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We start this week by taking a closer look at the character of light and how the quality of light will affect your images.
We start this week by taking a closer look at the character of light and how the quality of light will affect your images.
Light is more than just how bright or dark it is; it’s also the key to the look, mood and atmosphere of your images. The direction of the light will affect how the shape and texture of your subject appears, while the colour and how soft or harsh the light is can totally change a shot’s appearance.
Light’s very important, so in this series we’ll show how a few simple camera tricks and techniques can guarantee better images – from choosing the right time to visit a photo location to taking complete control of the light by using flash.
You’ll also discover how to alter the character and contrast of photography lighting by using diffusers and reflectors. As you’ll learn, there’s nothing esoteric about mastering light, as much of it comes down to careful planning…
Understanding the character of light
There are three basic characteristics of light that determine how your shot will look: how harsh or soft it is, the direction and the colour.
It’s easiest to tell the quality of the light by looking at the shadows, rather than the areas in the light. Harsh, direct light creates strong, well-defined shadows, while the shadows created by more diffuse lighting are much softer.
The location of the shadows tells you where the light is coming from, as they appear on the opposite side to the light.
Lighting positions
How hard or soft the light appears is due to the apparent size of the light source from the subject’s position.
A small light source produces hard, directional light, while a very large light source produces much softer light.
A small light source produces hard, directional light, while a very large light source produces much softer light.
Remember it isn’t the actual size of the light that matters; it’s how it appears to the subject that you are shooting.
For example, the sun is huge, but because it is so far from the subject it acts like a tiny light source.
The direction of a light source, and the shadows it creates, will affect how the texture and form of the subject will appear.
Light from the camera position (or behind it) will produce flat light on the subject, and also create shadows directly behind the subject.
This is good for capturing fine detail, but won’t reveal much of the texture or shape in the subject.
You’ll get much more interesting results when the light is coming from one side of the subject. This effect, known as side lighting, produces shadows on the opposite side to the position of the light, revealing texture and contours in the subject.
A common photography lighting situation you’ll encounter shooting outside during the middle of the day is when the light is falling from above the subject.
This can create unflattering results, especially when shooting portraits, as the eyes will be dark, and there will be shadows under the nose and chin.
How white balance affects the quality of photography lighting
Along with the quality and direction of the light, the colour of different light sources can have an effect on the appearance and mood of your images.
This variation in light is known as the colour temperature, and it’s why your camera has a white balance setting to correct the colours from these different coloured light sources.
The colour temperature of light is measured using the Kelvin scale. The lower the colour temperature, the more red the light will be, while the higher it is the more blue.
Normally you’d set a white balance to get neutral coloured results, either by using the automatic setting, or a preset white balance such as Tungsten, Sunny or Cloudy. But by setting the ‘wrong’ white balance you can also use these presets to give warmer or cooler results.
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How to control your photography lighting
With a few props you can experiment with lighting set-ups. Move a lamp into different positions and note the effect that this has on your subject, and the shadows. You’ll need a high ISO such as 800 or 1600 to get a fast shutter speed and avoid shake. See our disc for more DIY lighting tips!
1 Front light
With the light behind the camera, and pointing directly at the subject, you’ll get very flat lighting. This is the same as you’ll get by shooting with the sun behind you or using an on-camera flash.
With the light behind the camera, and pointing directly at the subject, you’ll get very flat lighting. This is the same as you’ll get by shooting with the sun behind you or using an on-camera flash.
2 Side light
Moving the light to one side of the subject produces a far more interesting light, as it shows the shape of the subject much more than when the light is coming from the camera position.
Moving the light to one side of the subject produces a far more interesting light, as it shows the shape of the subject much more than when the light is coming from the camera position.
3 Back light
With the light behind the subject you get a completely different effect. This time most of the light is hitting the side of the subject, which creates a more atmospheric and moody image.
With the light behind the subject you get a completely different effect. This time most of the light is hitting the side of the subject, which creates a more atmospheric and moody image.
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Simple ways of improving the light
In this section we take a look at some of the easy ways you can improve the light available to you.
Controlling the light for large subjects such as landscapes is impossible, but for smaller subjects such as portraits, close-ups or details in the landscape you don’t always have to make do with the lighting conditions exactly as they are.
There are plenty of different ways that you can alter the light, especially when you find yourself having to shoot in harsh, direct lighting conditions.
As we have already explained, to get softer light you need to make the light source appear larger to the subject. Moving the light closer to the subject will help to produce softer light, but this isn’t always convenient, or even possible.
Without a diffuser
If you are shooting a small subject in sunlight, then you need to use a diffuser between the light and the subject, to make the light source appear much larger.
This doesn’t have to be an expensive piece of kit, it can simply be a piece of semi-transparent white paper or cloth, or you could go for one of the folding diffusers such as those from Lastolite.
With a diffuser
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Use a reflector to fill in the shadows
Without a reflector
Another way to deal with contrast when shooting in bright sunshine is to add light into the shadows by using a reflector to bounce light back onto the subject.
Unlike a diffuser, this doesn’t soften the light, instead it reduces the amount of contrast between the darkest and lightest areas of the subject.
Simply position the reflector so that it’s on the opposite side to the light source, then adjust the angle of the reflector until the light from it fills in the shadows on the subject.
With a reflector
There are plenty of commercially available reflectors, in a range of sizes, but you can also use a piece of white card, or even make your own by covering card in silver or gold foil.
Using different colours and materials will affect the results you get. For example, a white reflector will produce more subtle results than a highly reflective surface such as silver, while a gold reflector will add a warmer light to the shadows.
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Use a burst of flash
An alternative way to lighten the shadows in strong sunlight is to use a burst of flash, rather than a reflector.
For subjects close to the camera the built-in flash is perfect for this technique, but it isn’t powerful enough for subjects that are more than two to three metres away from the camera. In this situation you’ll need to use a more powerful flashgun.
How to use fill-in flash
The easy way to banish ugly shadows from your shots
1 Set your flash to automatic TTL
Your flash’s automatic TTL setting is good for creating fill light, especially if the distance between the flash and the subject is likely to change. If you are using an external flash, make sure that this is set to TTL.
Your flash’s automatic TTL setting is good for creating fill light, especially if the distance between the flash and the subject is likely to change. If you are using an external flash, make sure that this is set to TTL.
2 Check the exposure
Take a test shot to make sure that the flash is powerful enough to light your subject, and check the results on the rear LCD. If the subject you’re lighting is still too dark you’ll need to move closer.
Take a test shot to make sure that the flash is powerful enough to light your subject, and check the results on the rear LCD. If the subject you’re lighting is still too dark you’ll need to move closer.
3 Reduce the flash power
If the subject is too bright compared to the background you can use the flash exposure compensation feature for more subtle results. Press the button marked (flash) +/-, and use the dial to set it to -1.
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If the subject is too bright compared to the background you can use the flash exposure compensation feature for more subtle results. Press the button marked (flash) +/-, and use the dial to set it to -1.
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Predicting the natural light
The old-fashioned way of looking at maps and using a sun compass still works, but there are plenty of smartphone, tablet or desktop apps, like The Photographer’s Ephemeris or Sun Seeker.
These allow you to accurately predict the position of the sun for any time or date, but you still need to keep an eye on the weather to know whether it will be clear or cloudy.
Above left and right: Choosing whether to shoot into the light or with the light behind you will make a huge difference to the results that you are able to achieve
Above left and right: The lovely warm colours and strong side light of this shot taken just after sunrise (right) produce far more striking results
than the much cooler light in the same shot taken just 30 minutes later (left)
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Shoot in the direction of light
When you’re shooting into the light, the exposure you choose is absolutely critical to the final look of your shots. Here’s how it works…
01 Avoiding flare
A lens hood will help avoid flare if the light source is just outside the frame, but if it’s still affecting your shot you can try shading the front of the lens with your hand or a piece of card. Be careful to avoid it appearing in your shot though.
A lens hood will help avoid flare if the light source is just outside the frame, but if it’s still affecting your shot you can try shading the front of the lens with your hand or a piece of card. Be careful to avoid it appearing in your shot though.
02 Expose for a silhouette
To expose for the background, and record the main subject as a silhouette, try using the Exposure Compensation feature to reduce the exposure. A setting of -1 will usually be enough to create a silhouette effect.
To expose for the background, and record the main subject as a silhouette, try using the Exposure Compensation feature to reduce the exposure. A setting of -1 will usually be enough to create a silhouette effect.
03 Expose for the main subject
If you want to capture more detail in the foreground subject you’ll need to increase the exposure. Use the Exposure Compensation feature, setting the indicator to +1. If it’s still too dark, try increasing the value to +2.
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If you want to capture more detail in the foreground subject you’ll need to increase the exposure. Use the Exposure Compensation feature, setting the indicator to +1. If it’s still too dark, try increasing the value to +2.
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Master shooting in low light conditions
In his section we take a look at the best settings and methods to use when shooting in low light.
From dimly lit interiors to shooting outdoors before sunrise or after sunset, shooting in low light presents very different challenges to shooting in bright conditions.
It’s often difficult to get the right exposure using the automatic modes in dark conditions, so you’ll need to master Manual mode.
These conditions can also make things like focusing and white balance more challenging, but it’s worth overcoming them, because shooting in low light can result in stunning images.
Exposing in low light
Shooting in darker conditions can play havoc with your camera’s exposure settings, especially if you’re using any of the automatic exposure modes, because the subject will rarely contain a normal range of tones.
In most low-light situations you will get much better, and more predictable, results by switching to Manual.
If the subject contains mainly dark tones you’ll find that your camera will over-expose your shots. This is easily visible, as there will be too much detail in the shadow areas.
The best way to assess the exposure is to take a test shot, and then check the histogram graph. If there’s a gap to the left, the image is over-exposed so you need to use a faster shutter speed, smaller aperture or lower ISO.
When it comes to choosing the exposure settings for shooting in low light you have some decisions to make.
Firstly, do you need to use a fast shutter speed to freeze movement or prevent camera shake if you are handholding the camera, or are you happy to put the camera on a tripod and use long shutter speeds?
To use a fast shutter speed in low light you’ll have to use a high ISO setting, such as 800 or above. But when using a tripod you should set a lower ISO such as 200 or lower for the best quality.
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Shooting in twilight vs complete darkness
Twilight
The soft, cool light that occurs for a short time before sunrise or after sunset can produce stunning conditions for photography.
The soft, cool light that occurs for a short time before sunrise or after sunset can produce stunning conditions for photography.
You should try to shoot when there is still some colour and detail left in the sky, so you won’t have a long time to get your shots.
Most of the light at these times will be reflected from the whole of the sky, so the light is usually very soft, and has a blue colour.
The light levels at twilight will be very low, so it’s perfect for exploring long-exposure techniques, such as blurring moving clouds or water. Make sure your camera is on a tripod, and that you use a remote release.
Nightscapes
From street lights and traffic to moonlight, there are plenty of light sources that you can use for amazing images even after dark.
From street lights and traffic to moonlight, there are plenty of light sources that you can use for amazing images even after dark.
The mixture of bright lights and dark shadows of your local town or city after dark are perfect for shooting nightscapes.
Keep the noise down
To minimise noise when shooting long exposures, switch your camera’s Long Exposure Noise Reduction function on. This usually only works for shutter speeds longer than around five seconds though.
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To minimise noise when shooting long exposures, switch your camera’s Long Exposure Noise Reduction function on. This usually only works for shutter speeds longer than around five seconds though.
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How to shoot handheld in low light
Here’s how to set up your camera for shooting handheld in low light
1 Set the ISO
Set your ISO to a high setting such as 800, and then check the shutter speed that you need to get the correct exposure. If this is still too slow to hold the camera steady, increase the ISO to 1600, or even 3200.
Set your ISO to a high setting such as 800, and then check the shutter speed that you need to get the correct exposure. If this is still too slow to hold the camera steady, increase the ISO to 1600, or even 3200.
2 Keep it steady
If your lens or camera has an image stabilisation facility make sure that it’s turned on to reduce camera shake. Remember that this won’t help reduce blur due to subject movement though.
If your lens or camera has an image stabilisation facility make sure that it’s turned on to reduce camera shake. Remember that this won’t help reduce blur due to subject movement though.
3 Focus help
If you need to use autofocus, make sure that it’s set to use the centre AF point, because on the majority of cameras this is the most sensitive and accurate point in low-light conditions.
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If you need to use autofocus, make sure that it’s set to use the centre AF point, because on the majority of cameras this is the most sensitive and accurate point in low-light conditions.
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sing flash to cope with challenging lighting conditions
In our final section we explain simple techniques for using flash to take control of your lighting environment.
Shot with on-camera flash
Unlike other lights, where you can see the effect of the position of any modifiers such as diffusers or reflectors, you can’t see the results with flash until you take a shot.
Flash doesn’t have to be scary, particularly if you are now familiar with how the direction of natural light affects your shots.
The quality of the light from most flashguns will be a little harsher than the light from your average reading lamp, so you still need to do some test shots with your own kit, but the basic principles of the quality and direction of light are the same, no matter what type of light source you use.
Shot with off-camera flash
Using a flash fired directly at the subject as the main light source is almost guaranteed to put you off using flash for life.
Used like this the flash works as a tiny point of light producing harsh, unflattering, high-contrast light.
You need to soften this light by making it appear to be much larger to the subject to make it more photogenic.
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Soften the light from your flash
There are a number of accessories that will soften the light from your flash. The first are accessories such as a softbox or umbrella that soften the light by making the light source much bigger.
Meanwhile the second type – clip-on diffusers, for example – produce softer light by spreading the light from the flash so that more of it reaches the subject having been reflected off objects around you.
Finally, remember it’s the size of the light source in relation to the subject that affects the quality of the light.
So, even using a softbox or umbrella, the closer the flash is to the subject, the softer the light will be, and the further away, the more harsh.
Try looking at the light from the subject’s perspective; if you have a flash with a softbox attached that’s 50x50cm square, this will look huge if it’s 50cm away from you.
But move it 5m away and it looks hardly bigger than a bare flashgun. The further away the flash, the larger the diffuser needs to be to give a softer light.
Your remote flash options (infographic)
If you want to take more control over the light, using remote flash is one of the best techniques you can use. In our infographic below we show you three popular options for doing this.
Click on the infographic to see the larger version, or drag and drop it to your desktop.
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How to use flash triggers
1 Position your flash
Most receivers have a tripod mount underneath so that you can attach it to a standard tripod. If you want to achieve a softer light you should also attach a flash diffuser or softbox at this point, as it will affect the exposure you need.
Most receivers have a tripod mount underneath so that you can attach it to a standard tripod. If you want to achieve a softer light you should also attach a flash diffuser or softbox at this point, as it will affect the exposure you need.
2 Set the flash power
Set the flash to manual, and then use the power controls to set this to a level appropriate for the distance from the flash. Many flashguns have a display on the back to clearly indicate all the power, distance and aperture settings that you’re using.
Set the flash to manual, and then use the power controls to set this to a level appropriate for the distance from the flash. Many flashguns have a display on the back to clearly indicate all the power, distance and aperture settings that you’re using.
3 Check the exposure
With your camera in Manual, set the aperture to the value on the flashgun’s display. Take a test shot, and if it’s too dark use a larger aperture (or move the flash closer). If it’s too light use a smaller aperture (or move the flash further away).
Source:http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/04/15/photography-lighting-take-control-of-natural-light-to-using-flash/14/
With your camera in Manual, set the aperture to the value on the flashgun’s display. Take a test shot, and if it’s too dark use a larger aperture (or move the flash closer). If it’s too light use a smaller aperture (or move the flash further away).
Source:http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/04/15/photography-lighting-take-control-of-natural-light-to-using-flash/14/
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