Getting started with lighting Part 2

1. A Broad vs Narrow light source

The broader the light source is the softer the light will be. The narrower the source is the harder the light will be. A broad light source lessens shadows, reduces contrast, suppresses texture. A narrow light source does the opposite. This is because, with a broad source, light rays hit your subject from more directions, which tends to fill in shadows and give more even “Softer” illumination to the scene.

2. A Close vs Distant light source

The closer the light source is the softer the light will be. The farther the source is the harder the light will be. As you move a light closer, you make it bigger (that is, broader) in relation to your subject. Move it farther away, and you make it relatively smaller and therefore narrower.

3. Diffusion

Diffusion scatters light, basically making the light source broader and therefore softer. On overcast or foggy days, the entire sky, in effect, becomes a single very broad light source—nature’s softbox. Materials such as translucent plastic or white fabric can be used to diffuse a harsh light source. You can place a diffuser in front of an artificial light, such as a strobe. Or, if you're in bright sun, use a light tent or white scrim to soften the light falling on your subject.

4. Bouncing light

Bouncing light acts like diffusion. Aim a narrow light source at a broad, matte surface (such as a wall, ceiling, or matte reflector) and it not only reflects the light but also diffuses it by scattering it over a wider area. If you use a shiny reflector, though, and the light will stay fairly narrow on the bounce. The most extreme type of shiny reflector is a mirror it will keep the light focused pretty much as narrowly in the refection. Bouncing like off coloured surfaces may change the colour balance/temperature of your image.

5.  The inverse Square law

The inverse Square law (in relation to photography) states “The farther the light source, the more it falls off” i.e. your subject will be dimmer. The rule says that light falls off as the square of the distance. That sounds complicated, but isn’t really. If you move a light twice as far from your subject, you end up with only one-quarter of the light on the subject.

In other words, light gets dim fast when you move it away. Also remember that bouncing light (even into a shiny reflector) adds to the distance it travels

6. Falloff

You can use your lights to vary the relationship between your subject and your background. If you place a light close to your subject, the falloff from the subject to the background will be more pronounced. Move the light farther from your subject, and the background will be relatively brighter, as more light spills over from the subject to the background.

The same is true for side lighting. With a light close to the side of your subject, the falloff of light across the frame will be more pronounced than if the light is farther away.

7. Frontal lighting

Front lighting will de-emphasises texture. Lighting from the side, above, or below will emphasises it. A portrait photographer may want to keep the light source close to the axis of the lens to suppress skin wrinkles, while a landscape photographer may want side lighting to emphasise the texture of rocks, sand, and foliage. Generally, the larger the angle at which the light is positioned to the subject, the more texture is revealed.

8. Shadows

Shadows create volume and depth to in image. Lighting from the side, above, or below, by casting deeper and longer shadows, creates the sense of volume. Still-life, product, and landscape photographers use angular lighting for this reason. Position a light high above and slightly to the side of your subject, angled down, but not so much that the shadow of the nose falls more than midway down the upper lip.

9. Back light

Backlighting can be used as a highly diffused light source. A person with his back to a bright window will have light reflected from an opposite wall falling on them. Someone standing outside with their back to bright sunlight will have light falling on them from the open sky in front of them. If you use a bright light source as your back light and reflect the fall off back onto your subject you will deemphasize facial texture.

10. Colour

Light has colour, even though it my look “white”. This is called colour temperature, and our brain is very good at adjusting our perception so that we hardly notice it. Digital and film cameras, may record colour casts that our eyes didn’t see. The colour of early morning and late afternoon sunlight is warm in tone, while open shade at midday can be quite bluish. Tungsten light bulbs cast very yellow light. And any surface that light bounces off can add its colour. With digital cameras, you can change the white-balance; to neutralise colour casts or to emphasise them e.g. add a warmer tone to a landscape or portrait.

Putting these tips into practice

Once you have used studio lighting a few times these tips will start to make a lot more scene. For example one of the things that a lot of people don't realise the first time they are in the studio is .....

The Studio flash normally has 2 lamps in it, one modelling lamp, and one strobe. These lamps may have different colour temperatures. As you set up your lighting the modelling lamps will show you the falloff, you will see your shadows, and get an idea how hard or soft your light is. But when you fire the strobes they may have a different colour temperature to what you saw when setting your lighting. If your photos have a strange colour cast it may be that you set your camera to “Auto White Balance” (AWB). Your camera measured the white balance of the modelling light which is a much warmer light than the strobe.

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