How Light Is Used To Create Images-Fifth Update (One Light)
by William Lulow
Note: I publish articles like this often. The last time was sometime last year. Here is the next updated version. I update these when I have new facts, equipment or techniques that I use. The following steps will be published after this one.
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 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. And “control” is the key word here. If you want to create great images, you need to learn that light can be controlled not only by artificial sources but also how you position yourself (and the camera) vis-a-vis that light. In other words, you can use natural light, but you have to learn to take advantage of its various properties, always keeping in mind the kind of image you want to make. Natural light is mostly controlled by camera position. With that said, here is an image I just waited for:
My friend, the amazingly accomplished Tony DePaolo, was playing in a very dimly lit room. It did have these lights mounted on the ceiling however, so I just waited until Tony turned his head upward so that the lights would strike his face and I was able to make this image. In all of the other shots, with his head looking down at the guitar, there just wasn’t enough light on his face to make an acceptable image.
How is artificial 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.
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. Any light that is aimed directly at a subject will create a striking image. Here, Ashley and Dave Beth from Sugar Lime Blue:
Again, this is an example of a lighting that I didn’t directly control, but only took advantage of in order to create an image. The lighting was set up by the stage manager of a nightclub, but I was able to turn it into a dramatic portrait of a performer by placing the camera in a position where the background had no light on it and just the musician’s face was lit. This is also an example of a “light found” as opposed to set up by the photographer. But, if you know your studio lightings, you will be much better able to recognize them when they occur naturally. You will even be able to “control” your images better by knowing how to take advantage of ambient light.
More information will follow in the next series of posts.
