Photography requires a few skills to make
your prints look professional. One part
of making a print professional is lighting.
Lighting in photography takes a little planning and understanding of a
few techniques. You best subject or
object might not turn out that way if the proper light does not help to
laminate the area. Below are a few tips on using light for photography.
First you must decide if you will use
artificial or sunlight. If you are using
sunlight you will rely on the Kelvin scale to determine the temperature of
light and therefore the color of light.
The color of light is important to maintaining the colors you see around
you. For instance the warmer the light
the redder the light will be, thus you may need to pick the time you will go
out and shoot photographs. Outdoor lighting offers so many different times to
take pictures depending on your need.
Next a photographer needs to understand the
sun’s color scale. Pictures tend to lead
the viewer towards certain feelings; often softer colors evoke more
emotion. So understanding the suns
impact on the colors will help you find the correct time of day. The sun evokes blue hues in the morning
hours, while closer to noon you will find more neutral colors. The neutral colors can take away some of the
definition you want in your print.
Knowing how you want to shot the picture will also help you determine
when you wish to take the shot.
When using natural light you will need to
work with the angle and direction of the sunlight. If the sunlight is broad and diffused you
will have softer shadows while the more narrow the light is focused the more
shadow you can create. Often at noon when
the sun is in mid arc you lose definition of the subject. The subject could look grainy. This is why shadow is used; the shadows can
give you more quality to the print if used correctly. This adds to the beauty
of your pictures.
You can also modify sunlight through
certain techniques. Modifying sunlight
when taking portraits outdoors requires the use of a background. You may wish for a breath taking landscape
that will provide more composition to the photo. You may need to block the sun if it interferes
with you or your subject’s sight. You
might also bring in a white surface to fill the shadows. Landscape photography requires less work than
usually natural light for portraits. In
fact using natural sunlight for landscape photography without modifications can
yield you a better photograph.
Landscape photography uses nature to
provide the light and shadows. This is
why you need to understand the light scale and temperature. Time is the most important aspect of using
sunlight. To understand natural lighting
you need to understand the affects the sun will have at certain times of the
day. For instance if you are in a
thickly vegetative forest the sunlight will have difficulty streaming in unless
it is over head. You will have natural
shadows in the forest and remember you can move around your subject to find the
best angle with the sun.
Photography is an art that requires
techniques and practice. Lighting is a
major part of photography, especially when you are using natural light. Sunlight can bring plenty of shadows or take
them away depending on the time of day.
Knowing the best time to take a photograph depends on the sun’s
angle. Photography is an interesting
hobby and profession when practiced properly will give you plenty of prints for
your home and others.
Whether you are a professional or a novice
photographer, you want to produce some exquisite pictures with the proper
lighting. With this in mind, choose your lighting according to your needs and
the needs of your subject or object. Your pictures will be delightful with
brightness when you use the best lighting situation.
