Table of Contents
The Role of Light in Photography
The role of light in photographic creation (in addition to exposing the photosensitive medium):
- Some features of the subject can be highlighted or hidden to attract people’s attention.
- Reveal the shape, shape, color, texture of the subject, giving the impression of volume, outline, size and proportion.
- Create an atmosphere of the environment, show the relationship between the subject and the surrounding environment, spatial relationship (three-dimensional sense), proportion, perspective (spatial sense).
- Highlight the characteristics of the subject and its environment to form the concept of mood, atmosphere and time.
- It affects the nature of color, the appearance and concealment of lines, the contrast of scenery, forms a relationship with composition, and coordinates the structure, form and tone of the picture.
Note: Hue is the abbreviation of color tone. Refers to the main color tendency of the picture. It can give people a general color impression. In black-and-white photography, the tone is black-dark, gray-midtone, and white-bright.
In order to make light play a role in photographic creation, photographers not only master the above-mentioned knowledge about light in theory, but also need to master the methods and technical skills of using light, and control (or select) it in application.
Classification of Light in Photography
The use of light refers to the process of expressing the shape and characteristics of the subject ingeniously and achieving the effect of image art by using various light processing on the model and the scene during photography and combining with other modeling methods. Of course, there is also a description of the character’s mood and character.
In photography, whether it is natural light or artificial light, according to the role of various lights in modeling, it can be divided into: main light, auxiliary light, contour light, ambient light, decorative light, effect light and so on. According to the direction of the light, it can be divided into: front light, side light, and backlight (discussed earlier). All kinds of light have their own effects on shaping the image of the subject.
In the following, we will discuss the functions, application methods and effects of various types of light according to the types of light used in photography.
Key Light
Also called modeling light. Is the main light illuminating the subject. The key light plays a leading role in photographic modeling and is a decisive factor in the characterization of artistic images. Other lights are subject to the key light.
The key light can be natural light or artificial light. Determine the orientation, nature (soft or hard) and quality (color temperature) of the light according to the needs of the modeling.
The light of the key light can be cast to the model from many directions and angles. Horizontally, there are front, side and backlight. From a vertical perspective, there are horizontal, overhead (no natural light) and overhead light.
The light properties of the key light can be hard light or soft light. Changes in the direction, nature and quality of light can change the shape of the model and the atmosphere of the scene. The choice of the position of the key light (direction and angle) determines the external features of the model revealed by the photographer and the key points that the photographer wants to emphasize or highlight.
In photography, the main light source is not only sunlight, photography lights, flash, but also local light sources. For example: day light through windows (direct hard light or diffuse soft light), candle light, indoor and outdoor lighting, etc.
Photography in Natural Light
When creating photography in natural light conditions, daylight is the key light for the model. The photographer cannot artificially change the orientation, nature and quality of the key light, but can only choose. The selection is based on the photographer’s consideration of the main body shape of the model, the consideration of the object, and the needs of the rendering effect of the environment and atmosphere, and the appropriate light conditions are selected.
How to choose, we discussed in articles such as “Light Properties, Directions, and Angles”. For the changes in the use of key light, we choose a few pictures to discuss.
Figure 1, the main light comes from the side of the camera, and the angle is low. We talked about the modeling effect of low-angle side lighting in the article “Side Lighting”, and now review it:
Low light can produce long scene projections, which can be exaggerated. Scenes illuminated by side light and reverse low light have a strong sense of three-dimensionality, with clear lines, obvious layers and textures. Low backlight can produce halo and halo, making the picture have a good atmosphere effect, but the contrast of the scene is large.
In the morning and evening in landscape photography, using the modeling method of low-angle backlighting, the light will outline the red clouds like dye, the transpiration of the sea of clouds, the mountains, villages, and trees like ink. It also emphasizes the tonal perspective of the scene, producing a strong atmosphere and artistic effect, making it more appealing.
Side Light as Key Light
The above picture is a good illustration of the characteristics of the hard side light as the main light.
The texture and layers of the mounds and low clouds are obvious, and the outlines and lines are clear. The three-dimensional effect of the mound is strong. Since it is evening, the color temperature of the light is low and it is reddish, so that the orange-yellow mound is covered with a layer of aggravated “color cover”, which is reddish-orange. It is “reasonable” and acceptable in the visual experience of people.
Through the blue sky are dark clouds, showing a blue tinge. Because the key light is reddish, the clouds have a purplish tint (additive coloring). The entire picture has a uniform tone, contrast, and a strong sense of depth. If the mound to the right in the foreground is in the bright light, the picture will be worse.
Selection of the Best Shooting Location
When we are faced with a specific subject, whether it is a person, object, or scene, the photographer may move a certain distance left and right (high and low) after choosing a shooting point that he thinks is suitable for light conditions. Observe the model while moving, and choose the best shooting position from the small changes in the lighting conditions (especially the key light) that cause changes in the subject’s shape.
This method is not very obvious for shooting wide scenery, which requires a longer distance shift observation. For photographing a certain person or object, the effect is very obvious. Sometimes the deviation (up and down, left and right) of a few degrees can make a great improvement in the picture effect. It may also determine the success or failure of the work.
Of course, changing the shooting angle not only changes the lighting conditions, but also the structure of the picture. Therefore, it is necessary to fully consider the model shape and the layout and structure of the screen to obtain the best performance.
Side Backlight as Key Light
In the above image, the shaded scene is selected as the background. Except for a few dark spots, the background is mostly indistinguishable black and gray.
The main body is the residual load, and the main light selection is the effect of side backlighting. If our shooting angle is shifted to the left by a few degrees, the key light will be more inverse. And the “highlight” will disappear, and the effect will be better. However, that would cause the “highlights” to overlap the petals near the subject, affecting the subject’s performance.
If we move the shooting angle gradually to the right, the main light will gradually change from a side backlight to a positive side light to a side light. The area of the “high light spot” gradually increases, competing with the subject for sight. And it will also overlap the nearby petals. The shadow of the subject and the shadow of the object create a three-dimensional effect. And the level of the picture and the texture of the petals and lotus leaves also change accordingly.
Side Light as Key Light
The above image is a photograph of a person in an outdoor natural light condition. The main light is a slightly reversed side light, at an angle of about 40 degrees. The facial lines of the characters are clear and the skin has a good texture. The light is hard, and the clear nasal shadow is projecting on the face near. It forms a small triangle (commonly known as triangle light in photography). Lines, shadows, and bright spots on the screen are from right to left. The faces of the characters are bright lines, bright in the middle, bright lines, shadows, bright spots, and shadows to black. This ups and downs give the character a three-dimensional feel.
Combination of Natural Light and Key Light
The picture above is an indoor natural light photography picture. If the main light uses the light beam to form diffuse reflection light indoors as the main light. And produces bluish-cyan highlights on the face and shoulders on the right side of the character (part of the vegetable in the left hand), it will also have its “reasonableness”. That will change the tone of the picture (and possibly the subject of the presentation).
Now the main light comes from the upper left of the picture, giving the impression that there is scattered light entering from an open door or window on the left. But it can also be imagined that there is no scattered light entering. A key light is an artificial light (such as a flash) that controls the projection range.
From the color of light and the relationship of light, we can analyze what light source belongs to the main light, the contrast of light color, high contrast, hue and cool color light column cause the effect of ambient atmosphere. Try to analyze it. Is it possible to recognize the language of light in photographic modeling from the use of light?
Note: Visible beam refers to a beam of light passing through a certain area. Visible light beams are forming in the background of relative brightness contrast due to the reflection or refraction or blocking of light by substances in the propagation space, such as fog, fine dust, etc. The beams of light that people see are actually fine particles of mist or dust in space. Photography often uses it to render the atmosphere of the environment, express a specific time or space. Also enhance the beauty of the picture.
(To Be Continued)