Lighting Quality

Diffused– light hits the subject from all directions and the shadows are soft

Direct– light hits the subject from one angle and the shadows are crisp with sharp edges

Lighting Direction

Front light – light comes from near the camera position.

Side light – light come from 90 degrees to the camera position.

Back light – light comes from behind the subject and aims towards the camera.

Other terms to know

Ambient Light-The light that is already there sometimes called available light

Continuous Lights-Always on, may be incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, LED

Inspiration

  • David Levinthal
  • David Levinthal
  • David Levinthal
  • Mark Nixon
  • Mark Nixon
  • Mark Nixon
  • Laurie Simmons
  • Laurie Simmons
  • Laurie Simmons
  • Michael Wu
  • Michael Wu
  • Michael Wu
  • Tanaka Tatsuya
  • Tanaka Tatsuya
  • Tanaka Tatsuya

Contrast

Contrast: The measure of difference between bright areas (highlights) and dark areas (shadows) in a photo

High contrast : Large difference between highlights and shadows. Mostly lights and darks without many mid tones  

Low contrast :  Little difference between lights and darks. Mostly mid tones.              

  • Low contrast
  • High contrast
Two portraits shot by Nadav Kandar. David Lynch on the left, David Millar on the right.

Modifiers

In studio photography, we put modifiers on the flash heads to change the quality of the lights. Two basic categories of modifiers are:

  1. Softboxes- these spread and diffuse the light. The light hits the subject from many directions making the shadows softer.
  2. Grids – these concentrate and focus the light. The light hits the subject from one direction making the light harsher and the shadows sharper.

Quiz Questions

  • Identify lighting direction in a photograph: front, side, back
  • Identify light contrast: high or low

Lab Exercises

Lighting Direction and Quality

Midterm Project

Make It Quote