Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Photographic lighting.
Exercise: Softening the light.

For this exercise I set up a still life arrangement and fixed the light source more or less overhead, pointing down.  The first image was created using a naked lamp.  For the second image the light from the lamp was diffused.

The images are shown below:

5513.jpg; Naked lamp; F16; 1/125s

5514.jpg; Diffused lamp; F16; 1/90s

What have I learned from this exercise?

The naked lamp has produced the better image.  The surface texture is more pronounced.  The diffused lamp produces a more even lighting but the detail of the object is less defined.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Photographic lighting.
Exercise: The lighting angle.

For this exercise I used a diffused light source.  I experimented with using it from different directions.  For parts 1 and 2, the camera was kept in a fixed position, (on a tripod) aimed horizontally at the subject.  For part 3, the photographs were taken from overhead.  I moved the light around the object and took a photograph at each position.

1.  Light at the same level as the subject and camera.

5517.jpg; Front lighting; F16; 1/90s

5518.jpg; Side lighting; F16; 1/90s

5519.jpg; Behind and to one side lighting; F16; 1/90s

5520.jpg; Directly behind lighting; F16; 1/90s

2.  Light raised so that it points down at an angle of 45 degrees.

5525.jpg; Front lighting; F16; 1/60s

5524.jpg; Side lighting; F16; 1/45s

5523.jpg; Behind and to one side lighting; F16; 1/45s

5522.jpg; Directly behind lighting; F16; 1/90s

3.  Light suspended overhead, pointing down.  Photograph taken directly overhead.

5526.jpg; Directly overhead lighting; F16; 1/60s

5527.jpg; Overhead and slightly in front lighting; F16; 1/90s

5528.jpg; Overhead and slightly behind lighting; F16; 1/60s

What did I learn from this exercise?

When studying the differences between the images due to moving the light I found that certain qualities of the subject are revealed better by some lighting conditions.  The position directly behind shows the shape fairly well.  The "slightly behind" positions will highlight the edges.

Image 5524, produced with the light raised so that it points down at an angle of 45 degrees gives the best 3-dimensional effect, ie reveals the form of the subject best.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: The time of day
Exercise: Variety with a low sun.

The object of this exercise is to demonstrate some of the advantages of shooting when the sun is low.  The photos were taken when the sun was low, within about 2 hours of sunset.  I took images of a sculpture using frontal lighting, side lighting, back lighting and edge lighting.

The images are shown below:

5537.jpg; Frontal Lighting; F13; 1/500s

5542.jpg; Side Lighting; F13; 1/125s

5547.jpg; Back Lighting; F13; 1/125s

5550.jpg; Edge Lighting; F13; 1/60s

What have I learned from this exercise?

Frontal lighting will produce an intense but somewhat flat image.  Side lighting will give more information about the shape of the item.  The contours and texture of the object are more defined.  Back lighting creates a large amount of shadow.  The lighting results in a partial silhouette, the intensity of the shadow will depend on the location of the sun.  Edge lighting is a special condition for shooting towards the sun.  Only the edge of the object is lit.  The effect is best when the object is placed against a dark background.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: The time of day
Exercise: Light through the day.

For this exercise I photographed one scene from dawn to dusk.  I took one picture per hour throughout the day and one per half-hour at the end of the day, when the light was changing faster.

I used a tripod and cable release.

The images are shown below:

5560.jpg; 7:00am; F16; 1/6s

5561.jpg; 8:00am; F16; 1/10s

5510.jpg; 9:00am; F16; 1/10s

5511.jpg; 10:00am; F16; 1/8s

5531.jpg; 11:00am; F16; 1/10s

5532.jpg; 1:00pm; F16; 1/30s

5533.jpg; 2:00pm; F16; 1/30s

5512.jpg; 3:00pm; F16; 1/10s

5534.jpg; 4:00pm; F16; 1/15s

5535.jpg; 5:00pm; F16; 1/10s

5529.jpg; 6:00pm; F16; 1/45s

5553.jpg; 7:00pm; F16; 1/10s

5554.jpg; 7:30pm; F16; 1/4s

5555.jpg; 8:00pm; F16; 1/3s

5556.jpg; 8:30pm; F16; 1s

My favourite image is image 5560, taken at 7:00am.  The light at this time of day has produced sharp definition in the image combined with a warm tone.  I expected this light would be best due to the low slanting light.

What have I learned from this exercise?

The use of side lighting, such as that available at the beginning and end of the day due to its capacity to emphasise contours, textures and forms is the best form of lighting.  The obliqueness of light also creates a stronger contrast between the paler and darker surfaces in a subject and so brings out much greater definition of form.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: The colour of light.
Exercise: Judging colour temperature.

For this exercise I chose a subject that could be moved around and that did not have a strong colour.  I chose to use a straw hat as it was a plain light colour.  The photographs were all taken during very clear weather.

Three photographs were taken, one in full sunlight during the middle of the day, one in shade during the middle of the day and one in sunlight when the sun was close to the horizon.  The camera's white balance was set to daylight for each of the three shots.  The three images are shown below:

Full sunlight, middle of the day.

5182.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F13; 1/750s; WB Daylight

Shade, middle of the day.

5185.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F13; 1/60s; WB Daylight

Full sunlight, sun close to horizon (evening).

5194.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/125s; WB Daylight

The image taken in midday sunlight is lit with a neutral light and gives the truest rendition of the colours.  The colours of the image taken in the shade are muted with a bluish cast and look unnatural.  The image would look better if it were neutral.  The image taken when the sun is close to the horizon has a warmer more orange cast.  The orange cast of third image is quite attractive.

Now, I took a similar situation to that in the first part of the exercise and shot the same 3 kinds of picture, but for each one I varied the camera's white balance setting to Daylight/Sunlight, Shade setting and Auto.  The nine images produced are shown below:

Full sunlight, middle of the day.

5187.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/1000s; WB Daylight

5188.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/1000s; WB Shade

5189.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/1000s; WB Auto

Shade, Middle of the day.

5190.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/90s; WB Daylight

5191.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/125s; WB Shade

5192.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/125s; WB Auto

Full sunlight, sun close to horizon (evening).

5195.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/180s; WB Daylight

5196.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/180s; WB Shade

5197.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/180s; WB Auto

For the images taken in the full sun, image 5187, with daylight white balance setting has the truest colour tone. Image 5188, with shade white balance setting is too yellow.  Image 5189 with Auto white balance setting has muted colours with a "bleached out" look.

For the images taken in the shade in the middle of the day, image 5190 with daylight white balance setting has corrected for the shadow light well but has a slightly bluish cast.  The colours are more muted.  Image 5191, with shade white balance setting has produced a well exposed image.  The colours are natural.  Image 5192, with auto white balance setting has muted colours with a more of a bluish cast than with that produced with the daylight setting.

Image 5195, taken with a daylight white balance setting has the best rendition of colours of the three taken in full sunlight with the sun close to the horizon.  The warm orange tone looks natural and is quite attractive.  Image 5196 is too orange and image 5197 has an unattractive, desaturated look.

What have I learned from this exercise?

A warm, orange tone adds impact to a photograph.  Warm colouration in a picture is much more inviting than a cold cast as it gives the viewer a feeling of well being.  When shooting a subject that is in shade with a bright blue sky, setting the camera's white balance setting to shade effectively counteracts the cold colour cast produced.

Conveying a feeling of cold and isolation in a bleak landscape is a classic use of cool-tones.  To give an image a cool-tone, use a white balance setting with a colour temperature lower than the light that you are shooting in (in daylight 5,500K, use an Incandescent 3,000K setting, for example).

When shooting autumn colours, when the sun is higher in the sky during the middle of the day the higher colour temperature makes your images appear more blue.  This cooler light is not the best for capturing autumn colours.  You can compensate for this by using a Cloudy white balance setting.

For shooting portraits in varied lighting conditions, the best solution is to shoot in RAW mode and adjust the white balance when the images are processed.

Interesting effects can be obtained by using colour casts caused by mixed lighting.  Setting the white balance for the artificial lighting used for many interiors at dusk can turn the sky a strong blue, (see David Churchill).

In each of the sets of photographs above, the best image is produced by using the correct colour balance setting for the conditions rather than the Auto setting.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: The intensity of light.
Exercise: Higher and lower sensitivity.

For this exercise I took similar shots at both normal and high sensitivity.  I chose situations that were marginal, that is where the mixture of light level and subject movement or depth of field is only just possible.  I took the first photograph at normal sensitivity, (ISO 200), then changed to a higher sensitivity, (eg ISO 400 or 800).  I looked at the two photographs to see whether the change made shooting easier.  In particular, could the photograph not be made successfully at the lower sensitivity but was possible at the higher setting?

I compared the two images close up (at 100%).  I looked in two kinds of area in the picture, ie those that are smooth, with little detail and neither particularly bright nor dark, and also in the deep shadow areas.  I noted the obvious differences.

The pairs of images are shown below:

5174.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F22; 1/6s; ISO 200

5175.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F22; 1/15s; ISO 800

5177.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F22; 2s; ISO 200

5178.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F22; 1/2s; ISO 800

The four images above were taken using a tripod to hold the camera steady and as there was no movement in the images a long exposure time was possible without causing problems.  Therefore the lower ISO number could be used to produce a better image, with less noise.

5203.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F4.5; 1/4s; ISO 200

5202.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F4.5; 1/10s; ISO 800

The two photographs above were taken with the camera hand held.  The shutter speed of 1/4 second when the sensitivity was set to ISO 200 meant that the resulting image was blurred.  The higher ISO setting of 800 meant that a successful image could be produced by bracing the camera against a solid object.

5206.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/30s; ISO 200

5207.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/125s; ISO 800

5219.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F9.5; 1/60s; ISO 200

5218.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F9.5; 1/180s; ISO 800

5227.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F9.5; 1/90s; ISO 200

5228.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens; F11; 1/180s; ISO 800

The above images were taken in very poor lighting conditions with a heavy mist and drizzle.  The images produced using a lower ISO number were markedly less noisy than those produced using the higher ISO number.

What have I learned from this exercise?

Higher sensitivities can be used, by increasing the ISO number on the camera but the resulting images will have more noise.  Close inspection of the image in smooth areas, with little detail and in deep shadow areas will reveal that a marked increase in noise will be present when a high ISO setting is used.

This increased noise level may be acceptable if the photo is to be printed small or if the subject of the photograph is so interesting that the noise is hardly noticeable.