Light sources
Of all the factors that determine the final quality of an image, the source of light is undoubtedly a key element. No other single component of a photographer’s toolkit can so radically change the mood and context of a photograph.
The range of light sources itself is enormous and varied, each source having its own characteristics, contributing its unique qualities to the finished work. The sun, the ultimate natural light source has many characters, whose light is influenced by its position in the sky, cloud and other atmospheric conditions. Choosing the right time of day and weather conditions for the type of desired image is a simple way of utilising natural light to its best. Overcast days offer a flat diffused light with little shadow. On clear days, early morning and evenings provide a warm flattering light with long shadows and rich colours whilst midday suffers from harsh direct light with little shadow to shape and mould subjects.
Although props can be used to levy a degree of control over natural daylight, such as white umbrellas or aluminium foil for diffusion and reflection, lens filters to correct or enhance colour and fill-in flash to minimise unwanted shadow, the true level of control is limited, making natural daylight sometimes unsuitable for certain situations such as portraiture, still life and product advertising shots.
In these situations the photographic studio provides a controlled environment where the full range of tones can be rendered with pinpoint precision through the use of blackouts, reflectors, photo lamps and spotlights. Different factors now come into play, primarily, the number of lights, their size and their positions relative to the subject. A broad array of lighting configurations are possible but perhaps surprisingly a relatively small number are required to recreate most common lighting conditions.
This is demonstrated in the examples that follow where a statue is being used as the subject, due to its broad range of properties. The statute is a combination of both smooth and textured surfaces with angular projections as well as soft contours, raised edges as well as deep recesses and matt and shiny surfaces side by side. These extremes are not unlike many common photographic subjects such as a human face or a bowl of fruit and the mood we create for that subject is all down to some basic decisions on how many lights to use, what size and where to put them.