How Light Is Used To Create Images-Update II
by William Lulow
Note: I publish articles like this often. The last time was back in January. Here is an updated version. The next articles will follow.
When you begin to study lighting, you will never look at a photograph again without noticing the light.
Most people who decide to take up photography do so because they are fascinated by the art form as a visual means of expression or they derive pleasure from “creating” an image. There are also those who progress to the point of wanting to make photography their career. Yet there are many photographers who begin their life’s work without really mastering the principles of good photographic lighting both natural and artificial. They may be able to recognize a well‑lit picture when they see one, but creating one from scratch is another matter. This is the beginning of a step‑by‑step way for those who are familiar with lighting and lighting set‑ups as well as for those who have never worked with artificial lighting at all, to improve their photographs
Light is the most important tool the photographer has. The camera is probably the least important. Lenses however, are right up there in importance. If you use a cheap lens on a good camera, your images will suffer. If you use a great lens on any camera, your images will be great. But, light is really the determining factor in how effectively your image communicates its intended ideas.
It doesn’t really matter what source the light comes from. What really matters is how you control it. Light can be controlled in many ways. It can be generated by an electronic flash unit. It can be from an ordinary light bulb. Or, it can be natural light from the sun. The important thing is that you need to learn to control it for your purposes.
How is light controlled? If you put a light bulb in an ordinary lamp socket with no shade or reflector, it will scatter the light rays in all directions. If you want to make a portrait, for example, this won’t help you much. So, the next step is to try to DIRECT the light toward your subject. The thought process here is that you need some kind of REFLECTOR to help direct the light. The most common type of reflector is the kind you might buy at a hardware store. It comes with a clamp so that you can affix it somewhere and direct the light where you need it. This is most commonly a worklight that would illuminate a workbench or desk. Again, if you wish to make a portrait, this kind of light will be harsh, create a lot of shadows and will be fairly weak in terms of the actual light it puts out. You can buy a PHOTOFLOOD bulb, which will be stronger, but for this you will need a larger reflector and perhaps some pot holders because it will get fairly hot.
To summarize, your first efforts at controlling light will involve using a LIGHT MODIFIER of some sort, either to direct the light where you want it, or to change it in some way.
Every type of lighting you will use in a studio setting or outdoors will involve some type of modification. It can be a sophisticated light bank or a simple reflector. Once you think of light in this way, you are on your way to understanding how to work with light to make images.
Here are some more sophisticated light modifiers:
Each has its own special job to do. Part of the process in learning what light does and how it behaves is to master the use of the various lighting tools available.
When it comes to natural light, that’s the kind created in our solar system by the sun. The sun’s light is mostly harsh. Because it is so far away from us (93million miles), it acts like kind of a pin point light source, very small in relation to us and our world. It creates harsh shadows that, at the middle of the day, when the sun is highest in the sky, are often very hard to deal with and create areas of no information in a photograph. But, if you are using the sun to illuminate your pictures, there are many things you can do to make your photography easier:
- You can shoot at the beginning or end of the day when the shadows are longer, but not generally as harsh
- You can wait until there are some clouds which act to disperse and diffuse the sunlight over a much larger area, therefore rendering it much softer with less or no shadows
- You can reflect the sun’s rays to make them appear less harsh
- You can use the sun’s light as a highlight rather than your main source of illumination
This will all be discussed further in an upcoming blog piece. But, in order to create an image, light has to be utilized in such a way as to illuminate your subject the way you want it to. When you really become aware of the light in every scene, you will be able to create some beautiful photographs.
