In creating the Theme or Purpose of a photograph, in addition to the other technical elements of composition, an accomplished photographer must give careful consideration to light. Although the topic may sound simple, it's really much more complicated - even for a "Fundamentals" approach. The topic of Light has been broken into four sub-headings.
Types Of Light
The human eye and brain see a white sheet of paper as "white" under
many lighting conditions. Unfortunately, cameras and film are generally not as
adaptable. Most indoor light contains different wavelengths than the outdoors light
from the sun. A photograph taken with the popular daylight film using indoors light
will have an orange-ish cast to it. If you need to take an indoors photo, you should
normally use your electronic flash, which gives off light the same color as the sun.
A second quality of light important to photographers is its "texture." A "Harsh" (or crisp) light is one found on bright, cloudless days where distinct shadows are cast. This Harsh light will show great details in an image - this might be good for a landscape or flower photo but not-so-good for somebody's portrait (each facial hair and blemish will be clear). In Harsh light, the difference between light and shadow areas can be a challenge for a photographer since shadows are so dark, things can disappear in them. A "Soft" (or diffuse) light can be found on overcast days where there are no distinct shadows. Such light is a good portrait light, but tends to make a landscape photo look "muddy."
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This photograph was taken indoors, but used Harsh sunlight through a window. The Harsh light shows the cat whiskers and fur distinctly. The deep shadow on the left adds an element of mystery to the photo as only a portion of the cat's face is visible. |
Correct Amount
Remember Goldilocks when you think about camera film - there is a "just
right" amount of light which will properly expose the film. Film responds to
the total light it experiences, consequently, the same amount of light can be gathered
through a large lens opening for a short period of time - or a small lens opening over a
long period of time. This equivalence is usually called "reciprosity" in
photography. In most modern cameras, the electronic exposure control system
determines the combination of shutter speed and aperture for the correct amount of light.
If you can take manual control of your camera's shutter speed and aperture (or select one
in priority over the other), you might want to do further research in this topic to see
the different effects you can create.
Fast shutter (1/500th)
- stops motion
Slow shutter
(1/30th) - blurs motion
Large aperture, indicated by a small f-stop (f2.8) - shallow depth of sharp focus
Small aperture,
indicated by a large f-stop (f22) - great depth of sharp focus
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In this waterfall photo, I had to make a decision since I can take manual control of my camera's shutter speed and aperture. I could have used a really fast shutter speed and froze each drop of water going over the edge. I also could have used a very slow shutter speed (and small aperture) to cause the flowing water to look like a blurred, velvety ribbon. I selected 1/125 of a second. That seemed like a good compromise and produced the water effect I was looking for. |
Direction Of Light
When preparing to take your photograph, think a moment about the
direction of light. Is it coming from the side? Behind your subject?
Behind YOU? If behind YOU, where is your shadow? Many snapshooters are
surprised to see their shadow in their developed photos. If light is behind your
subject, and the light is Harsh, is your camera's light sensor going to react to the
background light or properly adjust for the backlighting?
| EXAMPLE | |
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If you have visited Devils Tower in Wyoming, you know you can walk and drive all the way around. I selected this angle because of the direction and quality of light. It was a clear day, so the light was Harsh and shadows were dark. I wanted to include shadow to give the tower a three dimensional feeling, but because details were lost in the deep shadows, I kept it as small as possible and allowed the Harsh light to show the details in the rock face. |
Electronic Flash
The Electronic Flash is a valuable tool for an accomplished
photographer. The flash delivers a burst of light which can substitute for
sunlight. The three most common mistakes made with a flash are using one too close,
using one too far away, and having a finger (or hair) blocking the light from the flash.
While most people are comfortable using the flash indoors, few have discovered the improvements to outdoor photographs when the flash adds a touch of fill light. If your owner's manual describes Fill Flash, you might take a few moments to see how to set it up.
| EXAMPLE | |
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This photo of our Stained Birdhouse Gourd was taken outside on a hazy overcast day. Although the camera's exposure control system would have taken a properly exposed photo with ambient light alone, I set the camera for a Fill Flash. The little extra light brightened the color of the gourd and added a couple of reflections, which added visual interest. This supported my purpose of making the gourd look good enough to purchase. |
