travel and lifestyle, and he is working for several clients that have sent him to some pretty cool locations. You can visit...
Post Processing: A Small Harbor in Maine
There are times when I am shooting when I am in complete control of the situation. Well, at least as much control as the world lets me think I am capable of. And there are times when I am not taking a photograph, but in fact taking a capture to allow me to make a...
Pogoplug: Now This is Useful AND Cool
I just set up my Pogoplug. I plugged it in, turned it on, set it up and went to work Took about 2 minutes. Tops. Wait... you may not know what a Pogoplug is. Now this thing is cool. Think of it as a network drive / personal cloud sort of thing. With a very cool set of...
Shooting Shiny Stuff at P52
Sometimes photographers have to shoot shiny stuff. Lighting works very differently on things that are shiny compared to how light works on more diffused subject matter. The shinier the object, the more it will be reflecting the light sources - both main and secondary....
OT Sunday: Eliot Carter, American Composer
Eliot Carter was my favorite contemporary composer. It was his first and second string quartets that opened my mind to the possibilities of linear melody/rhythm and the transformative nature of time. I discovered his music in my second year of music school and have...
An Open Letter to a New “Photography” Blogger
(from a recent forum post where a new blogger was talking about 'getting out there and doing it... going pro.) Hi, I just looked at your blog and I have a few questions. Who are you trying to reach with the blog? Clients? Or other photographers? Clients would be a...
The Fabulous Sandwich: Some Examples
Some shining examples of food shooting and shooting to layout from the Project 52 group. The assignment: Your assignment is to do a very interesting sandwich shot that fairly reeks of “high end cuisine sandwich” – and for this you will have a layout. The designer has...
Business Slow? Have You Tried These Ideas?
Today? I mean today... These are simple ideas, built to do quickly or without being in a rush. Do at least five of them every day. 1. Have you checked in with past clients? Have you kept up with them? And more importantly, have you kept them up to date on what you are...
“Fredericksburg Today” a New Book by Steve Collins
Steve Collins has been a friend for several years. We met at a workshop, and he has been a huge part of Project 52. Steve is building his business one client at a time in Fredericksburg, VA (a small town outside of Washington, DC). I have watched his work grow...
Trick or Treat… or Something…
My kids love Halloween. I can remember every trek through the streets with plastic pumpkins in hand, towing a wagon with the smallest riding along. The great folks over at Project 52 have been adding zombie and other un-human images to our Flickr page. I thought I...
Three Bidding Fiascos: Be Prepared or Stay Home
Recently I had an opportunity to sit and chat (over delicious Mexican food) with two very good photographers. Dave and Steve are both well seasoned, and full on commercial photographers here in Phoenix. As things do, we began discussing gigs and some of the war...
OK, Now I’m Hungry… the Food Photography of Michele Drumm
Michele Drumm is a photographer in the Washington DC / Fredricksberg area of Virginia. Her work ranges from still life to environments, but one of her great loves is shooting food. From meticulous studio shoots to on location editorial work, Michele brings a bit of...
Should You Shoot ‘Edgy’ Work for Your Portfolio?
Recently a photographer asked about whether or not "Fantasy" makeup or "Avant Garde" images should be included in a commercial photographer's portfolio. The work he was specifically asking about was a kind of shoot one sees a lot on Model Mayhem... multi-colored...