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Light is everything!
It is the key to enhancing your creativity
in photography and will be the most important element in developing
a personal style.
Now it's time to use more dramatic
lighting. Color,
direction
and quality
are the essential elements of dramatic light. Go forth and seek
dramatic light. Follow it whenever possible.
The
color of light changes as the sun moves
across the sky. In the early morning and late afternoon, when the
sun is low, the light has a warm, orange-yellow glow. It also produces
long shadows and textures, lending a two-dimensionality to your
subject making it some of the best light for dramatic images.
Later
in the day, the higher the sun climbs, the light becomes "cooler",
that is it has a more "natural" look. If the sun is
blocked by clouds, or you are photographing your subject in the
shade on
a sunny day, or you are at high altitude, your pictures will have
a bluish-gray cast to them. There is nothing wrong with your
camera, it is the color of the light! If you have a digital camera
set your white balance to cloudy or shade. If you still shoot
film, you can correct this with a warming filter.
The
best times for that warm light are from
sunrise to about 60-90 minutes after sunrise and again in the evening
from 60-90 minutes before sunset until sunset. At the height of
summer that warm light disappears much quicker, but in the winter,
when the sun seems to rise more slowly, it will last longer.
The direction from which light strikes
a subject can dramatically enhance or subtract from the image. The
main directions are front, side, top and back. Moving your subject,
or yourself, can often provide the solution to unflattering light,
but if not, you may need to return at the correct time of day.
Front
lighting will give you colorful pictures, the ones you've already
been taking, but they've become boring, haven't they? The reason
they look flat is because the sculpting shadows that create depth
and two-dimensionality are now falling directly behind your subject.
Investigate the trade offs in moving yourself. If a short, flat
walk produces a better angle it is definitely worth the effort.
The only front light that is flattering is, of course, the early
morning or late afternoon light with its warm glows. You can use
it to make nice portraits or photograph other details such as buildings
with pleasing results.
Side
lighting is the best kind of light to capture drama and mood
in land and cityscapes. This kind of light emphasizes textures,
shapes and colors by introducing a third dimension to your subjects.
Add to this the special glow of morning or evening light and you
have all the drama you may want-without the bad weather. Use it
whenever possible. Be aware though that the long shadows will not
be so flattering in portraits, unless you want to emphasize somebody's
wrinkles.
Back
lighting is frequently used for dramatic silhouettes, such
as in sunset shots, but also at other times of the day. Back light
can be very evocative, even romantic as it highlights specific
elements,
such as the outline of a cloud, rising smoke or sea spray. In portraits
it creates halos around hair and body. However, be aware that strong
back light can fool your camera's meter and you may end up with
an underexposed portrait unless you compensate for this (i.e. by
using a touch of fill-flash). Also take care that back light does
not shine directly into the lens as it produces flare. Another
creative use of back light is to
emphasize translucence. Let back light shine through the dense
foliage of trees, a cluster of leaves, even flowers and clouds
for an almost
ethereal image.
Top
lighting is the direction of light at mid-day. It is the least
desirable of all as it not only washes out
colors, but is also
too
bright
and harsh. In portraits, top light
produces all the wrong shadows (under the eye and even under the
nose). Thankfully there is an easy
solution: move your (human) subject out of the direct sunlight
and into open
shade
(see
below). Otherwise, slightly underexpose and/or use a polarising
filter to darken the scene a bit and enhance colors. Back
to the top
The
quality of light, in addition to the
position of the sun, is determined mainly by weather.
The most dramatic light occurs during inclement or less than
ideal
weather. Sun striking a mountain as a storm is brewing right behind
it. The sun illuminating the edges of a cloud, before it emerges
from behind. Rain and fog produce soft, even lighting and
colors are richer, more saturated, lending a painterly feel to
landscapes.
And here's another secret, rain streaks almost disappear against
a light grey sky.
Overcast
skies and open shade are often wrongly maligned.
In fact, overcast skies act like one giant diffuser giving you
the soft and low contrast light you want to reveal details not
visible
in high contrast light. It also saturates colors giving them the
extra punch that will make your pictures stand out. In portraits
you will have even lighting across the face without the harsh shadows
of direct light. It also eliminates the problem of squinting eyes.
Look for striking colors, shapes and patterns that can stand alone
without sculpting shadows, but be sure to crop out the grey, featureless
sky from your composition.
Twilight
and Dusk light is the time before sunrise and after sunset.
It is the best time to take those "night" shots, a scene
illuminated with artificial light. At this time there is still enough
ambient light to separate buildings and other subjects from the
sky . Even on gloomy, overcast days, the sky will turn a royal blue
after sunset or be bathed in sunset colors on bright sunny days.
It is also an ideal time to capture a rising or setting moon. You
will definitely need a tripod.
Candle
light, campfires and other incandescent light
are light sources that can lend a very dramatic if not romantic
feel to your image. The color of these light sources is much warmer
than normal daylight and will certainly capture the mood of the
scene. (Digital shooters should set the white balance to incandescent,
usually represented by a glowing lightbulb. A general light meterreading
of your camera will render the scene
underexposed.
If you
have
a spot
meter,
use
it to meter the light falling on the face of your subject without
including the light source itself in the reading. If you don't
have
a spot meter, bracket your shots by opening up ½ a stop
at a time all the way to +3 stops until you get a good feel for
how
much you need to overexpose from your camera's meter reading. Shutter
speeds will generally be too slow to hand hold, so be prepared
with
a tripod or a suitable substitute, such as the edge of a table,
or rock ledge. Be sure any automatic flash is turned off and use
the self-timer to avoid additional camera shake which can occur
when pressing the shutter.
Back
to the top
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