Photography is all About Light

When it comes to the world of photography, it’s all about light.  Without light you will just have a black canvas.

There are things we can do to create powerful images even in the lowest of light, but we have to have at least light available to us.  How we use that available light whether it is from a natural or artificial source is going to make or break an image.  But to understand how to use light correctly we have to understand the characteristics of light.

Quantity

Whether we are using natural or artificial light the first thing we have to think about is the quantity of light.  In other words how much light or better yet the intensity of the light we are working with.  What kind of light do we have and how strong is the light source?

When you walk into a movie, you can’t see anything for the first few minutes.  You can’t even find your seat.  But in a few minutes your eyes adjust.

Conversely when you walk out of a movie the sun is overpowering making it hard to see.

When you walk into a movie that is like an underexposed image.  When you walk out of a movie that is like an overexposed image.

Unlike our eyes, our camera can be adjusted instantly to deal with this situation.  But you have to know how to make these adjustments based on the intensity or quantity of light you are dealing with.

If you are shooting outdoors for example, late in the day or early in the morning the quantity of light is less than it is in mid-day.  This will affect how you expose your images and the end result.

Quality

Quality of light is something a lot of photographers get hung up on.  While in most case soft light or shooting during the golden hours when the quantity of light is lower will typically provide the best image.   Contrary to popular opinion this type of light is not mandatory to capture something captivating.

Light is typically broken up into soft and hard light.

Hard light would be a direct flash on your subject or a mid-day sun.  Hard light is typically characterized by its hard shadows and blown out highlights.  But these effects from hard light can be used to your advantage to create a dramatic effect in your image.

Soft light is typically more flattering creating softer tones and curves.  Aside from shooting at the right time of day to get a softer light you can use what are commonly referred to as modifiers.  Modifiers are things like diffusers that absorb and spread the light out on your subject to create a less dramatic image and reduce shadows.

Color Temperature

Color temperature is something many new photographers struggle with.  Even though lite looks clear to our human eye, all light sources emit a color cast that our camera will pick up.  That is why you camera has different white balance settings.  You camera needs to know what is actually white in the image so it can correct the rest of the colors to produce an accurate image.

Pictures are commonly referred to in terms like “warm” and “cool”.

Color temperature is measured on a Kelvin Scale from 1,000 which is warm and reddish to 10,000 which is blue and cold.  Tungsten and florescent lights among others are somewhere in the middle.

Most digital cameras these days do a good job in daylight using auto white balance to create an accurate image.  But when you are shooting in artificial lighting most cameras struggle unless you set the white balance manually.  For example when shooting a sporting event at night the tungsten or florescent lights will make you image look blue or green.  By setting the white balance correctly the camera is able to accurately process the colors.

This is where shooting in RAW is helpful because it allows you more flexibility in post processing to correct the colors if they were not accurate when you shot the picture.

Direction

The direction of light can make or break an image.  Depending on the effect you are going for the direction of the light can covey completely different messages in your picture.

You have the option of using backlight and silhouetting your subject.  Or you can use side light to create a dramatic shadow.  And of course you can have the light source directly on your subject.  Depending on the quantity and quality of the light it may change where the direction you have the light source come from.

You can change the direction of the light by moving your subject or by moving your light source if you are using artificial light.  When shooting outdoors with natural light for things like landscapes the only way to move your light source is to wait for the sun to move through the sky.

Paying attention to the direction of light is something most new photographers fail to do.  But once you learn to do this you will notice your images are significantly improved.

Look at some of your old images or go out and take some new ones paying attention to these four characteristics of light.  Be aware of how these affect your image quality.  After a while of consciously thinking about these characteristics it will become second nature.  Your pictures will be much better once you master light.  Controlling the light is what separates amateurs from professionals.