Lighting

The Right Light

Light is perhaps the most important thing to a photographer. It determines mood, exposure settings, framing, temperature, locations – there is no aspect of photography that lighting does not impact.

In this module we will explore different lighting sources (natural, strobe, continuous, etc), different methods for using light sources (front, back, side, top, bottom, high 45), terms related to lighting (key, fill, lighting pattern, lighting ratio, reflector, hard light, soft light, sync, gobo, scrim, lens flare, kelvin, sunny 16, golden hour), how lighting is used in both commercial and fine art photography, and research a style of photography that you find most interesting.

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

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Natural Light – Light created by the sun, not artificial
Strobe Light – Artificial light source that produces regular flashes of light. On-camera flashes, off-camera flashes, and studio strobes are all kinds of strobe lights.
Continuous Light – A light source that is always on or on longer than the duration of the shutter speed. The sun, household light bulbs, tungsten lights, fluorescent lights, and LED lights are all example of continuous lighting.
Front Lighting – The main light is placed directly in front of the subject.
Back Lighting – The main light is placed directly behind the subject.
Side Lighting – The main light is placed to the side of the subject.
Top Lighting – The main light is placed above the subject shining down.
Bottom Lighting – The main light is placed below the subject shining up.
High 45 Lighting – The main light is in front of the subject, above the horizon, and 45 degrees to the right or left.
Key Light – The main light source for a photograph; it has the most intensity.
Fill Light – Secondary to the main light. It is used to fill in shadows as desired and balance highlights and shadows.
Lighting Pattern – The way light falls on a subject and the patterns of light and dark created.
Lighting Ratio – A comparison between the brightness/intensity of the main light and the fill light.
Reflector – Used to reflect light.
Hard Light – Harsh or undiffused light; creates harsh shadows with well defined edges, emphasizes contrast, texture, lines, wrinkles.
Soft Light – Diffused light; creates soft shadows with soft edges, lower contrast, less texture.
Sync – Synchronization of a firing electronic strobe and the shutter speed of the camera.
Gobo – used to block unwanted or stray light from falling onto the subject.
Scrim – A translucent device used to diffuse and soften light.
Lens Flare – Occurs when the light source hits the lens directly; can create a hazy image or artifacts like circles of light.
Kelvin – the measurement of colour temperature; white balance is measured in kelvin settings; lower numbers are warmer colours and higher are cooler.
Sunny 16 – a method for estimating correct daylight exposures without a light meter; on a sunny day, set aperture to f/16, and shutter speed to the ISO film speed
Golden Hour – the hour right before sunset or right after sunrise when the sun is low on the horizon

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