Since I found my lost password to the blog: copy work

Qi An
Self Evaluation for Copy Work

What I learn:
How to shoot two-dimensional subject and avoid unwanted reflection;
Being more familiar with bracketing exposure; if not sure about what exposure is
perfect, just apply several more and see which works best. One big advantage I find is
that on the small screen of the camera, it may not be convenient to decide whether the
exposure is satisfying or whether the details and textures are presented well; using
bracketing allows me to take several images and put them on computer screen to
select;
A better sense of what camera sees: as it regards “correct” as 18% gray,
sometimes if I do not want the subject be 18% gray, I should not blindly trust the light
meter. For the exercise, I prefer the VII 1/2 shot as it is white as the wallpaper’s
original color, while showing enough texture;
A better understanding of what light is, how different they are from each other,
and how white balance impacts the color effect. White balance “Daylight” makes
images warmer, as mentioned in textbook, skylight has a blue tone, so if you tell the
camera “the light has a blue tone outside”, it will correct the image by adding some
yellow.
A blurred sense of how to intentionally set different white balance to achieve
different color effect and create special mood. Still need more knowledge.

What I am not satisfied with myself:
I pay too much attention on fining different light condition and ignore the contents
of the images. Most of them are not worth seeing.
I prepared other two images for copy work; but in studio I found they were too
small to fill up the frame even if I used longest lens. Then I had to use another two
from a photography magazine, which were actually not straight photography. Though
they are also my interest: I want to learn more about environmental portrait lighting,
but it’s my fault not being well-prepared.

What questions I have:
Still not very much clear about different effects created by tungsten bulbs and
fluorescent tubes. I used both of these two white balances in mood lighting
assignment, but I still mix them up.
What should I do to shoot extremely white or extremely black subjects if I want to
show the texture? Or at least, if I do not want them to be over / under exposed? Or
sometimes the subject does not have much texture, like snow, but I still do not want
the snowy land looks like a piece of pale plastic paper?