Photography is About Light

Many beginning photographers start photographing what they think is a cool event - buddies acting goofy or cool. They don't think about what makes a photograph memorable to other viewers. They are usually shooting so they can remember whatever it is they thought was cool. But as a photographer begins to turn the corner and become more sophisticated in seeing, composing and editing what they photograph they begin to see how light can impart meaning to the image.

Light a major tool in photography. Without an understanding of it photography is just another snapshot. By taking the time to learn how light can enhance an image, a photographer can create images that take on and evoke a mood. This posting will discuss how ambient light can be used to create mood, texture and color within a scene.


Let's take a scene outdoors. Bright light is very directional. In this image you will see how light shows every detail in the scene. In very bright light, like we have in Dallas most of the summer, the shadows are very defined. The objects in the scene have more dimension to them.


Diffused light bounces everywhere. In diffused light, like what you see on cloudy, in shadow of a hill or hazy days, shadows are in some cases eliminated. The detail is flattened. In this example, where I have shot a scene on the shady side of a hill, You don't see the bright highlights or deep shadows.


In this example you will see a bright sunny day, but in the background you will see a haze that acts as a filter when looking at the mountains. They are much softer and less defined than the foreground.


The time of day also has interesting light effects. The early morning or twilight hours often has a soft, golden light that contribute to "the golden hour". Long shadows create interesting textures during this time. A rising or setting sun can provide a dreamy quality to an image.

In ambient light, much of the decisions involving photography, is about how and where you aim your camera for shooting interesting images. For instance, shooting into the sun will just about guarantee a silhouetted subject with low detail. Shooting a subject with the sun over your shoulder (behind you) will give you greater detail in the subject and scene. Much of the decision depends on what you are aiming for in the image.


You can use this knowledge of light to create space in the image. This example shows how the angled bright light from a setting sun can create definite division of light and darks. There is a lot of contrast between the definition of the grasses in the golden light and the deep shadows where detail has been softened.


This example shows a closeup of grasses against the shadow of the rock. The sun is angled deeply on the left side of the scene creating long shadows. Because of the contrast between the deep shadow and the brightness of the grass - the grass appears to be on fire.


Another way to use light is by "backlighting" a subject. In this example, I am shooting low to the ground with the sun behind the fern. It is in the evening twilight hour. Because of the transparency of the leaves the setting sun illuminates from behind. This effect would not work on a more opaque subject such as rock for instance. You have to be sure that you are not getting lens flare by not shooting directly into the setting sun but off angle.


Another example of this technique - except the light is faded even more and has more of a slanted angle from above. Notice how the softer backlight seems to make the flowers appear almost lighted from within.


Finally, shadows can be subject matter if you look creatively at the scene around you. In this example, a person is sitting on a bench reading, with a bicycle propped against a tree. Instead of taking a standard picture of the person, I have focused my camera on the shadows cast on the wall in front of the subject matter. The story is still there but more mysterious and universal. The shadow of the person could be anyone with a bike next to them.