Light

Your photo begins with a great moment. If you miss the moment your photo won't be any good. If you capture the moment from a good angle the moment will look more powerful in your photo. But light is like the signature ingredient that takes your photo beyond a snapshot to something deeper and more beautiful.

But light can be a finicky ingredient and may take some time to learn to use it well. I'll help get you started by explaining three different aspects of light and showing you lots of examples.

Quality of Light

Quality of light refers to how soft or harsh the light is. Harsh light will produce crisp, dark shadows. While soft light creates a smooth, subtle transition from highlights to shadows.

Let's look at two quick examples.

Harsh Light

The light is bright and harsh, while the shadows are deep, dark and crisp.

Soft Light

This light is much softer with a more subtle transition from light to shadow.

A general rule is that the smaller the light source, the harder the light will be. The larger the light source, the softer the light will be.

A large window is a source of soft light, while a bare light bulb produces harsh light. An overcast sky is a source of soft light, while the sun is a source of harsh light.

Harsh light, dark crisp shadow

Soft light, shadows are less intense.

As we look at more examples, I'll comment on the quality of light, but also make note of the direction and temperature of the light (which will be explained below).

Harsh light from the sun. Direction: side light.

Soft light produced by a window off to the side. Direction of light: from the side.

Very soft light produced by an overcast sky. Direction of light: coming from above and slightly from the side.

Direction of Light

Direction - Light always comes from a particular direction. The direction of light changes the feel of your photo.

I always speak of the direction of light in reference to your subject (the person, place or thing you're photographing). So "back light" means that the light is coming from behind your subject toward the camera.

• Front

• Side

• Back

Light will always be coming from one of these three directions.

Front Light

Front light is quite even with fewer shadows.

Soft front light from an overcast sky

Somewhat harsh front light produced by the glow sticks.

Side Light

Side light produces shadows and allows you to see more texture.

Soft light produced by window light coming from beside her.

Soft side light from a large window.

Back Light

Back light is often quite dramatic and can lead to silhouettes.

Warm back light from the setting sun.

Warm back light.

Warm back light.

Warm back light producing a silhouette.

Light that comes from beside or behind your subject will bring out texture and contrast. This makes it perfect for food photography.

Photo by Denise Johnson - soft window light from the side.

Temperature of Light

Warm or cool - Some light is clean and white, but most light has some colour to it. Often, the light in your photos will be warm or cool.

Cool evening back light.

Warm sunset back light.

It can be tricky to get colours right in your photos. There is a white balance setting on your camera that will help with this.

You can often correct colours with editing software such as Lightroom.

Classes

In my classes I teach you camera settings to better capture the light, overcoming some of the problems that you've had such as dark or blurry photos. During the 4 week course you learn to use light creatively and make your photos beautiful.

You've Gotta Taste the light ~ Joe McNally