After reading through the Lighting 101 blog, it's time to begin Lighting 102. This was written a year or so after the first blog by David Hobby, who had further developed his own skills.
He starts off with reiterating basics that were touched on before, but may not have been explicitly explained.
There are seven main ways to control lighting:
1. Varying position.
- Angle
- Distance to subject
- Distance to background
2. Varying apparent size of light source.
3. Altering Relative Intensity
- Balancing relative light levels between ambient and flash
4. Restricting Light
- Using tools to alter where light goes
5. Refraction and Reflection
6. Altering color
- White balance
- Gels
7. Time
- Continuous light varies with respect to time duration
He starts off with reiterating basics that were touched on before, but may not have been explicitly explained.
There are seven main ways to control lighting:
1. Varying position.
- Angle
- Distance to subject
- Distance to background
2. Varying apparent size of light source.
3. Altering Relative Intensity
- Balancing relative light levels between ambient and flash
4. Restricting Light
- Using tools to alter where light goes
5. Refraction and Reflection
6. Altering color
- White balance
- Gels
7. Time
- Continuous light varies with respect to time duration
Unit 1.1 - Position (Angle)
Off-axis light deals with two Point of Views: what the camera sees (which determines what's in the image) and what light source sees (which determines what is lit). The angular difference between these POVs is what creates depth in a photo.
Angle Exercise:
I set the camera to 1/160 f5.6 ISO200 and flash to 1/128 power. Flash was held at approximately the subject's armlength.
Angle Exercise:
I set the camera to 1/160 f5.6 ISO200 and flash to 1/128 power. Flash was held at approximately the subject's armlength.
Unit 1.2 - Position (Distance)
The Inverse Square Law: the closer you are to the light source, the more powerful the light. Also, the light values change quicker as you move in.
Understanding that this is a physics concept, I looked up the equation and found:
Intensity ∝ 1/distance^2
It is caused by the area of the light's coverage expanding as it moves from the light source.
For photography purposes, the inverse square law gives light a "depth of field," sort of like the camera's lens. The fall-off of light depends on the distance to the flash. For example, increasing the difference between flash-subject distance and flash-background increases the contrast, making the background darker.
To summarize:
• Light Placed Closer = more powerful, and control of the depth of the correct exposure.
• Light Placed Further = less powerful, and a broader zone of even lighting exposure.
Distance Exercise:
I set the camera to 1/180 (max. sync speed), ISO200, and set the flash to 1/8 power. I used aperture to establish subject exposure.
Understanding that this is a physics concept, I looked up the equation and found:
Intensity ∝ 1/distance^2
It is caused by the area of the light's coverage expanding as it moves from the light source.
For photography purposes, the inverse square law gives light a "depth of field," sort of like the camera's lens. The fall-off of light depends on the distance to the flash. For example, increasing the difference between flash-subject distance and flash-background increases the contrast, making the background darker.
To summarize:
• Light Placed Closer = more powerful, and control of the depth of the correct exposure.
• Light Placed Further = less powerful, and a broader zone of even lighting exposure.
Distance Exercise:
I set the camera to 1/180 (max. sync speed), ISO200, and set the flash to 1/8 power. I used aperture to establish subject exposure.
Position Review - Key Points:
"• The difference between light position and camera position reveal the three-dimensional shape of the subject.
• You can visualize what portion of your subject will be lit by viewing it from the flash's position.
• Lights are extremely powerful when placed close to the subject.
• Lights can illuminate broad subjects more evenly when placed far from the subject, at the expense of power.
• Light-to-subject distance vs. light-to-background distance can be used as a lighting control.
• Varying these ratios can alter a light's useful range. This can be thought of as lighting depth of field.
• This, in turn, can allow a photographer complete control over a background's relative brightness. This is especially important when you are trying to light on two separate planes."
• You can visualize what portion of your subject will be lit by viewing it from the flash's position.
• Lights are extremely powerful when placed close to the subject.
• Lights can illuminate broad subjects more evenly when placed far from the subject, at the expense of power.
• Light-to-subject distance vs. light-to-background distance can be used as a lighting control.
• Varying these ratios can alter a light's useful range. This can be thought of as lighting depth of field.
• This, in turn, can allow a photographer complete control over a background's relative brightness. This is especially important when you are trying to light on two separate planes."