LIGHTS, Camera, Action! (Archive)

This topic comes at the request of Laura.

Light is a necessity to making photographs, and it comes in many types, colors and angles. We will discuss the features of different types and colors later on in another lesson. I want to talk to you today about lighting angles and how to use them creatively.

First off, there are 4 basic angles to use in your work: Front-, 90 degree side-, 45 degree side-, and back- lighting. To demonstrate the concepts, I will use the following abbreviations P=Photographer, S=Subject, L=Light.

Front Lighting is what most people are familiar with. Basically Some of your first photo advice was probably "shoot with the sun behind you". This angle creates a flat, 2D image with little detail or fluctuation in color tones. This type of lighting also adds unattractive and deep shadows in the eyes and under the nose. Not very flattering. This is also the type of light you get from your basic on camera flash. This nothing more then S-P-L.

The next type of lighting is Backlighting. This can create a simple but dramatic effect. The set up is L-S-P. The bright light coming from behind your subject will usually cause your subject to become a dark silhouette. If you are shooting something not very dense, you can use the sun's backlighting to "enhance" the color of items like Aspen trees in their Autumn colors.

Now we cover 45 Degree Sidelighting. This is often called "natural lighting". As you are facing your subject, you position yourself so the light source is coming from behind you, of to one side or the other at 45 degree angle, hence the name. This angle provides nice transitions between shadows and highlights giving it a more soft and natural appearance. This is the lighting of choice for most portraits.

Finally we have 90 Degree Sidelighting. Yep, you guessed it, the light source is perpendicular to the "line" between you and the subject. You pretty much want the light to "come over" your subject's shoulder to illuminate them. This is also called "texture lighting". This provides an extremely dramatic effect as one side is bathed in light while the other side is in dark shadows. This can be used if you are interested in showing texture in, say a loaf of bread that just came of the oven as it casts a shadow for every little bump. This not the type of lighting you would want to use if your goal is to portray a "soft" image.

You can use any of these techniques solo or you can combine them with one or more. when you combine them, you will want to decide what you want to be your strongest effect and have the light strongest/brightest in that angle. Be creative, make adjustments, observe different effects with different angles, find your favorites, and practice. Some variations you might try is shifting the light up or down, or even sideways. Do small increments to your adjustments, even shifting a few inches can make big differences. Even try changing the distance of the light(s) from your subject.

As always, I am open to comments regarding this topic and suggestions for future topics. Happy shooting and my you see God's beauty as you shoot!