"Faith in your photographic abilities is the willingness to venture into darkness without a flash." -Cliff Hollenbeck
Our photographic challenges for 2014 revolve around the study of light. So far, we have explored shadows, backlight, and hard light. For April, we will focus on natural light, which is exactly what it says…light from a natural source. It may be the sun filtered through the leaves of a tree, a picture taken of someone, or something on a porch, or filtered through a window, or clouds. Natural light floods the earth, and it will not be hard to find. Photography is about light…learning to see light... its intensity, color, and direction will add drama, depth, and beauty to your photos.
Intensity of light: Direct sunlight can be harsh and unflattering, therefore, it is best to look for diffused or filtered light which is more flattering. It can be diffused by foliage, a scrim, covering, shade, clouds, or sheer curtains.
Color of light ranges from cool colors (blue) to warm (yellow). Your camera's white balance can be set to match your lighting situation: cloudy, shade, incandescent, fluorescent, sun, night, or custom. Shooting your pictures in RAW, or learning to adjust your WB (white balance) to custom will help you get the lighting that your eyes see.
Direct of light: Knowing the direction of where the light is coming from will help in the positioning of your subject. If you cannot determine where the light is coming from, use the following technique to help capture the best lighting. 1. Place your subject in the area where you want to shoot. 2. Walk around your subject noting how the light is falling on your subject. 3. Walk around your subject again, but this time, have your subject turn with you, so they are facing you the entire time. Look at their eyes closely to see in what position you experience the best catchlights in their eyes. Once you find the best catchlights, take your pictures. Easy Peasy
Challenge:
- Take up to 4 photos preferably one each week showing natural lighting. You may choose to do a couple indoors by a window, and a couple outside. If you choose outside, you may want to take them at different times of the day to see the difference in the light.
- Do not use archives: photos must be taken between the March and April meetings.
- Include you photo information
Examples of natural light. I am sure you do not need examples, but I will include them anyway.
The following examples are from natural window lighting. Photos by Rob McKelvy unless noted.
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| Doesn't my cat look like she is enjoying the warmth of the sunlight on her back. Ahhh! |
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| The picture was taken with natural light from a window. I desaturated, and sharpened the picture to the extreme. Then added a concrete texture, and the flag. Then added the words. He looks pretty mean doesn't he? |
These examples are of natural outdoor lighting.
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| Taken with my iPhone. |
Hope this helps get your creative juices flowing. Subjects maybe of anything. It would be awesome to have 100% participation. Go out and get clicking.
