10

Light and Shadows

Direct Light: Direct lighting illuminates by striking an object without scattering, as does the sun on a clear day. This creates strong colors, highlights, and shadows. The many contours and shapes of St. Basil’s Cathedral are well defined by the position of the light source (the sun) over-head and to the right of the subject. When the position of the sun is at a low angle, direct light can have a very dramatic effect on the subject. This is why for some subjects such as landscapes, professional photographers prefer to photograph a few hours before or after high noon when the sun is at a low angle, to produce good frontal illumination and long cast shadows.

Sympathetic Leanings

Irv Pobboravsky

One need not travel to distant places to capture the dramatic effects of direct lighting. As the impact of low-level sunlight on the mailbox in this photograph attests, any object properly illuminated can result in a commanding photograph. Yogi Berra said it well: “You can observe a lot just by watching”—and here, we could add, by watching the light on an object change throughout the day. The painter Claude Monet did just that by painting the changing light on haystacks. The paintings were not so much about haystacks but rather a study of how light through the day and seasons of the year alter the way haystacks are seen. In an extended study of light on the same object, Monet did some 30 paintings of the Rouen Cathedral in France. Imagine what the photograph of St. Basil Cathedral, on the previous page, might have looked like under the same condition.

Lone Tree

Richard D. Zakia

Diffuse Light: Often, amateur photographers think that in order to make good outdoor photographs, the sun must be shining and it must be a clear day. Sunny conditions can produce very dramatic effects through the interplay of highlights and shadows, but the photographer should not overlook the value of shooting outdoors on an overcast day. Landscapes can take on a serene quality under diffuse lighting conditions, such as in the mountain scene here. The rich green color of the foreground and variable shades in the background are due to the soft lighting. The lone tree in this composition would stand out in either a direct or diffused lighting condition, but the diffused light from the low-ceilinged cloud mass hovering over the mountain peak creates a backdrop that accentuates the forlornness of the bare-limbed tree. Any photographer wishing to capture true colors in nature should enthusiastically grab camera equipment, dash outside, and shoot a favorite landscape on an overcast day. The results will not disappoint.

Mill in Hibernation

David A. Page

Adverse weather can provide opportunities for interesting photographs. Rain, snow, stormy skies, and other severe weather conditions can make memorable images for a number of good reasons. Such unfavorable weather presents the scene in a way that it is normally not viewed by most people, as they would not venture out to see it. In this photograph, isolation, freezing cold temperatures, and eight inches of heavy snow made travel to the mill very difficult. Bad weather is usually accompanied with diffuse light and soft shadows. The red of the second photographer’s coat adds color and scale.

Photographing in the rain also has its own special merits. The low contrast is more than compensated for with the clean rich colors, which pop out when objects being photographed are wet. In fact, commercial photographers will often wet down their subject before making the image. Additionally, an angry sky makes a great background for an interesting landscape. Special care must be exercised in order to operate, protect, and preserve the photographic equipment and, even more importantly, the photographer.

Vicki

Richard D. Zakia

Direct/Diffuse Light: This impromptu composition attracted the photographer because of the effects created by a combination of direct and diffused lighting. The umbrella diffuses the sunlight, which otherwise would have created harsh reflections off of the concrete table and benches and subsequent hard lighting on the subject’s face. At the same time, strong shadows provide interest to the composition without distracting from the main subject.

Mabry Mill, Virginia

David A. Page

Lighting was the most important element in making this photograph. The camera location was chosen to enhance the setting of the mill. Most images of this frequently photographed spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway are simply a document of the mill. Waiting for the heavy fog to lift on an early fall morning was the key to making this successful photograph. In a heavier fog, the sharp detail in the foreground trees that frame the mill and pond would have been muddled. By photographing before the fog had cleared, the dreamlike, soft quality of the mill and background was maintained. The curvature of the edge of the pond in front of the mill serves as a concave lead line, guiding the eye to the mill.

Galloping Horse

Back Light: Backlighting is created when the subject is positioned between the light source (natural or artificial) and the photographer. The sun-drenched clouds of dust in this photograph provide a soft but dramatic backlight for the galloping horse. The thin outline created by backlighting on a subject helps to separate the subject from the background and emphasizes fine details, such as the horse’s mane, that could easily be lost with front-directed lighting. The subject (horse) and the background (dust clouds) are equally important because of the effects of the backlighting in this composition.

Backlighting dramatizes the subject, but it also can overpower the composition to become the subject itself. Sometimes this is intentional, notably in sunrise and sunset compositions that tend to silhouette foreground landscapes. Backlighting is challenging because the exposure must be calculated carefully to provide sufficient lighting on the subject surface that faces the camera (away from the backlight source) to provide sufficient detail, as in the horse in this photograph. A lens hood is helpful for controlling lens flare from shooting directly toward the light source.

Shared Moment

Richard D. Zakia

The beach provides a pleasing but challenging location to photograph people. On an overcast day, subjects on the beach can appear hazy and washed out, and on a bright sunny day the glare from the reflections off of the water can overpower the subject. This image works well, based on the photographer’s decision to shoot from behind. Had the couple been walking toward rather than away from the camera then the natural expectation would have shifted attention to their faces, which would be in deep shadow, thus disappointing the viewer. As taken, this composition preserves the true subject of the composition: the intimacy of the couple, which is more interesting than their identity. The lighting effects of brightly reflective water, cast shadow, and subtle highlights off the shoulders and hair enhance rather than detract from the mood of the composition.

Homage to Minor White

David Spindel

The soft light establishes the mood in this photograph, and mood controls the viewer’s response. This composition is entirely about the quality of light. The strong diffused window light creates a pleasing tension while preserving a sense of tranquility through well-defined use of shadow, highlight, and texture. Had the photographer raised the window shades, even slightly, or turned on room lights, the mood would have been destroyed, rendering the composition mundane and inconsequential. The table in the foreground helps provide a sense of depth. The arrangement of the potted flowers and three curtains are well balanced within the frame.

Homage to Vemeer

Vicki H. Wilson

Window Light: Famous seventeenth-century painter Johannes Vermeer was the inspiration for this composition. Vermeer is known for his use of bright colors, interior settings, and—most importantly—subjects illuminated by window light. This photograph successfully incorporates those same elements in the colorful flowers and the soft window light, highlighting the slightly down-turned face of the subject. The choice of white blouse was deliberate, to ensure additional bounce light onto the subject’s face. Even the high-ceilinged room is reminiscent of a Vermeer setting.