PHOTOGRAPHY BASIC - LIGHT, LIGHT AND MORE LIGHT

Lighting is a key basic ingredient – in any given situation, you can choose between the type and intensity of the light (e.g. bright or low lights, or maybe even no light) when taking a photograph.

My 1st decision before taking a shot is to decide if I want more or less light and how the light should look like for my photograph.

In this photo of the tribal lady, she was in a low-lit room. I decided that I wanted to fame her using that 1 beam of light (sunlight) shining through the roof of that room. I decided not to place her directly below with her facing the light – she may end up squinting her eyes because of the sun’s rays although I may have done it if I can communicate with her on what I had in mind. I also decided that I didn’t want to use a flash (artificial light). What I ended up doing is to ask her to sit with her back against that beam of light so that you can see the light rims around her frame. I then asked another photographer who was wearing a white shirt to stand in front of her. Why? The light that was shining on the white shirt then bounced off that shirt onto her face giving it a soft diffused gentle light. I personally think this was what had made the shot.