SolveYourProblem.com
Article Series: Photography Tips
I Want Some Photography Tips and Ideas
Learn
To Take Pictures In Different Lighting
Lighting is as important to your image as
the composition, and can add mood, create depth, and emphasize
form. Using available light, such as sunlight, is often the
easiest way to take a photograph. The light is believable
and natural.
The time of day influences the angle of the light. In the
morning and just before sunset, the sun is low on the horizon,
and casts a beautiful sidelight on your subject or scene.
At "high noon," the sun is well overhead; the shadows
it casts are short, but intense. At 3:00 in the afternoon,
the light is much more angled and casts very different shadows
(go look for yourself).
The
color of light can also be affected by the time of day,
and even the season. During most of the day, when the sun
is high in the sky, the light is neutral. When the sun is
low on the horizon, especially during the summer months,
it picks up a warm yellow tone. This can be dramatic and
beautiful for your pictures. Weather, too, affects light.
Whereas a clear day proffers brilliant, intense light, an
overcast day tenders soft, diffused light. In some situations,
this can be pleasing; other times, it takes away your shadow
detail and makes your images look flat.
Tip:
Carry a Compass. There is nothing worse than showing up
to take a picture and finding the building you want to
shoot completely in shadow; that's why most professional
location photographers carry a compass in their camera bag.
After all, we all know that the sun rises in the east and
sets in the west. By paying attention to what direction the
camera will be facing and what time of day the shoot will
occur, a photographer can predict where the sun will be and
how the lighting will look in a scene. If you miss a shot
because the sun is in the wrong place, figure out a good
time to come back and grab a quick shot
Backlighting: The general rule to using sunlight as a light
source is to try to position your body so that the sun is
behind you (the photographer), or over your shoulder. That
way, the light falls on the front of your subject. Of course,
you can't always depend on the light being exactly where
you need it. Many times, it comes from behind your subject,
casting it in shadow. This is called backlighting.
When an exposure meter reads a scene, it expects to find
bright areas and shadow areas. The meter assumes that if
all these areas were totaled up, the average light would
be a middle gray. So when a meter detects a bright area behind
your subject, it shuts down your aperture to compensate in
an attempt to render an average exposure. Unfortunately,
that leaves your subject in the dark.
What's a meter photographer to do?
Well, if your camera has an exposure override, allowing
you to open up the aperture or slow down the shutter, you
can easily correct for this. Give your subject a few more
stops of light, and your image will be properly exposed.
Many consumer cameras now come with a backlight feature in
their menu. As an alternative, many cameras enable you to
spot read and lock in an exposure. Spot reading allows you
to gather a reading in a smaller area; you could, for example,
measure only the shadow area, and then lock in the exposure
settings. The camera then automatically opens the aperture
and ignores the backlighting.
Night
Shooting: Shooting photographs at night is not as
hard as it used to be. With your fancy preview LCD screen,
you have a good idea of what your exposure should be. When
shooting at night, definitely use a tripod; also use a cable
release or fire the camera using the self-timer.
When photographing at night, try using various shutter speeds.
You can get a nice effect from the streaks of lights from
car taillights if you use slower shutter speeds. If you are
trying to photograph fireworks, try varying your shutter
speed to capture different types of bursts. Some cameras
might even enable you to hold the shutter open as long as
you like; this is called a bulb setting. With the shutter
left open, you can record as many firework explosions on
one frame as you want. Of course, you can always manipulate
your images by using image-editing software to make your
own fireworks!
Flash: Gone are the days of flashbulbs and flashcubes. All
consumer-level cameras, digital and film based alike, come
with built-in flash. These built-in flashes generally provide
enough light to take a picture indoors, provided that the
subject is within 10-12 feet of the camera. Built-in flashes
will allow you to take photos in low-light situations, but
will not render a natural lighting effect (the flash will
usually look a bit harsh).
Don't expect that tiny little flash to light up the entire
room; it is just not strong enough. In the same regard, don't
expect a flash to even reach a subject that is more than
20 feet away from the camera. (For example it's always funny
when you watch a televised sports event and see flashes going
off in the stands - those flashes will never reach the field!)
To use your flash effectively, do the following:
- Keep
your subject 10-15 feet from the camera.
- Light
from a flash does not spread well. This is called fall
off.
Keep your subjects in an area no wider than
6-8 feet.
- Keep
your flash higher than your lens. Don't have it lighting
from an angle lower than the lens, or
pointing
up.
- Avoid
cameras with tiny flashes or flashes mounted very close
to the lens.
#
# # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home
Page > Photography Tips:
Main Page
|
