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Understand Lighting when it comes to Photography

Writer: Amanda BierbaumAmanda Bierbaum

Light

To master your images, master light. Become sensitive to the magic of light and the shadows casted from the type of light source you are working with.




How does an object or subject reflect and absorb light!?

Get the most out of natural light.

Overcast is great

Direct light is too harsh

Temperature / Color of light

Size of light source

Intensity

Direction of light

  • Front light - can be harsh if portrait...use based on subject and effect.

  • Backlight - difficult to work with, but can create dramatic images

  • Sidelight - casts shadows and shows more texture and depth

  • Hard Light - hard shadows

  • Even light - cloudy is best - forests - great for complex detailed information

  • Soft light - around sunset

  • Spot light - beams of light

  • Warm light - the golden hour sunrise and sunset

SUN vs SHADE

Sunny - Great light in am and evening

Black and white photos work GREAT for middle of day because of the shadows

Adds contrast to an image.

Sports and action

If you have to shoot in direct sunlight, MOVE TO THE SHADE! =)

Shade - Great for lighting all day!

Don't let your eyes fool you, your eyes adjust to your elements you are exposed to. The camera doesn’t adjust, you manually select the settings so you can capture some magic the naked eye won’t see.

Quality of Outdoor Light

Natural light has different qualities

Warm tones or Cool Tones

Can be soft or hard

The quality of the light that shows in your images will depend on outdoor conditions as well as the time of day.


 
 
 

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