THE BEST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING - TECHNIQUES AND IMAGES FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, 2nd edition

INTRODUCTION

Light is the key raw ingredient of photography. Even the word, photography, comes from the Greek words “photos” (light) and “graphien” (to draw—to draw with light). As important as a keen eye or artistic sensibility, a well developed knowledge of how lighting works and how best to exploit light accounts more for the consistent ability to produce fine photography than any other factor.

Mastering the technical aspects of lighting is an acquired skill that takes years of vigilant observation to learn. And like all complex skills, the more one knows, the more one discovers how much there is yet to be learned.

The late Don Blair, a noted portrait photographer and educator, once said that the photographer who has trained himself to “see light” could look at any photograph and discern precisely how it was lit. That is one of the goals of this book—to provide a basis for seeing and understanding light and incorporating that knowledge into your everyday shooting regimen. It is also my hope that this book will persuade you to become a serious student of light, learning from its many nuances and almost infinite variety.

The late Don Blair was masterful at finding and exploiting great light. Here he utilized a stand of trees to block the overhead light, allowing the light to come in from the side. He used a warm tone reflector to bounce fill light back into the body of the ballerina/model for a beautiful result.

Blair made a lifelong habit of studying the interplay of light and shadow wherever he went, on all types of subjects, indoors or out. If out for a stroll in the woods, he would study the differences in how leaves were affected by light. In an interview with noted photography writer Peter Skinner for Rangefinder magazine, Don observed, “Notice the leaves and you will see variations in the color of the new, bright ones in contrast to the older leaves: variations you can enhance by camera position relative to light direction.”

It is my hope that this book will provide a broad background of information on which to base an understanding of light and lighting. And through the images and observations of the great photographers featured in this book, you will see a wealth of lighting applications that will hopefully, expand your photographic abilities.

But more than quality or quantity, the unique blending of different light sources within the same scene often creates great and unusual photographs. How a photographer handles these blends, as well as the combinations of different light qualities is a crucial factor in determining how well a photograph succeeds or fails.

Acclaimed Australian wedding photographer Yervant, pressed for time to produce a formal bridal portrait, used the overhead “can” lighting of a parking garage to produce this signature image. No other light source was used.

Great lighting is simple and most accomplished photographers will agree that lighting should not call attention to itself. It doesn’t matter if you are adept at using five lights in harmony. What is more important is the impact of the subject, not the lighting. Often the elegant photograph can be made with a single light and reflector and nothing more. Simplicity of lighting technique creates greater control over the light and how it shapes the subject. And as far as taste in lighting is concerned, subtlety is always preferred over exaggerated lighting effects.

Light sculpts and reveals hidden textures and beauty. Christian LaLonde captured this beautiful graphic image in the late afternoon when the light scraped across this building exterior creating a textural feast.

Lighting passing through a large window and again through the mesh of this bride’s veil produces wonderfully soft wraparound lighting that seems to suit the mood of this pensive bride. Photograph by Michael Schuhmann.

Learning to see light means sometimes looking for it in unusual places. Here Philadelphia wedding photojournalist Cliff Mautner captured a beautiful reflected light portrait in a puddle.