Focus on the Light
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
What is the most important thing to get the most amazing shot in photography? Is it the camera? Is it the location? Having the most beautiful subject? All of those things are important but how will you capture any of that without light? I’m going to talk about quality of light, light direction, shadows, different sources of light, and color in light.
Quality of light
All light is not created equal. Have you ever tried to read in the dark? Have you tried to watch a movie with the lights on? The light can be to harsh making the human your trying to capture squint or to dark and make the popcorn you're trying to make tasty not be able to been seen. It can make your subject look like it’s in fog when there wasn’t an ounce a fog around. Just be aware of the quality of the light that you have and change your settings accordingly.
Where is the light coming from?
Knowing the direction of the light will help make sure you light the subject properly. If you don’t know the source of the light and where it comes from it can break the photo you're trying to make.
Shadows
Shadows can make thinks dramatic and moody. Shadows can also get in the way of the story you're trying to tell. Occasionally check your camera to see what they shadows are doing. Either move the subject or yourself or both do get the shadows to do what you want them to do.
Different Sources of Light
Natural light is what I use to capture 99 percent of my photos and is my go-to source of light. It’s the cheapest light source and the light you don’t have to set up. It can be a challenge to get the look you're going for with natural light but that is when flash comes in handy.
Flash is a fantastic source of light that I don’t use very rarely. I’m not very comfortable with it. I just haven’t used it very much. When I worked for Lifetouch I used flashes a lot but it’s the only time I’ve used flashes on a normal basis. The many reasons I haven’t invested flashes because I don’t a place to store them when I’m not using them and I don’t when I would use them. There might be a time I do but I find the photography I’m using isn’t requiring it.
I want you to watch out for light from overhead light because they can cause your subject to look orange. Unless you're photographing the headless horseman or pumpkin you carved it might not be the look you're going for.
Light Varies in Color
Have you seen a sunset that is purple one night and in the same sky the next night it’s blue. Light can vary in color and can cause your subject to look the same color. If you are shooting a landscape of a sunset and have so many wonderful colors it’s not a big deal what the colors are. If you are doing a close up of a person in the sunset you don’t necessarily want them to look purple/orange/blue looking. I find that when I’m photographing, not in a sunset, I find that I get varies versions of blue. It can be fixed in post if that’s not what your going for but if you can change it in camera to make less work for you in post processing. The way to change it in the camera is through white balance.The cameras that come on phones don’t have a way to change the white balance but you can download third party apps that will allow change it.
