Photography Lighting Tips

There are several photography lighting tips that can significantly improve the quality of pictures with a minimum of effort. To take good photographs you must understand the proper use of light and darkness. By brightening some aspects of a picture while not emphasizing other aspects, you can highlight what you desire in a photograph.

Function

Learn how to triangulate your light sources. Light should shine on your subject from three basic directions. The key light shines on the subject from behind the camera. This should be the brightest light. The back light shines on the subject from behind. It distinguishes the subject from the background. This should be a much dimmer light than the key light. Fill lights shine on the subject at angles. They minimize shadows and brighten aspects of the subject that you want to highlight.

Features

Understanding all of your light resources is imperative in photography. If you are taking pictures outdoors, use the sun to your advantage. When possible, turn your subject into the shining sun. On cloudy days, the sun provides shadow-free diffused light. This is handy since the subject can face any direction and still be evenly lit. Indoors or at night, photographers must rely on artificial light. Turn on all the lights around you and see where the shadows fall before you to decide how to improve the lighting.

Considerations

In photography there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to lighting. Your goal is to have the front of your subject lit so that shadows are minimized. You also need some contrast to provide the illusion of depth. Flooding the entire scene with light will make everything seem flat. On a sunny day, place the sun behind you at a 45-degree angle to your subject and a reflector at the same angle on the other side of the camera. If the background is also bright, then you probably won't need a back light. Try the same technique indoors using artificial light this time using a back light. The key light should be brightest with dimmer fill lights shining at contrasting angles and an even dimmer back light shining on the rear of the subject.

Considerations

The camera flash is an important consideration in photography. Many photographers assume that the automatic flash on a camera compensates for all lighting situations. The truth is, a flash is a very clumsy fix for darkness. A flash should never be used as the only light source in a dark place. This floods the scene with light and leads to washed out skin and red eyes. A flash should provide an extra burst of light to bring out features. One of the best uses is "fill in" flash. You simply have to set your camera to flash when there is plenty of ambient light that it is not shining on the faces of your subjects. The fill in flash will draw out their features.

Effects

Keep dimension in perspective. It is not enough to light your subject from left to right and from front to back. You must also balance the light from high to low. For example, at midday the sun is high in the sky. This can produce a "racooning" effect where sunlight hits a person's brow and casts a shadow beneath her eyes. Fill lights or reflectors must be placed low to compensate. This is why professional photographers love "golden hour" light. This is sunlight one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. The sun is low on the horizon so it shines on subjects at eye level. The sunbeams have long frequencies so are soft and flattering.