Looking For Light

This article, originally published back in September of last year is still helpful with trying to find interesting lighting for photographs.

by William Lulow

Many of my students have heard me say many times, that if you learn studio lighting, you will never again look at a photograph or a scene, for that matter, without noticing the lighting. So, when I’m out with my camera looking for things to photograph, I’m always aware of the light. I’m really trying to find examples of my studio lightings that I have used often as they occur in nature. Once you are aware of what artificial light can do, it will definitely help you to make more impactful images.

So, here are just a couple of the STUDIO LIGHTINGS that I teach regularly in my classes:

One example of this is the EDGE LIGHT. This lighting gives a subject some highlight that makes the image more interesting. Look for the shadows to tell you from which direction the light is coming:

A bit of EDGE LIGHT on the Red Mill in Clinton, NJ. Or a SIDE LIGHT on some buildings in New York: 

Everywhere you look, you see light. Light is what makes our world visible! So knowing what you’re looking AT can help you more readily to see what you’re looking FOR! 

Here are some more examples:

EDGE LIGHT on some buoys in Maine. 

BACKLIGHT on some trees in Zermatt, Switzerland. Many images, of course are lit with diffused sunlight. We try to replicate that light with tools in the studio such as umbrellas and softboxes.

Here’s a SILHOUETTE LIGHT created in the studio, and one found in a park. The definition of this lighting is when the background is lit and the subject is not:

This is an example of sunlight diffused by heavy cloud cover:

Here, an image made with a kind of HOLLYWOOD LIGHT which is basically a light from the camera position, but high up:

As we know, light is necessary for life itself, but how light affects us as human viewers, is of equal importance. The lighting in a picture can be scary:

It can be mysterious:

And it can be thought-provoking,

as well as entertaining.

Photographers use light in different ways to convey different human emotions. Again, when you know what the light is and how to create it, you are much better equipped to recognize it when you see it. That’s what “looking for light” is all about. As image makers, we need to be aware of all types of lighting conditions so that we can reproduce them at will in the studio as well as take advantage of them as the occur naturally. 

So, again, learning what the classical studio lightings are called and how to set them up will teach you how to look for them as they occur naturally. It will also give you the ability to look for these types of lightings anywhere. 

This image was made with another, strong backlight. The highlights are part of what gives the photograph it’s strength:

So when we are out and about with our cameras, we need to be aware of what kind of light we are seeing and how it makes us think about the scenes we are encountering. This often helps us make more thought-provoking and stronger images.

Remember, anything light in an image tends to stand out. Anything dark tends to recede. So highlights can be very useful in communicating an “upbeat” kind of picture.