Playing With Off-Camera Light
Light is fascinating stuff and capturing it is the essence of photography. Good light can enhance the beauty of a subject, while bad light can make anyone look bad. It is the skilled and well-equipped photographer who can manipulate light to serve his or her needs.
So what is good light, and what is bad? Small light sources cause harsh shadows (large dark areas or umbras, as illustrated below), while larger light sources offer softer shadows (less umbra and more penumbra). A large light source that is far away becomes a small light source. Large = good, small = bad.
Here are some examples, starting with bad lighting situations.
For years, a rule of thumb in taking snapshots of people has been to put the sun behind you. The sun is a pretty bright thing, which makes people squint when they look toward it, making it hard to see their eyes.
Of course, you can always have them wear sunglasses, but then you don’t see their eyes at all.
And because it is so far away, the sun is also a small light source, resulting in harsh shadows. For that reason, it is better to shoot people on cloudy days rather than sunny days. Clouds are much larger light sources and provide more even light. It is also better to shoot either early or late in the day, when the sun is at a lower angle. It’s a softer, warmer, more flattering light.
What if we turn the subject around and shoot toward the sun? The subject will no longer be squinting, but the bright light behind her will tend to silhouette her.
It is possible to add a little fill flash or a reflector to soften those shadows and be able to see her better, which can make for an interesting portrait.
The ideal for natural light, though, would be to use it as a primary light and use a reflector or an off-camera flash as a secondary light to fill in the shadows. This adds depth and interest.
The quality of light from an off-camera flash can be controlled with modifiers. A bare bulb provides a pretty harsh and unflattering light, whether from the front, the side or the back. Why? It’s a small light source compared to the subject.
The lighting from behind, called rim lighting, has some interesting effects, if we can add a secondary light source to bring back the details.
A large, diffuse, off-camera flash source, such as an umbrella or softbox, placed fairly close to the subject results in a large light source and provides a soft, even light that works well.
NOTE: Many thanks to Amber Smith for the lighting assistance and modeling for these shots.