Photoshoot light and shadow. Light and Shadow Photography Lesson N7. Technical features of still life

Light and shadow in a landscape. How to photograph a landscape beautifully?

Most often articles about light in photography devoted to studio photography. Based on this, some amateur photographers get the impression that if they do not shoot in the studio, they can not bother with the issues of light and shadow at all. This is fundamentally not true.

The word photography is translated from Greek as "light painting", everyone probably knows about this. The success of a photographer largely depends on how effectively he can work with light and shadow. In this case we are talking not only about studio lighting, and light in general - from the sun, from a window, from a light bulb, from a flash, in a word, everything that can be used in artistic and everyday photography. If an amateur photographer is not familiar with the basics of building a light picture, a photograph is obtained, he regularly receives frames like this ...

I think detailed comments on the photo are unnecessary. The main problem with this shot is that the type of lighting does not match the capabilities of the camera. As a result, only a dark silhouette of foreground objects against a whitened sky is obtained in the photograph. This is just one of the situations when you need not to trust the "machine", but to turn on your own brains - choose a shooting point and set up the device in such a way that there is something to look at the photo.

This chapter will deal exclusively with shooting landscapes, in which the main light source is the sun. Despite the fact that there is only one light source, many options for illuminating the scene are possible - some are better, some are worse.

First of all, two categories of lighting can be distinguished - diffused and directional.

diffuse lighting

Most a prime example ambient lighting can be seen outside on a cloudy day. All objects are illuminated evenly, the cut-off pattern is practically absent. For landscape photography, this is one of the most inappropriate types of lighting. The picture is dull, the colors are faded and boring.

It is very difficult to convey volume in such photographs, especially if the nature of the foreground and background does not differ (trees against the background of trees) - they seem to stick together with each other. In cloudy weather, you should try to avoid taking too much sky into the frame, since the relatively dimly lit ground often turns out to be unnecessarily dark:

You can, of course, "stretch" the shadows in Photoshop, but still, the photo will almost certainly be rather boring and inexpressive. After all, the mood of the picture in most cases is determined by chiaroscuro, but in this case there is almost none, and, in general, there is no mood either.

Directional lighting

In the case of street photography, the source of directional lighting during the day is the sun, at night - sometimes the moon, but more often - artificial light sources, such as street lamps. Depending on the location of the light source, directional lighting can be divided into three types:

Frontal
Lateral
back

front lighting it turns out if the light source is located behind us and illuminates the object or the entire scene "head on". A characteristic feature of this lighting is a very weak play of light and shadow, as a result of which the volume suffers - the photograph seems flat. Here is an example of such a photo:

Let's leave the flock of birds alone, pay attention to the landscape itself. By itself, the volume in this photo is conveyed very mediocrely. For example, it is not clear how far the birch is from us and we have to guess about it by indirect signs - it is clear that the leaves turned out to be very small, so the brain tells us that the tree does not grow on the edge of the cliff, but much further. The cliff line itself merges with the river bank. In general, the transfer of volume in this photo leaves much to be desired.

But even if we have to deal with frontal lighting (especially true when shooting landscapes on long trips), it is often possible to solve the problem of conveying volume by choosing a shooting point. Here is another photo from the same series, similar in composition, in which a slightly different point and shot is chosen:

Quite another matter! Thanks to the presence of shadows, a clear separation of plans appeared, thanks to which the photograph is "read" much better. We can immediately determine where is the foreground, where is the middle, where is the background. I found a very good trick to improve the transfer of volume in lighting close to the front - the border of the illuminated foreground should pass against the background of a shadowed fragment of the background. Pay attention to the edge of the cliff - the dry grass lit by the bright sun in the foreground contrasts perfectly with the shaded area located below the slope. However, this technique is applicable only on hilly terrain. If the terrain is smooth, then getting a good volume in the photo with frontal lighting, alas, will not work.

Side lighting gives a much more interesting cut-off pattern than the frontal one. With frontal lighting, even if we get a play of light and shadow on the terrain, single objects are still illuminated "head on" and look pretty flat (see the tree trunks in the previous two photos). In side lighting, objects look more voluminous. Here is an example of a photo taken with side lighting.

Although the sun is not strictly to our side, but to the side-behind, the light-and-shadow pattern here appears not only on the landscape itself, but also on the objects themselves, in particular, on the tree trunk on the right. It is noticeable that it is thanks to chiaroscuro that the round shape of the object and its texture are emphasized. It is also important to mention here that the best lighting occurs in the morning and evening, when the sun is not high above the horizon. In this case, the shadow from the crowns of the trees does not fall on their trunks, due to which the texture of the tree bark is transmitted in the best possible way. Plus, from objects on the ground there are long shadows that can become elements of the composition. However, when the sun gets too low, the lowlands of the landscape are immersed in shadow, which often negatively affects the expressiveness of the picture. Here is an example of a photo when the best moment for shooting has already been missed - the foreground has gone into the shadows.

However, the most interesting, in my opinion, photographs are obtained in backlight, that is, when shooting against the sun. I must say right away that shooting a landscape in backlight is not an easy task, but if successful, the result may exceed all expectations.

I must immediately warn you that in backlight it is far from always useful. When photographing a sunset over high-rise buildings, it’s not worth it to beat yourself in the chest, they say, I have mastered the art of landscape photography and know how to use backlight! :) The main thing is not that the light source got into the frame, the main thing is how the light spreads in the frame and how much it was possible to convey in the photograph.

With proper use, backlight can create a unique black and white pattern in a landscape (and not only in it). To implement this type of lighting, you need, at least in the frame, to have a favorable environment in which this light will "play". Let's start simple...

The photo was taken with a telephoto lens, the setting sun was left out of the frame. This simple study shows how backlighting can be used to create light fringing around objects. The only condition is that the object must have a rough or even furry surface. The hairs on the stems and flowers scatter the sunlight, creating some pretty interesting edging in the photo.

Another example is more difficult...

First on the positives. The volume is wonderfully conveyed in the photo due to the active alternation of lights and shadows. Foliage is able to transmit light and create the illusion of glow, especially if it is located against a dark background. In the presence of haze appears additional view the perspective is aerial, that is, the objects in the foreground are clear and contrasting, in the background - as if in a haze. All this has a positive effect on the perception of photography.

However, there are also pitfalls. The most important of them is the limited dynamic range of the matrix. Even a serious DSLR is often unable to work out shadows and highlights at the same time. The above photo shows that the texture of the oak bark is almost lost, it has gone into a deep shadow. If you try to increase the shutter speed in order to work out the shadows better, another trouble awaits us - the previously small and neat sun (in this case, its reflection in the water) will begin to spread rapidly in width as a result of blooming (this is a phenomenon when the charge from overexposed matrix cells begins to flow to neighboring cells, which also overexpose and overflow - and so on, and so on). Because of the blooming, the sun "knocks out" a significant part of the photo in an absolutely white color, devoid of shades:

In some cases, the ND filter helps to cope with the sun, but it allows you to achieve an acceptable result only if the horizon is straight on the frame and nothing crosses it. This is what the ND filter looks like:

And here is the result of its application. The darkened area of the filter fell on the top of the frame. This allowed us to darken the overly bright sky and reduce blooming, while at the same time allowing us to better work out the dark lower part of the frame.

When dynamic range is lacking, many photographers often resort to HDR imaging techniques. The essence of this technique is that instead of one frame, three are taken - one with a normal exposure, the other underexposed (the sky is good on it, the earth is in black), the third is overexposed (the earth is good, the sky is white). Then one of the three shots is taken using Adobe Photoshop or some specialized program for creating HDR. Here is an example HDR image:

The second problem with shooting in backlight is the glare resistance of the lens. Not all lenses can boast of the ability to give a "clean" picture when shooting against the sun and, as photographers say, "catch hares". Here is an example of what these "hares" look like:

Sometimes sunbeams they give the photo a separate zest, but most often they only spoil it, appearing in the most unnecessary places. effective way the fight against "hares", except for the purchase of expensive optics, has not yet been invented, alas.

I can't help but give another example of a backlit photo taken from a helicopter:

Photo - Drilling. Western Siberia.

In addition to the very expressive chiaroscuro, this photograph is also notable for the fact that the sun here behaves like a source of point light. The shadows do not run parallel to each other, as we are used to seeing while on the ground, but with a perspective effect, which gives the photo a powerful internal dynamics. The photo was taken on a full-frame DSLR with a 16mm ultra wide-angle lens.

Speaking about light in photography, one cannot fail to mention such a light source as a flash - built-in or external. Read about the features of using this device.

Lesson text

Starting from this lesson, we will study the genres of photography and their features. The first will be still life - an interesting genre dedicated to the depiction of inanimate objects. The advantage of still life is that you can photograph it anywhere, even at home. Yes, you probably did it more than once, shooting flowers, books or barbecues in nature. Just now we will figure out how to make such pictures artistic.

But first, there will be a short introduction about a topic that is important for any genre - light and its influence on the expressiveness of photography. You can study it on the example of any genre, just in combination with a still life, this will turn out to be the most understandable and effective.

Light. Black and white drawing.

The phrase about the fact that photography is light painting has already set the teeth on edge. However, light really matters! Only he is interested in photographers not as physical phenomenon, but as the creator of a black and white pattern - a combination of illuminated and shaded areas on objects, to put it simply. It is important for photography in that it creates the effect of three-dimensionality, despite the fact that the photograph itself is, in fact, two-dimensional. You can verify this if you remember how children are taught to draw. First, they draw a simple shape, such as a square:

This figure, as you can see, is flat. To make it look more voluminous, the edges are drawn.

Looks bigger? Undoubtedly. But still there is a feeling of unnaturalness. And now we add shadows, as if light is falling on the figure at an angle.

Now the object looks really voluminous and as complete as possible. It's the same in photography, just a black and white pattern is not applied to canvas or paper, but is formed using the location of the subject relative to the light source.

Another point that needs to be understood is the components of the black and white pattern. They are clearly visible in this illustration:

It is not necessary that all of them be present in the photograph: for example, there may not be shadows, but then penumbraes must be present. There may also be no reflex and a falling shadow. But most of the chiaroscuro components must be present, otherwise the picture will look unnatural, not voluminous.

As you can see for yourself, there are highlights on the vase, highlights on flowers, partial shadows on all objects, and shadows on the background.

The presence of certain components of the black-and-white pattern, its nature depends on the angle at which the light falls. The easiest and most obvious option is to position the objects so that you get 45 degrees to the shooting axis. This is the first option worth trying, it will work in most cases.

However, there is no single recipe here, it all depends on the plot, the subject, its shape, and the features of the relief. If you change the angle of incidence of light, then the object will be perceived differently, so you can and should experiment with the location of the light source. For example, it is worth trying to position the light source so that it falls at an angle of 90 degrees to the shooting axis.

Or even behind the object: in this case, volume is lost, but this is justified by obtaining a silhouette.

Light coming from above is also one of the options.

Surely you have a question, but how to choose the angle of incidence of light? There is no single algorithm here, you have to make a decision every time and you will have to evaluate success or failure visually, that is, just look - it turned out well or badly, compare different options, choose first at the level of “like or dislike”. And over time, when you look at an object, you will already begin to understand how best to illuminate it in order to achieve one or another plot.

Light as mood

In the previous lesson, you learned that color can affect the mood of a photo. However, light can do the same. To begin with, a little theory about the types of black and white pattern. By the number of halftones (that is, the area of transition from light to shadow), it can be soft and hard.

In hard light, there are practically no penumbraes, the border between light and shadow is sharp

With soft - the light smoothly passes into the shadow, the penumbra occupy a fairly large area.

The hardness of light depends on several factors:

The larger the light source relative to the subject, the softer the light will be.
The farther the object is from the source, the harder the light.

In addition, light can be divided by the difference in exposure between light and shadow: the larger it is, the light is considered to be more contrast.

contrast light

low contrast light

Contrasting light will be if it directly affects the object. When reflected, scattered (by a cloudy sky or even a sheet of paper in front of a light source), the contrast will drop.

Now let's try to understand whether the type of light can influence the mood in the photo. Undoubtedly! For example, if you want to create a light, romantic shot, then you need soft, low-contrast light.

If light tones predominate in the frame, then the so-called "high key" is obtained.

If you need drama, even depressiveness, then hard contrasting light in combination with the predominance of dark tones will come in handy.

This shooting technique is called "low key"

Contrasting shadows can also be used to create quite positive frames, but then there are already requirements for colors that should be bright.

The principles of working with light, which are described in this lesson, are applicable not only to still life, but also to other genres of photography. Therefore, this knowledge will be useful to you further, and more than once. Well, now that we have dealt with this important topic, let's move on to the features of still life photography.

Choice of plot and selection of objects

As you already know from the previous lesson, a photograph is born from an image that has arisen in the head. That is, first you have to figure out what you want to shoot, what to show, what story to tell the viewer. The starting point can be some plot image, for example, "breakfast", religious themes, fruit still life. And objects are already selected under this topic.

In addition, you can build on a specific object that you want to photograph. And under it other elements, background, light and so on are selected.

The plot can also be an abstraction, a combination of shapes and colors.

At the same time, the objects must still be harmonious.

Another way to make a still life interesting is to animate inanimate objects. And their choice can be quite unexpected.

It is extremely difficult to come up with and implement, but the result will be impressive!

The main object in a still life plays an important role, creating a core around which the rest of the elements are located. The principles of selecting the main object and building a picture in general in this genre are no different from those described in the second lesson. Here it is only worth mentioning that the main element does not have to be pretentious, catchy. Simple and concise things look, most often, much better.

The main subject can be like the only one in the photo…

... and surrounded by secondary elements. It is important here not to overload the picture with details, even if there are not very many of them.

And it is important that the secondary elements form the plot along with the main object. Do not try, at least at first, to include completely different objects in the frame, as there is a great risk of confusing yourself and confusing the viewer. Yes, and the topic should not be too general: you can, of course, try to make a still life with the plot “The Seasons”, but either there will be a lot of objects (you need to reveal every time), or the plot will be difficult to read. It is better to break, make separately summer, autumn, winter, spring still lifes.

Background selection

Since objects in a still life are located in a limited space, the background is most often made homogeneous so as not to distract attention and not overload the photo with details.

The choice of background, again, depends on what exactly you are shooting, what plot. For example, wood gives warm, homey notes.

Burlap will allow the viewer to assume that the plot is connected with village life. Or it can emphasize a vintage plot with antique objects.

A refined fabric will add aristocracy.

The use of glass surfaces looks interesting, which will allow you to get symmetry in the photo.

They often use screens of laptops and computers as a background with some kind of splash screen - this is suitable for modern and technologically advanced subjects.

As you can see, it is not necessary to buy studio paper backgrounds. Although you can take pictures with them, it's just not suitable for every still life. Here it is important that the picture turned out to be alive, natural. The emasculation, "sterility" of the background should also be appropriate.

Well, at the end of this part of the lesson, I would like to say that the interior can also become the background.

Moreover, it is not necessary to shoot a still life only at home, you can go outside to find a shooting location there - it all depends only on your imagination.

Sources of light

You might think that advanced photographers shoot exclusively with flashes, but this is actually not the case. Yes, pulsed light convenient, since the photographer does not depend on the conditions, can create the desired effects at any time, but the purchase of flashes and various accessories is quite expensive.

The flash was on the right and was used not only to illuminate objects, but also to freeze the splash of milk.

You can use a window as a light source, placing a place for shooting next to it. You can adjust the intensity and contrast of light using curtains or simply blocking the light from it with a handmade screen (elementary - a sheet of plywood).

In addition, flashlights, lamps, floor lamps and other lamps are suitable for shooting still life. Moreover, they can either simply illuminate the scene or be included in the plot.

Separately, we can mention candles, which are often used in still life. Only here it is important to take into account that they give enough contrasting light, so you should make sure that the unlit sides of objects do not merge with the background - this is not always appropriate and because of this, volume is lost. It is better to highlight something else from the side in order to avoid this.

Here it is worth remembering that different light sources can have different temperatures, that is, give a different shade, and this can not only be noticeable, but also destroy the atmosphere of the picture.

Technical features of still life

Settings and tripod

Still lifes are often shot on closed apertures (although this is not a rule, it all depends on the situation). In addition, if you do not use flashes, the light sources are quite weak. In this situation, it is better not to increase the ISO sensitivity (its values will be quite extreme and will lead to strong noise), but to fix the camera. You can, of course, just put it on a hard surface and use a shutter delay (so that the camera does not stagger from pressing the button), but it’s more convenient to use a tripod. Unlike the landscape, the simplest and most inexpensive one is suitable, since there are no special requirements or difficulties when shooting a still life.

Minimum focusing distance

Each lens has this characteristic, which means that the minimum distance from the camera to the subject at which the camera can focus. For conventional lenses, it ranges from 20 cm and gets larger as you zoom in. focal length. See the specifications for the exact value. Only macro lenses differ, which can focus in a matter of centimeters. If you do not have such a lens and you shoot on ordinary "glasses", then this moment must be taken into account.

Light and shadow in a landscape. How to photograph a landscape beautifully?

The word photography is translated from Greek as "light painting", everyone probably knows about this. The success of a photographer largely depends on how effectively he can work with light and shadow. In this case, we are talking not only about studio lighting, but light in general - from the sun, from a window, from a light bulb, from a flash, in a word, everything that can be used in artistic and everyday photography. If an amateur photographer is not familiar with the basics of building a light picture, a photograph is obtained, he regularly receives frames like this ...

First of all, two categories of lighting can be distinguished - diffused and directional.

diffuse lighting

The most striking example of diffuse lighting can be seen outdoors on a cloudy day. All objects are illuminated evenly, the cut-off pattern is practically absent. For landscape photography, this is one of the most inappropriate types of lighting. The picture is dull, the colors are faded and boring.

Directional lighting

Frontal
Lateral
back

Another example is more difficult...

First on the positives. The volume is wonderfully conveyed in the photo due to the active alternation of lights and shadows. Foliage is able to transmit light and create the illusion of glow, especially if it is located against a dark background. In the presence of haze, an additional type of perspective appears - aerial, that is, objects in the foreground are clear and contrasting, in the background - as if in a haze. All this has a positive effect on the perception of photography.

Sometimes sunbeams give a photograph a special zest, but more often than not, they only spoil it, appearing in the most unnecessary places. An effective way to deal with "hares", except for buying expensive optics, has not yet been invented, alas.

I can't help but give another example of a backlit photo taken from a helicopter:

Photo - Drilling. Western Siberia.

Speaking about light in photography, one cannot fail to mention such a light source as a flash - built-in or external. Read about the features of using this device.

Usually, when looking at any photograph, they pay attention, first of all, to the position of a group of objects or objects illuminated by an artificial or natural light source. However, almost the main expressive means of the photographer when building the composition of the frame are light and shadows. It is well known that the word photography itself, translated from Greek, means “drawing with light” or light painting. In photography, we are trying to capture the light pattern of the world around us on a plane. But where there is light, there will always be shadow. Therefore, the most important task of the photographer is to understand how to correctly combine light and shadows in photography in accordance with a certain artistic intent.

Light

Light in photography performs both technical and visual and compositional tasks. With the technical function, everything is clear - with the help of setting the light, the desired level of illumination is created. The pictorial function of light is to convey the shape, volume and visible structure of the surface of the object being photographed, as well as the depth of space, to photographs through illumination. It is through light that the photographer can achieve that the subject in the photograph will give the viewer a feeling of softness, elasticity, smoothness, hardness or heaviness. Light helps to convey, for example, the tenderness of a child's skin or the shine of the surface of cutlery in a photograph. The mood of the image and its originality directly depend on the lighting.

But we should also not forget that light not only forms the shape and emphasizes the surface of objects, but also forms the tones and shadows that cast the objects being shot. In particular, good lighting in photography can only be called such, in which highlights, midtones and shadows will be visible. The correct combination of light and shadow in a photograph is the difficult compositional task that the photographer has to solve.

Since light is one of the main means of expression in the photographer's arsenal, it is very important to remember its main characteristics and be able to use it correctly in each specific situation. Light can be hard (directional) or soft (diffuse). Directional light forms sharply defined, too dark and deep shadows. Such light is provided by the sun in bright sunny weather, street lamps at night, or special artificial directional light sources that form a very narrow beam of rays.

Photographers usually don't like to use hard directional light because too thick shadows don't look very attractive in the photo. Soft, diffused light gives a more even illumination of the scene, without harsh shadows. Such lighting when shooting outdoors is observed in the early morning or evening, as well as in cloudy weather. In addition, soft light can be created using softboxes and various reflectors.

There are also key, fill, background and back light. Key light always plays a key role, as it forms the shadows in the picture, revealing the shape and volume of the subject. With its help, a black-and-white solution of a photograph is created. The key light can be directed from behind the photographer, from above, from the side or from below to the subject. Accordingly, the ratio of shadow and light in the picture changes from the direction and angle of incidence of light, which directly affects the character and mood of the photograph.

The background light helps to illuminate the space behind the subject and create a certain black and white pattern on it. The fill light allows the photographer to illuminate all the shadow areas of the scene and, thereby, ensure the creation of a more balanced black and white picture in accordance with the author's intention. Finally, backlighting, by illuminating the subject from behind, allows you to create additional highlights in the illuminated areas and at the same time present the photo in a darker, lower tone.

Lighting can be natural or artificial. Naturally, the photographer cannot control the light of the sun, in contrast to studio conditions, where a wide variety of lighting effects can be created using artificial light sources. However, this does not mean that on the street the photographer is completely deprived of the opportunity to use light as a visual and compositional device.

Here, the photographer needs to have an idea of how high the sun will be in relation to the horizon at a given time of day, at what angle the shadows will fall, and how certain weather events will affect the lighting characteristics.Sunlight can change its color temperatureand, accordingly, the hue in the photo depending on the time of shooting, the weather and the position of the sun. best time for outdoor photography, sunrise and sunset are considered when diffused light is created with pleasant, warm tones and soft shadows. Thus, when shooting outdoors, in order to achieve the desired chiaroscuro pattern, the photographer must either wait for a certain time and weather, or achieve the shadows he needs through the use of reflective screens and filters.

When shooting in a studio, the photographer is virtually unlimited in expressive means and can use certain lighting devices to create the lighting he needs and draw shadows. Properly built light helps to achieve the embodiment of a creative idea and largely determines the quality of the picture.

Shadows

Light and shadows are almost inseparable things in photography. In the composition, not only the illuminated part of the frame, that is, the light, plays an important role, but also the shadows, which in many cases determine the meaning and content of the photograph. Beautiful and emotionally powerful photographs are almost impossible to create without the ability to correctly compose and control shadows. The use of shadows helps to add a strong mood to the image and the subject, a certain emotional coloring that the viewer always feels. We can say that the shadows help to enhance the overall impression of the photo and its vision.

Shadows in the photo image are determined by the nature of the lighting - diffused or hard, drawing or filling, side or bottom light. In photography, it is customary to highlight the actual shadow, as well as penumbra and reflex. Under the shadow understand unlit or dimly lit areas of the object. Penumbra is a faint shadow that forms when an object is illuminated by several light sources at once, or it occurs on a surface facing the light source at a slight angle.

As for the reflex, this is a small bright spot in the shadow area, formed by light rays reflected from nearby objects. Light can be directed to the subject from everywhere: from above and below, to the right and left, front and back. In this case, each time a shadow pattern is formed, inherent only to this direction of light, with characteristic shadows and penumbra.

Do not think that the shadows in the photo are just unlit areas of the image that do not have any content. In fact, the shadows in the photograph can convey a lot of information to the viewer. For example, by casting shadows in a picture, you can determine the time of day, the state of the weather, or where the sun's rays fall on the subject. The shadow is able to add volume to the subject being shot, it allows it to look more realistic and vital. Proper use of shadows allows the photographer to add a sense of mystery or drama to the image.

Author: TheAlieness Gisela Giardin

One of the favorite techniques of many photographers using shadow is to create dark silhouettes on a light background, which is achieved by backlighting the subject. The silhouettes in the photo look very impressive, give the object shape and create a certain mood of the picture. Shadows can also be more complex than just a dark silhouette. They can be ornate lines that contrast with bright colors and highlights in the image. By creating such unusual shadows, one can, in particular, connect the disparate parts of a photograph together and give it a compositional completeness.

Light and shadows in frame composition

In the photo we see the world as a combination of light and dark areas. The correct combination of light and shadow in the composition of the frame helps to convey the depth of space, outline the three-dimensional plastic shape and texture of any object, and endow the image with a certain mood and emotional perception. When creating any picture, the photographer must build a composition where the main attention should be paid not only to lighting and the position of the subject in space, but also to balancing light and shadow to achieve the desired effect.

Author: kevin dooley

Everything in photography should be in balance and harmony with each other. Therefore, when building a frame, it is necessary to evaluate the individual areas of light and shadow scattered throughout the picture in order to remove unnecessary ones to ensure the optimal relationship between the various elements of the image. If the compositional possibilities of light and shadow fall out of the photographer's field of vision, then the picture, as a rule, turns out to be uninteresting and boring.

In some cases, the wrong play with light and shadow can cause the viewer to really reject the photo. For example, it is not recommended to build the composition of the frame in such a way that the light areas appear exclusively at the bottom of the picture, and the top of the image contains only deep, sharp shadows.

Author: ArloMagicMan

What is more meaningful in photography - the right light or shadows? And is it necessary to place the main light accents and pronounced shadows in the composition of the picture? There are no clear answers to these questions. As practice shows, the identity of the gradations of chiaroscuro in the image, that is, the presence of lights and shadows of equal area and brightness in the image, is by no means a guarantee of obtaining a high-quality and, most importantly, interesting photograph.

A beautiful and memorable photograph may well consist of many areas of light and shadow that are unequal in gradation and area. The main thing here is that the photographer should be able to change this gradation and be able to correctly build a black and white pattern in accordance with his artistic vision.

Of course, such a skill requires some experience and creative experiments. In order to gain an understanding of the subtle play of light and shadow, it is best for a beginner photographer to start with still life photography. Here the photographer can, slowly, think over all the elements of the composition, change the lighting of the subject, while watching how the play of light and shadow changes in the picture. Skillful management of light and shadow allows you to create stunningly beautiful, artistic pictures making an indelible impression on the audience.

In preparing the article, materials from resources were used

The main tool of a photographer is not a camera, but light. It is he who draws landscapes, portraits, still lifes on film or a matrix. With the help of light, three photographic problems are solved: technical, pictorial and compositional. The technical problem - obtaining an image - is solved thanks to the invention of the camera: a strictly measured amount of light determined by the spectral composition is directed through the lens to the right place in the frame, where dark or light areas appear - light and shadows.

To solve a visual problem, it is not enough just to flood the space that has fallen into the viewfinder field with light. With the help of light on the plane of the picture, you can depict, that is, draw, the three-dimensional world around us. The light allows you to convey the roundness of an apple and the tenderness of a child's skin, the graphic quality of a forged lattice and the sponginess of a granite pavement, the beauty of a crystal glass and the brilliance of the nickel-plated surface of a table knife, the gentle colors of a foggy morning and the flashy contrasts of a city at night. The compositional problem can be solved with the help of shadows generated by light. Sometimes the shadow is simple and definite. She in itself is the subject of shooting and the essence of the picture (photo 2). Sometimes the shadow forms unusually ornate lines, which, when combined with the background, can evoke complex associations in the viewer, greatly enhancing the emotional impact of the photograph (photo 3). You can also use the shadow as a compositional element of the picture, for example, to unite its disparate parts into a single whole and give it a compositional completeness (photo 4).

Light can be directed at the subject from everywhere: top and bottom, right and left, front and back. At the same time, a shadow pattern inherent only to this direction of light is created each time, affecting the perception of the photograph by the viewer.

Light directions

The light differs depending on its direction to the subject:
- rear (or straight)- directed at the subject from behind the back of the photographer.
- top- directed at the subject from above. lower - directed at the subject from below. upper side - aimed at the subject at an angle to the right or left of the camera.
- side- directed at the subject strictly from the side. posterolateral - aimed at the subject at an angle behind and to the right or left of the camera.
- back- directed towards the camera lens.

Kinds of light

Very often, to create a picture, both outdoors and indoors, several light sources are used at once. In this case, each of them has its own purpose and name.
- drawing- the main type of light (all others play a supporting role). It is he who forms the shadows that determine the black and white solution of the picture. The key light is usually created by a single light source and can be directed at the subject from anywhere.
- filling- with its help highlight the shadows, giving them lightness and transparency. Without fill light, shadows can become completely black. Sometimes this is appropriate, but more often at least some details should be read in the shadows.
- back- is directed at the object from behind and supports the key light, creating additional glare in the areas illuminated by it.
In cases where the brightness of the object and the brightness of the background are the same, backlight helps to tear the object from the background.
- contour (or backlight)- a kind of backlight. It is formed by a source installed exactly behind the head of the model and directed at the camera lens. Such light draws a bright overexposed outline around the subject, devoid of details (photo 3).
- background- used to illuminate the background, to create a black and white pattern on it that supports the key light.

qualities of light

- soft (or scattered)- does not form sharp shadows (photo 7, 12). This is the light of a cloudy day or the sun covered by an oncoming cloud (photo 1), the light reflected from a white wall or a photo umbrella (translucent, working for light, or with a reflective inner surface, working for reflection), the light of softboxes (special lighting fixtures giving soft light).

- hard (or directional)- forms sharply defined, deep shadows (see photo 2 - 4). This is the light of the sun or lighting devices with a small size of a luminous body: incandescent lamps, street lamps, spots (special sources of directional hard light that give a very narrow beam of rays).

artificial light

On the street there is only one light source - the sun, and the photographer cannot control it, unlike the studio, where you can do whatever you want with the light. When I work in the studio, I try to light the frame in such a way as to replicate the imaginary natural light. For example, I imitate the light of the sun, the stripes of shadows from the blinds or the light from the window. With this approach to working with light, it is possible to shoot "truthful" photographs, viewing which the viewer experiences the joy of recognition (photo 6).

All types of lighting devices can be used to obtain key light, however, it is more convenient to shoot people with pulsed sources, because shooting moving objects requires fast shutter speeds. Flashes give out a powerful impulse in hundredths of a second, this makes it possible to avoid shaking. Still lifes, on the other hand, are best illuminated with halogen bulbs. Constantly burning light makes it possible to carefully, slowly, build a composition, and the exposure time in this case cannot affect the result of the shooting.

Soft light does not form sharply defined, deep shadows. Such light can be obtained when the luminous body of the light source has a radiating area so large that it, as it were, covers the object both on the right and on the left. The same softbox or umbrella can work very softly when moved close to the subject, and very hard when moved a long distance from it.

To get soft light, it is not at all necessary to use expensive softboxes. Sometimes you can get very soft light by pointing your flash at a ceiling or a white wall. I often use styrofoam sheets for this, which scatter light well without changing its color temperature. Folding lightdisks (light reflectors stretched on a steel spring) are very convenient. They also serve as an excellent source of soft scattered light both in the studio and on the street. The light of any window of a city apartment also works softly, if you do not move further than one meter from it (photo 7).

street lighting

Not always the cut-off decision of the frame, dictated by the prevailing conditions, successfully solves the pictorial problem. Suppose I saw the object I liked on a gray cloudy day, when even, almost shadowless lighting does not allow me to convey in the photograph either the terrain, or the texture of the material that decorates the walls of houses, or the roundness of the columns, or the colors of mosaic decorations. We will have to come back here again, but when, at what time of the day? The sun, describing an arc in the sky, constantly changes the lighting conditions. In the early morning, light spreads along the surface of the earth, overcoming the thickness of the dusty atmosphere. At the same time, it dissipates and colors the air in warm red and yellow tones. At ten o'clock in the morning, when the sun rises about thirty degrees above the horizon, shadows appear, directed diagonally downwards. From noon to two o'clock in the afternoon the sun is at its zenith, at this time the light and shade pattern is perhaps the most unfortunate: vertical objects do not form long shadows. There is really an exception to this rule - the walls of houses expose their sides to the sun in such a way that any cornice, any crumb of cement protruding above a flat surface, forms deep, black shadows. If you use it wisely, you can get very impressive photos(photo 8). Then the sun goes down, repeating the whole process of changing the light and shade pattern, only the direction of the shadows on the object is reversed.

We are not given control over the light of the sun. We have to put up with this, but this does not mean at all that shooting on location is a simple fixation of the moment. You need to start by choosing the time of shooting. It depends on it: at what height the sun will be, at what angle the shadows will fall, whether the morning haze will soften and blur background objects. Even within one day it is impossible to take two identical pictures. I'm not talking about the influence of weather on lighting conditions. The light of an open, direct sun is harsh and uncompromising, but the light of the same sun will be noticeably scattered by the mere presence of clouds in the sky - they serve as good reflectors. A cloud covering the sun can make this light soft, and a large thundercloud can make it almost shadowless (photo 1).

The light of a cloudy day and the light of the sun because of the horizon line are amorphous and do not form chiaroscuro (photo 12). Light depends not only on the time of day, but also on the season, on whether it rains or snows. Truly, there is no bad weather - there are bad photographers. The main tool for influencing street lighting is the legs. Do not be surprised, they allow you to choose the right direction for shooting. The light, as in the studio, can be rear, posterolateral, side, backlight, but if I move the lamps in the studio, then such liberties do not work with the luminary. You have to move in space yourself, changing the direction of light in the frame.

If the sun is behind the photographer, expect a flat picture. In most cases, this is bad - the volumes of objects are not detected. But sometimes you can very effectively use your own shadow (photo 10) or the shadows of nearby people.

The backlight of the sun is different from the studio. The highlights in this case also occupy a smaller part of the image area, creating an overall dark tone. However, on the street, light scattering and reflection of the sun's rays are very noticeable. Air haze or fog stand out effectively against darker backgrounds, tonally emphasizing the depth of space, and light scattering allows you to get the necessary study of shaded details. The shadows formed by the counter are very beautiful. Contours and silhouettes help create concise and catchy shots. Shiny surfaces of water, polished metal, glass, various polymer films, stone decoration of architectural structures, sea pebbles, clouds at sunset, etc. are good in backlight (photo 9).

If you turn sideways to the sun, the nature of the lighting will change. The shadows will work properly for the photographer, but the picture will become much brighter, because there will be much more planes illuminated by the sun than with backlighting. The colors will become saturated. Finding a harmonious combination of lights and shadows in such lighting is quite difficult. Light and shadow enter into an age-old dispute - who is more important for art (photo 11).

Light in composition

Composite "scales" help me to balance light and shadows. They are always with me and, looking at the photos, I mentally weigh their contents. It is clear that dark spots heavier than light ones, and the red object will outweigh the green one. I like it when objects in a photograph obey the laws of gravity, when harmony and balance reign within each picture. When building a shot, I try not to place all the objects in one half of the frame, otherwise the picture will fall apart - if the top of the photo is very dark and the bottom is light, the viewer will instinctively want to turn it upside down. One has only to turn on the internal “scales” and analyze the lights and shadows scattered over the picture, as it turns out that many require the amputation of spaces free from semantic load. The pictures don't get worse though. However, cropping, as a rule, leads to a decrease in the used area of the negative or matrix, and thereby reduces its quality. When the image is enlarged, the sharpness decreases, the graininess grows. Therefore, it is better to balance the frame in the process of shooting.

When I learned to shoot, I mentally imagined that the plane of the picture was balanced at the tip of the needle. It is enough to put a weight on any point of this imaginary structure, as a counterweight will have to be used to maintain balance. Such a counterweight can be not only an object, but also a shadow from it (photo 15).

At the stage of apprenticeship, it makes sense to shoot still lifes - dead nature allows you to slowly think through all the elements of the composition. When shooting a still life, you should first of all find a place for the main subject, only after that you can fill the free space of the picture with something else. The simplest solution may seem to be the central location of the main object or a symmetrical composition. However, symmetry kills movement in the frame, nature does not like symmetry. A deliberate violation of the symmetrical compositional balance can give an image additional meaning, exciting emotionality or mystery. Such a picture should cause unconscious anxiety in the viewer, thereby detaining his attention on himself (photo 13).

From good shot it is impossible to cut off a single millimeter without hurting him. Everything in it should be interconnected, as in a good watch mechanism - you take out any detail, and the watch becomes a trinket. However, the analysis of the black and white pattern of photographs is not always simple. Many pictures live perfectly without pronounced main shadows or main light accents. Beautiful Foto it may well turn out to be woven from a multitude of lights and shadows of equal area and brightness (photo 14). In this case, the photographer has no choice but to arrange this mosaic, put it in order, using all the richness of the compositional techniques available to him: upper or lower angles, linear or tonal perspective, golden section points, depth of field, highlighting something important with using color or vice versa discoloration. But the main thing is the ability to see the lights and shadows around you and learn how to manage them.