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.