Lighting in Photography

Lighting is very important in photography as it helps create a great shot. Below are some basic photography tips for lighting.

Lighting is one of the most difficult things to achieve in photography. It is easy to ruin a perfect photo by having too little light, too much light or a combination of both. The perfect lighting in photography will include a broad light source. In fact, try to have as broad a light source as possible so as to achieve the softest light possible. With a narrower source of light, you will end up with harder light. With a broad light source, you have fewer shadows, suppressed texture and reduced contrast.

Backlighting is the light that comes from behind your subject. To avoid having your subject underexposed and transformed into a silhouette, be sure to use a fill-flash to fill in the needed light and chase away the shadows from your subject.

The brightness in side lighting comes from the left or the right of your subject. This has the effect of casting one side in complete darkness, while leaving the other side in the spot light. This is great if you wish to achieve a dramatic and mysterious portrait photo. An easy way to obtain such a shot is by posing your subject in front of a window, with one of their shoulders close to the window.

Diffused lighting helps you to avoid ending up with washed out light colors and contrasting shadows that are way too dark. As such, it is important to always wait until the sun goes behind a cloud. And if your subject can move, position them in the shade of a building or tree and then take the shot. If you cannot move your subject and there are no clouds in the sky, you could make your own shade simply by using an umbrella or a similar object.

Be careful with artificial lighting as this can cause various flaws in your photo. For instance, the flash in your camera can easily cause red eye if the flash is too near the lens. Camera flashes are also known to cast harsh light on the subject. However, with an off camera flash, you will be able to bounce the light and thereby achieve a softer effect. You should also be careful with regular indoor lights as these tend to give the image a yellow cast, unless of course you are using black and white film.

For more information on photography, please visit: http://www.photography-tips-and-resources.com/.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

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