3/26/2012

Still Photography and Lighting

By Nicholas Lancaster


Quality photography is an art. It is not just point and click. The perfect photo involves good lighting. The camera that you use is almost as important as the angles and lighting are. There are many ways to use lighting apparatus depending on the goal of your photo. The purpose of your photo and your subject will determine the type of lighting you want to use.

How do you know the subject?

Stills can encompass many things or individuals. Taking a picture for a book will be different from taking a photo of a high fashion model. Direct lighting may be necessary for shooting things such as fruit bowls or vehicles.

How can I make lighting more dramatic? To create shadow effects, some photographers will use silver or white reflectors. White absorbs shadows while black creates them. You can also change the angles of the lighting. A term in photography for using regular household bulbs for the lighting rather than the big florescent lamps is known as tungsten light. Most cameras that are on the market to be sold today are made for bright lights.

Positioning my lighting.

There are two types of set-ups that won't require much set-up. The first set-up only requires two lights. You will place one light six feet away at a 45 degree angle. The second light is focused on the background of the image. The background should be white to make the focal point stand out. If the background is not white it will end to looking gray in the photo and become part of the image rather than making it stand out. You can also try using one light pointed at the background and another light shooting through the umbrella. This is actually a big soft box that is used to create overhead lighting with the box placed just above the object or model or right in front. The model may hold a reflector to prevent unwanted shadows.




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