Lighting is the most important part of photography. Without light, you
would not have an image. Variations of light create brightness and contrast,
and both create good images. Distinct combinations of light create
the most interesting pictures.
An important characteristic of lighting is its degree of diffusion, which
can range from contrasty and hard-edged to soft and evenly diffused.
When people refer to the “quality” of light, they usually mean its
degree of diffusion.
Direct light creates hard-edged, dark shadows (see Figure 21.1). It is
specular: its rays are parallel (or nearly so), striking the subject from one
direction. The smaller the light (relative to the size of the subject) or the
farther the light is from the subject, the sharper and darker the shadows
will be. The sharpest shadows are created by a point source, a light
small enough or far enough away that its actual size is irrelevant.
A spotlight is one source of direct light. Its diameter is small, and it often has a builtin
lens to focus the light even more directly. If you think of a performer on stage in a
single spotlight, you can imagine an extreme case of direct light: the lit areas are
very light, and the shadows are hard-edged and black unless there are reflective
areas near the subject to bounce some light into the shadows.
The sun on a clear day is another source of direct light. Although the sun is large in
actual size, it is so far away that it occupies only a small area of the sky and casts
sharp, dark shadows. It does not cast direct light when its rays are scattered in many
directions by clouds or other atmospheric matter—its light is then directional-diffused,
or even fully diffused.
Lighting is the most important part of photography. Without light, you
would not have an image. Variations of light create brightness and contrast,
and both create good images. Distinct combinations of light create
the most interesting pictures.
An important characteristic of lighting is its degree of diffusion, which
can range from contrasty and hard-edged to soft and evenly diffused.
When people refer to the “quality” of light, they usually mean its
degree of diffusion.
Direct light creates hard-edged, dark shadows (see Figure 21.1). It is
specular: its rays are parallel (or nearly so), striking the subject from one
direction. The smaller the light (relative to the size of the subject) or the
farther the light is from the subject, the sharper and darker the shadows
will be. The sharpest shadows are created by a point source, a light
small enough or far enough away that its actual size is irrelevant.
A spotlight is one source of direct light. Its diameter is small, and it often has a builtin
lens to focus the light even more directly. If you think of a performer on stage in a
single spotlight, you can imagine an extreme case of direct light: the lit areas are
very light, and the shadows are hard-edged and black unless there are reflective
areas near the subject to bounce some light into the shadows.
The sun on a clear day is another source of direct light. Although the sun is large in
actual size, it is so far away that it occupies only a small area of the sky and casts
sharp, dark shadows. It does not cast direct light when its rays are scattered in many
directions by clouds or other atmospheric matter—its light is then directional-diffused,
or even fully diffused.
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