分类: Student

9th Assignment at GCC

12/14/2025

Our 9th assignment for my advanced photo lighting class was intended to be a portrait diptych. There were some parameters for the assignment, but of course, I broke the rules, haha! However, we were given the freedom to use any technique we learnt in the class so far. So I decided to play with the lighting effects we practiced in the Blur/Sharp assignment. I loved learning that technique so much, & I just wanted another reason to play with it again!

Here is the diptych as a single composite (top), followed by the 2 image files separately (middle). Later, I decided to collage the images together in Photoshop & I wrote a little haiku to accompany it (bottom). More explanation on the concept at the bottom — keep reading!

I'm also planning to make the photo collage into a risograph print. Comment below if you're interested in buying one later! They'll likely be available in the new year (after I wrap up other projects).

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF, a 24-70mm lens, a Paul C. Buff strobe with a 20 grid attached, & a red bike light.

Click any image below to enlarge.

Diptych composite:

Individual image files:

Collage + Haiku

The parameters for this assignment required that we make 2 photos in the same orientation (either both portrait or both landscape). Originally, I'd played with cropping the left image, but the full image just didn't look right cropped — it needed to be the full thing. And the other images photographed in portrait orientation just weren't as dynamic with the lighting. SO, all that to say, I decided to break that requirement, cuz fuck it. As far as portrait goes, I decided to be more abstract with my interpretation of what a portrait looks like, instead of just creating a standard portrait of someone's face.

Inspiration: These flowers are marigolds I'd planted from seeds at the beginning of summer. The whole time, I was hoping they'd be ready in time for Day of the Dead this year (Araw ng mga Patay/Undas/Dia de los Muertos). I spent so much time caring for & tending to them. Lucky for me, they were ready in time & it felt like such a blessing to be able to spend so much time with them & have them finally say hello. When I photographed them, they were in the stage of transitioning out & I wanted to document them before their time with us was up. The red light blurs kind of conveys an otherworldly/metaphysical presence.

Process: As you can see in the BTS photos, I used a single strobe for both images (fired at the lowest power) as well as a red bike light (set at the highest brightness). I strapped the bike light onto the tripod for the flower photo & onto the railing for the hand photo. I used a long exposure, set the camera to self-timer & set the shutter to fire 5x in a row. To get the red blur effect on the flower bush, I shook the bush as the strobe & camera shutter both fired. Let me tell you, having the camera create 5 exposures in a row was a genius move, cuz I had various options to choose from later! Then, for the hand image, my partner was kind enough to let me use his hand to fill in as I manually focused the lens, & he shook the bush as I posed my hand in front of the camera. Totally not intentional either, the white flower just happened to land perfectly in the frame & it was then that I knew that was the composition I was gonna go with!

BTS/PROCESS:

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5th-8th Assignments at GCC

12/7/2025

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It's been a while since I've updated this space on the photo assignments I've been working on in my advanced lighting class at Glendale Community College!

These photos haven't been my favorite I've produced for the class & I don't think they're my best work, but I want to share the process of what I've been learning & the attempts I've been making to further improve & elevate my photography skills. Not everything I share will always be perfect & polished, but even after nearly 20 years doing photography, I'm still always in a constant state of practicing & learning, & I just want to share this for anyone who's ever feeling discouraged, anyone who's new to photography, or might be considering getting into it.

Below, I am sharing assignments 5-8, with the top being the most recent assignments. All photos were made with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

Click any image below to enlarge!

Assignment 8:
Inside Out/ Favorite Window

We learnt how to use flash fill for lighting interiors with windows, without washing out the ambient light coming in from the windows! Of course, I chose the hardest room in our house to photograph: our bathroom. It very small & cramped for all the photography & lighting equipment, making it very difficult to control the light. However, my instructor said considering how small the room was & the risk I had of light bouncing off the tiles, he said I did a decent job of not making the photo look over-lit! I used one Paul C. Buff strobe with a grid attached.

He also asked us to show what the photos looked like when we bracketed with the shutter speed, so that's shown below in the little screenshot thumbnail gallery I made from Lightroom.

And for those of you who don't know, I'm obsessed with the documentary series Never Too Small (NTS). Haha! More on this again later.

Assignment 7:
Blur/Sharp

We learnt how to light the background with continuous lighting & strobe for the model (or subject matter). For the background, I used an old shower curtain, which was not quite high contrast enough. I used a red gel on a continuous light to light the background, plus a ProFoto strobe.

The background lighting on the first 2 aren't quite right, so I doubled up the red gel & added a neutral density (ND) grey gel to make the red more intense.

I used a long exposure & added movement to the photos to create the blur effects as the stobe fired. Shoutout to my classmate, Ani, for being a stellar model. :)

Assignment 6:
Flashlight Portrait

Introducing our old ass teddy bear, Grandpa Bear, AKA GB or Gorilla Biscuits. Instead of using a person as my model, poor GB was subject to another one of our games, haha! I photographed this at a long exposure on bulb, I think for 10 seconds. My partner, AKA best assistant in the world, used a white bike light to light GB, then I went in with a red bike light to create the lasso effect. When I'd done this assignment, we were just in the process of rewatching Titans on HBO, & I was feeling inspired by Wonder Girl's lasso!

Assignment 5:
Flash Fill with Portrait

We were prompted to create this series of portraits, documenting the different effects of strobe lighting at different angles, using white fill cards to add fill to the model, or using a second strobe to add additional fill. Can you spot the differences?

I used Paul C. Buff strobes for these.

Shoutout to our class teaching assistant for modeling for me & also giving me pointers during the session!

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4th Assignment at GCC

10/15/2025

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Here is my 4th photo assignment for my advanced lighting class at GCC! The assignment was to create a portrait of a model with a cleanly lit white backdrop using only 3 lights. As you will see in the BTS photo, my model has 1 strobe with a softbox attachment to light her & a white card to add some fill in the shadows. You can't see the lights in the BTS photo, but the background is lit with 2 strobes firing into 2 white v-flats, which then reflected light onto the seamless backdrop, creating a consistent & clean white backdrop.

Shoutout to my model, Kas, for being such a good sport & also for being so photogenic. Isn't she gorgeous?

The second part of the assignment, which was harder than it looked, was to photograph a silhouette portrait with no light spill or wraparound from the background lights falling onto the model at all, with a white backdrop. This was harder to accomplish than I thought it would be! I thought it would be as simple as just turning off the light on the model, but it wasn't. When I first attempted the silhouette with Kas, I could not figure out how her silhouette was still getting light on her, even if it was very faint. The assignment required the silhouette to be flat black with no light whatsoever.

After spending 4 hours setting up the lights & photographing in the studio, I needed to pack up & try again later. I sent my instructor the silhouette photos I was able to create with Kas & asked for feedback, told him what I tried, & asked what else I could try? He recommended backing the model & camera further away from the backdrop & zooming my lens out all the way. Well... I had another go & this did the trick! I knew from the beginning I wanted to experiment with sheer fabric to see how it would react to the light on silhouette, & it totally gave the effect I wanted it to. I'm so glad I decided to give it another try!

For these photos, we practiced on different lights that were more powerful than the Paul C. Buff strobes we'd been using in the previous assignments — the Norman D24 strobes.

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1st Assignment at GCC

9/23/2025

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Some of you know, I’ve been taking a studio lighting class this fall! I got an undergraduate degree in photography & I took studio lighting 14 years ago, but retained none of the info, haha! Aside from an occasional on-camera flash, I never use lighting in my work. I wanted to see how much tech has changed since then, & the class has been a good refresher on how to use strobes. I appreciate how technical the class is, unlike the studio lighting class I took in art school, which was too focused on the conceptual. The instructor is also a photographer I worked with at my last job, & he encouraged me to take it. :)

This was for our first assignment. The assignment was to create a still life set & light it to photograph texture, using only one strobe & any mods. I used a Paul C. Buff strobe with a fill card. The setup & exposure can use some work, but I’m happy with the practice I’ve been getting in this class. The environment in community college feels way more supportive than it did in art school, & I feel much more motivated to try & give it my best.

We are required to keep lighting diagrams of our assignments. So here's a peak at what my lighting setup looked like! Like I said, it's not perfect & it still needs some work, but I am learning & practicing.

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9th Assignment at GCC

Diptych composite:

Individual image files:

Collage + Haiku

BTS/PROCESS:

5th-8th Assignments at GCC

Assignment 8:
Inside Out/ Favorite Window

Assignment 7:
Blur/Sharp

Assignment 6:
Flashlight Portrait

Assignment 5:
Flash Fill with Portrait

4th Assignment at GCC

1st Assignment at GCC

NICA AQUINO

Archives

Categories

9th Assignment at GCC

Diptych composite:

Individual image files:

Collage + Haiku

BTS/PROCESS:

5th-8th Assignments at GCC

Assignment 8:​Inside Out/ Favorite Window

Assignment 7:​Blur/Sharp

Assignment 6:​Flashlight Portrait

Assignment 5:​Flash Fill with Portrait

4th Assignment at GCC

1st Assignment at GCC

NICA AQUINO

Archives

Categories

Assignment 8:
Inside Out/ Favorite Window

Assignment 7:
Blur/Sharp

Assignment 6:
Flashlight Portrait

Assignment 5:
Flash Fill with Portrait