Lighting Techniques

Lighting Techniques 

Lighting is one of the many factors that contribute to the way a picture looks and to get the right lighting for how you want your image to turn out can be complex. The lighting in or surrounding the object you are taking the picture of can determine what the final image will look like. There are multiple factors that are included under 'Lighting Techniques' these are; Hard and Soft light, Three Point lighting, Silhouette, Light Direction and White Balance.

The areas that i'm going to discuss are:

• Hard and Soft Light - the difference 
• Three Point lighting - studio set up 
• Silhouette - shooting into the sun 
• Light direction 
• White balance - colour of light 

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Hard And Soft Lighting

Soft light is light that creates shadows with a gradual transition from light to dark. There are no hard shadow lines in a image with soft lighting. Soft light is achieved from  a scattered or diffused light source. It is found where the lighting is indirect or where it passes through a diffuser, clouds or some other medium which scatters the light. Diffused light can be light that has bounced off one or more surfaces before it hits a photographic target. Soft light may be created by multiple light sources which prevents the harsh shadows created by a single hard light source. A soft light source is large (relative to the subject being lit) and/or close to the subject.

Hard light creates shadows with a sharp edge. There is a negligible transition from light to dark. Hard light is created by strongly focussed light travelling from a small (or relatively small), single-point light source like the Sun, a focussed beam of light, or an undiffused light bulb).

Hard light is found where the lighting is direct, undiffused, and is not bouncing or scattered by local objects or conditions. The flash on your camera is a hard light source. When direct and undiffused by clouds the sun is also a hard light source. A hard light source is relatively small and/or large and distant

In the image we can see that there is the big natural sunlight coming in from behind creating the main light source within the image. The light is creating shadows on the ground from the buildings, it also creates a shadow in the side of the tree we can see, contrasting it from the sky. However this means that the texture and detail is reduced because nothing can be seen. This image is an example of hard lighting. Without sunlight we can achieve hard lighting by using light bulbs specially created to project light on objects, or you could use reflections. Hard lighting is used to create more depth within an image this could mean that we see more because the shadow allows us to see into the picture and see more objects or it can sometimes mean that detail is lost due to the fact objects may be darkened.

This second image is an example of soft lighting. As we can see n the picture the daylight is softly coming towards the tree. This means that we can see great detail in the tree and there is no harsh lighting or dark shadowing. The soft lighting makes it easier for us to see the whole picture clearly as there is no contrast of colours. Within natural lighting, soft lighting maybe achieved from clouds on a sunny day. The light is dispersed throughout the cloud and is bounced of into different dictions meaning that the light is spread out and not directed in one place. If you were to try and achieve this indoors and did not want a picture that had such hard lighting, soft lighting could be created by using a umbrella, or a reflection sheet. This achieves the same thing as what the clouds would as it bounces the light around and doesn’t make it so strong on the subject. Soft lighting is used to make the image look a lot calmer, it is often used in portraits particularly in woman to hide blemishes and wrinkles and make skin look fresher and softer. 

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Three Point Lighting 

There are three types of studio lighting, Key/main light, Fill light, and back light. The purpose of these three lights is to set the right colouring for the photo so that the image looks a good balance. Firstly the Key lighting points a hard light toward the subject so that it lights up the whole of the face, you can however put a white umbrella over the top which will make the lighting soft which will reduce hard light and shadowing. Next you use fill lighting,  fill light is used to lighten the shadows created by the main (key) light.  The fill source is generally indistinct and lightens while not imparting character or noticeable shadows of its own. Finally the Back Light, which could be a natural or artificial source of light, is used to create a glow around the subject you are taking a picture. For instance, If you took two people in front of a natural light such as sun, the brightness would darken the figure and create a silhouette. 

When using three point lighting or a similar set up you should be organised and safe to avoid any accidents. Simple guidelines such as, keeping water out of the area where you are using lights. Obviously using lighting is electricity therefore if water gets in contact with them your at high risk of being electrocuted. 

When using lighting and cameras there is most likely to be a lot of wires around the area you are in. Simply keeping this tucked away or under a cable mat will avoid the risk of tripping over the wire and not only hurting yourself but breaking the equipment to. 

This first image is an example of Key lighting. Image taken from: http://photo.net/photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Cjm9

This image is an example of fill lighting. Taken from: http://onlineeducare.com/lighting-harsh-high-key-low-key-lighting/

Finally this image is an example of back lighting. Image taken from: http://www.digitalcamerastyle.com/backlight-photography

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Light Direction 

With 360 degrees of different light angles, plenty of highlights and shadows can be used to create different effects within  photo. Some examples of light direction are; 

High lighting, or sunlight - this will light up most of the scene in which you are taking a photo of, a natural bright sunlight can bring out a lot of colours and make the image overall vibrant. However, very high light or sunlight will create dark shadows under eyes and on the chin. 

Front Lighting - The front lighting will illuminate the portion of the object that is facing the camera or flash. Often we can achieve a front lighting using the camera's flash. it will create less shadows and light up the entire scene however the picture will lack texture, volume and depth. 

Side Light - Side lighting will essentially create or emphasise texture, dimensions, shapes or patterns. Using a sidle light will exaggerate depth in the images. 

Back Lighting - lighting that comes from the back of the images whether it be artificial or natural will create a dramatic look to your image. The back light with emphasise the object and create a silhouette look however sometimes it can result in a lack of detail. 

This is an example of an image using high front lighting. The photo has a lot of depth, from the strong dark shadows under the models eyes, nose and cheeks. This image was got from http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Home_Main/Tips_Projects_Exchange/Learn/Photo_Tips_Techniques/Advanced_Techniques/Direction_of_light.htm

Silhouette Shots

In photography, a silhouette is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background.  More specifically, it is where your subject is seen as a black shape without detail against a brighter background. A silhouette image can be used for almost anything, whether it is used for a landscape which silhouettes a unique tree or cityscape, or it could be used within a portrait shot to outline the models body. 

I think within this image, the silhouette adds a lot of detail. We can see all the detail around the flower which creates a unique look. It also draws your attention to the flower and bugs and it is the only object focused on in the picture. Image - http://makeyourideasart.com/photography/stunning-sunsets-and-silhouette-photography/

This is my example of silhouette, as you can see the sunset in the background creates a silhouette on the large tree. I think this worked well and i achieved the silhouette i wanted to. Also though the tree is a dark colour you can really see a lot of detail from the twigs, this creates a unique image. 

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White Balance

White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light.  Nowadays, Most digital cameras contain a variety of preset white balances, so you do not have to deal with color temperature.  Commonly used symbols for each of these are showed below.                     

Some examples of my own images:- 

 

Daylight - This first image on the left shows an example of the Daylight white balance setting.  This gives it a more realistc look compared to the image below. It adds warm tones to the picture and makes the colours more real to life

Incandescent - the incandescent balance will give the image a more artificial look and feel. Using cool and cold tones it gives the picture a more one colour vibrant look. 

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Colour Meaning 

On this particular colour wheel, to the right are the 'cool - passive' colours and over no the left are the 'warm - active' colours. 

Overall there are five different 'colour types' that can be found in a colour wheel. These are Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Complementary and Analogous. These can be seen in the image below:- 

Often we see meaning behind different colours and associate various moods, feelings or places with each colour.