How Light Is used To Create Images – Seventh Update (4 of 4)

How Light Is Used To Create Images – Seventh Update (4 of 4)

by William Lulow

With all that has been said in the previous articles, a photographer needs to know exactly how to look for natural light and also how to apply light from various artificial sources in order to create dynamic images.

When I am out in the world trying to make an interesting image, I am always on the lookout for unusual light situations when they happen. For example, everyone has made images of sunsets or sunrises. The reason they are compelling is because of the light made by atmospheric refractions of the sun’s rays. But, if you are just photographing the sun itself, or the reflections of its light, you won’t get many great images unless those rays can light up something. It can be a structure, mountain or, in the best case scenario, clouds. Here is a good sunset, but perhaps not that interesting:

Now compare it to this one:

Here, you only see a sliver of the sun itself, but look at what those rays have done to the clouds and sky! As the sun sets, its rays are able to reflect off of the clouds that are much higher than the horizon creating brilliant colors. The sky alone, would not have produced this effect. So the ideal sunset is when there are clouds above and a relatively clear horizon that allows the sun’s rays to reflect off of them.

Knowing how to apply artificial light makes the task of “looking for light” much easier and it makes you much more aware of how the right application of light can make images really stand out. My technique for applying artificial light is to start simple. It all depends on what the subject is, but it always begins with ONE LIGHT. This is because in our universe, there is really only one light source, the sun. Each additional light that is added to a lighting arrangement either fills in the shadow areas or separates the subject photographically from the background in some way so that it stands out and can be easily seen by the viewer.

If the subject is a human being, I try to study the person and make an evaluation of what his or her best angles or sides are and begin with the use of one general light bounced into an umbrella. I then try to notice all the shadows (if any) and see what looks pleasing to my eye. The light from a photographic umbrella is going to be fairly soft to begin with, and mine is fairly large. Light from a smaller reflector will create more shadows. Of course, I always begin with a discussion of what the photo will be used for and the kind of image the person wants. This usually gives me a place to start (but not always). Sometimes, a lighting different from what I originally envisioned will strike the subject’s fancy and I’ll have to begin anew. That’s why the initial studio set up needs to be flexible. I had a portrait to do for a person’s company website. When I looked at the website, I noticed that all the other people depicted there were lit with rather dramatic lightings. In an instant, I had to change my idea of the kind of image I was going to make. Instead of a nice soft lighting, I had to use a much harder light than I thought to keep the portrait in keeping with others on the company’s site.

If it is a product that I have to shoot, my technique is similar. I set up my table top with the desired background (usually white no-seam paper), and begin to light the subject from several angles (one at a time), all the time paying specific attention to shadows, reflections and the details of the object itself. Lighting products is usually best if a rectangular softbox is used. The reason for this is that any reflections would not have an umbrella in them, and most products are rectangular in shape anyway. So, I usually have one softbox on a boom above the tabletop and perhaps two additional softboxes placed in front of the set. Lighting a product is very different from lighting a person.

I can then determine, based on highlights and the product’s shape, which one should be the main light and which the fill-ins. If it is a product with a label on it, I have to make sure that the label is sharp and readable. This is perhaps, the most important thing about a product shot for a client. He wants to be able to see and read the product’s information clearly. The viewer has to know immediately what it is and that it’s shown in the best light possible.

(This shot was difficult because the small bottles had to show up against the white background. The client had to be able to see all the elements in the product that she was selling.)

I then try to find the best lighting that will not only show the subject’s size and shape, but one that will add highlights to it as well. Once I’ve got the lighting I want, I try to tweak the setup so that it becomes visually interesting. After all, most clients who want their products photographed are trying to sell them. So, the images have to be informational, well-lit and eye-catching all at the same time – not always an easy task.

These days, since a fair amount of retouching can be done right after the image is created, it is something that I have learned to do quickly over the last decade or so. I went fully digital with my photography business back in 2001 and since then, I have steadily progressed with my Photoshop techniques so that I have pretty good control over the types of retouching I need to do for my clients. Usually, if it’s a corporate portrait it means smoothing some facial lines and cleaning up stray hairs, and in some cases, whitening teeth. Here’s an example:

This image was made with the following setup:

It contains my large portrait umbrella mainlight, a small softbox fill-in, a light for the background and two accent lights which produce the highlights on the subject’s hair. If the subject has dark hair, the highlights will separate the head from the background. If the subject has light hair, it will make it shine. 

Light is used to create images in many different ways, depending on what the subject is and how the photograph will be used. We have discussed the kinds of lights used in professional studio photography applications and we have talked about how light can be controlled in order to produce commercial and artistic results. But there are really endless ways light can be used to produce images. One just has to experiment and try them.