Light in photography is the fundamental element, without light there is no photo. That is why, in order to obtain surprising results, you must learn its technical peculiarities and also how to model it to your liking. Before continuing with today’s tips, to delve into the subject of lighting in photography, I recommend this very complete guide in which Mario tells you everything you need to know.
In today’s article I bring you 15 tips so you can master your raw material: light, but before going into each one of them, we need to review some concepts that I have touched on previously in the article “23 Ways to Use Light As a Creative Element (For When You Are Not Inspired)”.
What direction is the light?
Light, despite spreading in all directions, has a direction and this depends on where the light source is located, that is, from where the subject or object affected by it is illuminated. In general, it could be said that the light direction in photography it can be:
- Frontal
- Overhead (the light source illuminates the scene, subject, or object from above)
- rear
- Side
- Against Overhead (the light source illuminates the scene, subject or object from below)
- Spot (lights only part of the subject so that it stands out from the rest of the image)
The way you illuminate your objects or subjects within the setting of your photography will radically change the sensations that it will transmit, creating one sensation or another. Take a look at the following example, the same portrait illuminated from different directions:
1. What is side light?
This type of lighting enhances textures and gives the scene, in this case a subject, greater volume thanks to the contrasts between light and shadow.
2. Semi side light
In this case the light source has been placed at 45 degrees and despite continuing to work with lateral light, the sensations change quite a bit. The contrast is much lower, it still continues to outline the face, although to a lesser extent because the contrast of this is lower.
3. What is the front light?
In this case, the light source is located in front of the subject, which means that the reliefs and textures cannot be appreciated in such detail, since the contrast is minimal. This type of lighting is easy to obtain if you fire the built-in flash on your camera.
4. Light against zenith
This time, the light source has been placed below the subject, hence the unnatural feeling when viewing it. Our eyes are not used to perceiving light with this type of direction since it does not appear this way in nature.
5. Overhead front light
To the Contrary to the previous photograph, the light source was placed above and in front of the subject, that is, so that it strikes the subject from the front but from above: the lighting comes from above.
6. What is skylight?
In this case, the light source has been placed just above the subject, making it perpendicular to the floor, as it would be if you went out to take pictures at noon. In this way, the light causes contrasts that, in this case, are not at all pleasant in our subject, but notice how his eyes have been darkened.
It will depend on where the light comes from or where you illuminate it from to create one effect or another. Keep in mind that if the light is from the front, the object will lack shadows, so it will lose volume and detail. If the light is from behind, the silhouette of the subject of your photograph will stand out as in the photograph you just saw. If the direction of the light is zenithal, lateral or against zenithal, shadows will be drawn on the scene that will highlight the textures and reliefs, giving the photograph greater volume and if the light is punctual, only what you have decided to illuminate will stand out.
Remember that the eyes look for light, so the way you illuminate or not a scene will be of great help when it comes to giving prominence to your subjects and directing the viewer’s gaze.
light intensity
Depending on the intensity of the light with which you are working, the results will also vary: it is not the same to work with a powerful light such as midday, which produces very marked shadows, than if, for example, you take your photographs in a completely cloudy day. Where is the difference? In the “intensity of light”: can it be hard or soft?
What is hard light?
If the light with which you work is very intense, very marked shadows will be drawn in the scene that will create strong contrasts between the light and dark tones, having to choose to obtain detail in the lights or in the shadows, but it is very difficult to obtain detail in both of them. Because? Take a look at the following article and you will understand: “Detailed Guide: How to Make a Correct Measurement and Exposure in Your Photographs”.
What is soft light?
On the contrary, if the light you work with is more diffuse, the shadows will be almost imperceptible and diffuse. The contrast in this type of situation is much lower, which is why this type of light is very popular among photographers thanks to the even light throughout the scene.
Each lighting situation has its advantages and disadvantages and although hard light will be very useful when it comes to emphasizing textures and soft light to achieve more uniform lighting, in both situations and using the elements that I will detail later in this article, you will be able to manipulate the light to your liking. taste. Be patient!
light sources
The intensity of the light is not only given by the power of the light source but also by its size: the larger the surface of the light source, the softer it will be and the smaller it is, the harder the lights will be. draw. Think of it this way: the sun, despite being a huge star, in our sky is only a small circle, that is why the light it produces is hard, instead, when the light bounces off some clouds, when you are having a much larger surface (because of its proximity to the earth) the light on cloudy days is soft.
If you want to get a soft light using a flash (intense and small light source) try to diffuse it using a diffuser, light window, etc. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, with the following guide you can make it in minutes and with materials that you would normally throw away: “DIY Photography: How to Assemble Homemade Photographic Accessories”.
light measurement
As I told you in the article “Detailed Guide: How to Make a Correct Measurement and Exposure in Your Photographs”:
“The command of light is what will define you as a photographer and the way you measure it is what will make you a master.
If the light in the scene is not correctly measured, the exposure will not be correct and therefore the quality of the photograph will be affected, making all the techniques and tricks that you have applied have been in vain.”
That is why before learning how to model light, it is essential that you understand how to get it to be perfectly reflected in your photographs so as not only to achieve the image you were wanting, but also to maximize the quality of all the resulting photographs and this is achieved by performing correct metering and exposure.
How to do it? The process is somewhat extensive despite being relatively simple and the only thing it requires is practice, but since the reason for today’s article is different, I will refer you to the article with which I opened the section in which you will be able to understand how to expose correctly all your photographs: “Detailed Guide: How to Make a Correct Measurement and Exposure in Your Photographs”.
Means to control light
Now that you know more about the qualities of light and as I promised you before, the time has come for you to learn how and with what elements it will be possible to model light whatever its source and intensity.
Here are a series of elements with which you can, with a little practice, generate, direct, blur and model the light in your photographs:
- Flash: The flash is the photographer’s number one ally when it comes to adding artificial light to a scene. Whether you use your camera’s built-in flash or have an external one handy, this is the ultimate way to add extra lighting as it takes up little space and can be really powerful. By using one or more flashes, you will be able to achieve excellent results when modeling the light since you are the one who defines its intensity and direction for each of your photographs. Be sure to read the following articles if you want to get the most out of your flash: “Everything You Need To Know About Flash”, “Tricks To Better Use Flash” and “Did You Know These Creative Ways To Use Flash?” .
- Spotlights: just like if you use a flash, by using spotlights or extra lights, you can control the direction and intensity but, unlike the flash, by using continuous light (the flash is just a flash) you can model it “live” , that is, you will be able to see the results of applying one or another lighting in the scene. The main differences with a flash are the color temperature they emit and of course their size and portability.
- Reflective screens: These screens are surfaces that will allow you to reflect the light that falls on them. You can use a wall, a sheet of paper, a cloth or, if you have a few extra euros, make one specially designed for photography, they are not expensive at all. Depending on the color and texture of said surface, the light will be reflected in one way or another: it will change its color, intensity and direction. You can find very varied photographic reflectors: gold that reflect warm light or silver that reflect colder light, white that diffuse it, etc. You can even make them yourself. How? Reading the following article: “DIY Photography: How to Assemble Homemade Photographic Accessories”.
- diffusers: Diffusers are, like reflector screens, accessories that you can use to make the harsh light of a flash or spotlight softer or more focused. As with reflective screens, their use is limited by your imagination. There are countless types of diffusers on the market, but with a little creativity you can create your own: a curtain, a handkerchief, a sheet of paper, clouds, a plastic bottle and any other element that allows you to reduce the intensity of the light. light and increase the surface from which it is emitted.
- Filters: filters are lenses or crystals that, once placed in front of the lens, will allow you to achieve endless effects such as: eliminate reflections, filter certain colors, reduce the amount of light that reaches the sensor, etc. I recommend you…