How many ways are there to light a portrait with just a light?
A full version of this article and others can be found at: title = "John"> blog of John in "A Light '
portrait photography? No problem! Just find a pretty girl, buy a flashgun, take your photo and ready! you have a portrait. But is it good?
So what makes the difference. Good, a number of things, the model, background, pose, camera, space, camera, lens and light. But to bring the light and you have nothing!
So what happens to light?
It is: har d and smooth, bright and dark large and small, black and white (yes white and black) and white and color, direct and reflected, fast and slow, and side front and back and key high-and low-key and last but not least, invisible!
A light?: The truth is that there is usually more than one light, because where light is usually reflected light.
You can use this reflected light, if it helps or add gobo's (black van between boards or banners) to stop this. You can increase the light reflected by the use reflectors, the faces or the shirts and blackboards.
Hard and soft: simply the difference between light on a sunny day and a cloudy day. Dark hard da Luz well-defined shadows. Soft light comes from many different places.
Bright and Dim: A dim light can make us seem like light the day, simply by leaving the shutter open for longer. So in this sense there is no such thing as bright or dim light. Defined by the configuration of the camera. The camera can make the brightest of the scenes seems to have been taken during an eclipse!
Young and old: The sun is the largest we can use light, however, called a little light because it is so far away. However, put the clouds between us and the sun and becomes in most light you can use.
Small boxes soft lights, turn lights on large and often are 2-3 feet wide. The alternatives are to fire through a white sheet or bounce off a wall. An umbrella can achieve a similar effect, because the light is spread all over the place and the reflected light can soften the shadows.
Black and White: To the human eye, white is white clearly, this is because the eye is constantly adjusting and interpreting what he sees. The cameras are not capable of doing the same extent. Collecting the different sheets of white paper and take a close look at them – you will probably find a wide range of targets. The same variations apply to light. We appeal to all white (no color), but are actually colored or colored in some way.
Produce lights of different different colors – give a light greenish fluorescent, incandescent give a tinge of orange flashes and strobes do not tend to have a dye, so that white white of sight to our eyes, but some are colored with a camera.
White and colored: Taking a picture indoors with flash and incandescent bulbs give a mixture of white and orange.
I was taking a picture outdoors during the day with a deeply overcast day. I place two flashes with orange gels and photography became deaf in one image to one that looked like it was taken late of the evening with a beautiful warm glow.
Placement of color gels in a flashgun colors of light and produce different effects. The sweet quality of the street are famous for offering different color wrappers that can be used for different purposes.
Direct and reflected: direct light coming from the light source and usually has an obvious effect. The reflected light coming from any other surface that is not totally black. A wall of color light will give a tinge of color. A shiny surface will give you a hard light and strong. A textured surface will give a weak soft light.
The distance from the source to the reflecting surface and then to the subject, compared to the distance from the light source to the material greatly affect the strength of the light reflected.
Fast and Slow: What I'm really referring to is the duration of light, ie the duration the light is bright, while the photograph is taken.
Daylight shines 100% of the time the shutter is open and shutter flash can shine for 1% of the time. In most cases however, you will get a combination of two lights, a bright 100% and the other a fraction of time.
Front, side and rear: Choose the position of the main light. Each position will create a very different effect from fully illuminated to the silhouette. Reflected light can be used to fill the shadows.
Lower and Upper number: This is were the tones of the picture are mostly dark or bright. The details of the subject is off, or in deep shade. Often the shape comes from the shape of the matter. This is done under or over exposure of the subject.
Invisible Infrared is not visible to the naked eye, but the filters can be connected to a camera that allows light to be collected on the sensor or film. This can produce a surreal effect. Different surfaces reflect different amounts of infrared.
So there you have it, a lightning quick pass over the variations of a single light. title = "John">
All this with only a light, just think of the changes in two or more lights.
Explore my website to see some of these effects in practice in the galleries. Browse to your own photos with a single light. Explore, discover and understand.
About the Author
I enjoy capturing beautiful moments in unique and creative ways and I delight in delivering photographs that people enjoy.
Having taken photographs for over 30 years, I decided to become a full-time, professional photographer in 2008, specialising in People Photography.
Examples of recent work can be viewed on my Wedding and Portrait Websites/Blog as well as a growing number of articles and reviews for photographers, clients, brides and models.
I use my Nikon gear with portable studio equipment to create the desired environment wherever I go and am always looking for new and interesting ways to take photographs of people.
WebSites: John Wood Photography and www.John-Wood-Photography.co.uk/blog
Portrait lighting using an Umbrella vs a Softbox