Characteristics of Light
Light is the raw material we work with.
Light to photographers is like clay to a potter or words to a writer.
A writer uses a pen to write words to communicate what they see, think, or feel.
A photographer uses a camera to record light to photograph what they see, think, or
feel.
Light has characteristics that we can describe. We can see and think of these light sources on a base level in two ways. The first is transmitting or illuminating, and the second is reflective.
We see reflective light sources only because an illuminating/transmitting light affects it. Think of the sun lighting our part of the planet and illuminating, or making visible, all the reflective
light sources we get to see and photograph.
And learning to describe the characteristics of the light we're seeing is good practice.
This is important because when we understand the light we're seeing, we'll know what to do with camera operation to get the best picture possible to communicate what we'd like to express intentionally.
Characteristics of Light: Direction
Hello ,
We know direction. When it comes
to our direction, we usually determine it by a couple of questions; where are we coming from, and where're we going?
The same applies to light.
Direction and Transmitting Light
The direction of transmitting light is about where the light is coming from.
We can usually evaluate the direction of transmitting light in relation to our physical position to the reflective light sources we photograph.
We've got front, back, side top, and bottom directional light. But the variations and combinations of those give us seemingly unlimited variations in direction.
And when we change our physical position in relation to our subject, the relative direction of the light affecting the subject changes too. For example, if we're observing a tree being side-lit, the shadow on one side is directly opposite of the lit side. If we walk around the tree 180
degrees, those shadows and lit sides change their relative positions.
If we wanna know the direction
of transmitting light, all we've gotta do is observe the shadows. Because the transmitting light source is directly opposite the shadow side of our subject.
Direction and Reflective Light
The direction of reflective light is about where the light is going. In other words, it's movement. Think of a person walking.
And just like transmitting light, we can usually evaluate the direction of reflective light in relation to our physical position to the reflective light sources we photograph.
We've got left, right, up, down, diagonal, coming toward, and moving away types of reflective light movements. But the variations and combinations of those give us seemingly unlimited variations in direction.
And when we change our physical position in relation to our subject, the relative direction of the light affecting the subject changes too. For example, if we're observing someone walking from right to left, when we
change our position to them by 180 degrees, we now think of them as walking from left to right.
If we
wanna know the direction of reflective light, all we've gotta do is watch it.
And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice making at least one picture today.
That's all for now; thanks for reading!
Sam
I'll help you be a better photographer. Study and practice photography with me.
And if the timing doesn't work
for you in any of my scheduled group classes. In that case, we can schedule a one-time lesson or a series of in-person or online one-on-one private instruction that covers the same things as my group classes.
Ways to work with me are listed below.
