LIGHT in Photography
Chapter 1, “How to Learn Lighting”, talked about the importance of light and science in photography and through those things, magic can happen. It mentions how light is the language of photography, which includes having a grammar and vocabulary. This topic is more of a discussion than a lecture because we all have our own opinions about art. Once we learn important principals about light, we can predict how it might behave. Some of these principals include, the effective size of the light source, the three types of reflection possible from any surface, and angles that affect the reflections. These are important to know because the more you can plan your shoot, the more efficiently you can work and the better your images will turn out. It is handy to have good lighting equipment, but not necessary as you can get by with either outside shooting or window-light.
Chapter 2, “Light: The Raw Material of Photography” talked about light in detail and what it is. It goes over that photography is in essence manipulation of light since without light there could be no photography. Thus light is the raw material of photography. This is a cool way to think of photography! It proceeds to go on about the science of light and how it’s broken down into waves that travel at different speeds. We learn that photons travel through space at the same speed, but the electromagnetic field fluctuates based on the more energy a photon has. Light is perceived in three main ways, which are brightness, color and contrast. Lighting becomes a relationship between the light, subject and the viewer. The subject affects the lighting as well, based on the light that passes through the subject. The subject can either refract the light, direct, diffuse, absorb or reflect.
Chapter 3, “The management of Reflection and the Family of Angles”, discusses reflections and how to use them in photography. Reflections are large components in photography and to be able to manage them well makes a big impact on how your photograph comes out. There are three primary types of reflection, which are diffused reflection, direct reflection and a glare. There are also more types of reflection however such as, inverse square law, family of angels and polarized direct reflection. Reflections can fall into many categories. Since reflection is so prominent in a photo, it is important to keep it in mind and know how to work around and with it. I look forward to being more intentional about noticing the light, shadows and reflections in my photos!
