How to Use Lighting to Your Advantage to Take Stunning Photos
In photography, light is king.
We may like to believe we are in control, but the truth always come through when we look at our photos only to make every effort to restore poor lighting techniques through post-production editing.
The solution is simple; recognize lighting problems before you shoot.
By recognizing potential light problems up front you will be able to prevent losing some great shots to some technical errors that are relatively easy to avoid.
Natural Lighting Using natural lighting is perhaps the best source of light if applied properly.
Have you ever had your picture taken outdoors by someone who insisted you stare directly into the sun? We probably all have photographs where we are squinting hard with tears running down our cheeks; praying the photographer would hurry up and shoot before permanent blindness set in.
The photographer was technically using light source positioning to avoid silhouetting the subject, but there is no need to punish the subject.
Consider using reflectors when shooting outdoors with available natural light.
Reflectors are relatively inexpensive and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles.
You can use reflectors to capture natural light that is at an oblique angle to reduce shadows, such as the photo of my daughter taken on the beach pier in Biloxi, Mississippi.
OK, maybe she has to squint just a little, but the reflector enhances the overall photograph without resorting to forcing her to face directly into the sun.
Flash Photography When asked when to use a strobe flash most amateur photographers will immediately thing about indoor or nighttime photography.
Although they would be correct, flash is not restricted to nighttime or indoor use.
This photograph was taken in an open passage area on Al-Faw Palace, Baghdad, Iraq.
I had a lighting problem where I was shooting into a lighted area from a shadow.
In this photo I used a flash STO-FEN diffuser to fill the shadows, which, in my humble opinion, captured the subject quite well.
Indoor Lighting Flash accessories are used mostly when shooting indoors to supplement available light; however, this tends to create a color temperature problem.
Photographs that appear yellow are generally considered "warm" exposures and photographs that tend to be on the blue side are considered "cold" exposures.
This problem can be resolved relatively easily.
If you already have a photograph that is either too warm or too cold, use the "Color Temperature" adjustments in your post-production editing package.
Most photographs are between 4500-6000 kelvin; daylight is approximately 5000 kelvin.
Most digital cameras allow you to adjust the color temperature by either selecting the temperature range or selecting a pre-configured setting.
If you would like to learn more about mastering light sources, take a look at the book "Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting.
" This book is written in a somewhat technical format, but it explains the principles of using light in photography very well.
We may like to believe we are in control, but the truth always come through when we look at our photos only to make every effort to restore poor lighting techniques through post-production editing.
The solution is simple; recognize lighting problems before you shoot.
By recognizing potential light problems up front you will be able to prevent losing some great shots to some technical errors that are relatively easy to avoid.
Natural Lighting Using natural lighting is perhaps the best source of light if applied properly.
Have you ever had your picture taken outdoors by someone who insisted you stare directly into the sun? We probably all have photographs where we are squinting hard with tears running down our cheeks; praying the photographer would hurry up and shoot before permanent blindness set in.
The photographer was technically using light source positioning to avoid silhouetting the subject, but there is no need to punish the subject.
Consider using reflectors when shooting outdoors with available natural light.
Reflectors are relatively inexpensive and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles.
You can use reflectors to capture natural light that is at an oblique angle to reduce shadows, such as the photo of my daughter taken on the beach pier in Biloxi, Mississippi.
OK, maybe she has to squint just a little, but the reflector enhances the overall photograph without resorting to forcing her to face directly into the sun.
Flash Photography When asked when to use a strobe flash most amateur photographers will immediately thing about indoor or nighttime photography.
Although they would be correct, flash is not restricted to nighttime or indoor use.
This photograph was taken in an open passage area on Al-Faw Palace, Baghdad, Iraq.
I had a lighting problem where I was shooting into a lighted area from a shadow.
In this photo I used a flash STO-FEN diffuser to fill the shadows, which, in my humble opinion, captured the subject quite well.
Indoor Lighting Flash accessories are used mostly when shooting indoors to supplement available light; however, this tends to create a color temperature problem.
Photographs that appear yellow are generally considered "warm" exposures and photographs that tend to be on the blue side are considered "cold" exposures.
This problem can be resolved relatively easily.
If you already have a photograph that is either too warm or too cold, use the "Color Temperature" adjustments in your post-production editing package.
Most photographs are between 4500-6000 kelvin; daylight is approximately 5000 kelvin.
Most digital cameras allow you to adjust the color temperature by either selecting the temperature range or selecting a pre-configured setting.
If you would like to learn more about mastering light sources, take a look at the book "Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting.
" This book is written in a somewhat technical format, but it explains the principles of using light in photography very well.