Dreamy & Magic Lighting Effects
Photography literally translates to "light" (photo) and "writing" (graph), and just as with writing, it is nice when there is some effect that makes it more interesting. The best way to achieve this is to add color or unusual light to the shot, with the help of light positioning, light manipulation and changes in camera settings. Photographers can set their work apart by using these techniques to add dreamy and magic elements to their shots.
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Gels
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Attach gels to the head of your flashes to create a sense of fantasy in your photographs. Gels come in a large array of colors, the most popular of which are orange and blue, to mimic the sun and to cool off light, respectively. Orange gels also add a pleasing hue to skin tones, making human portraits look like illustrations rather than snapshots. Theater gels can make otherwise mundane-looking areas appear most interesting. Remember that when you turn the power to the max on your flash, the gel's color will wash out somewhat. When the flash power is turned down, the color will appear more saturated.
Double-Rim Lighting
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Double-rim lighting makes human subjects appear to be completely separated from their backgrounds. Unlike a traditional lighting set-up, with one rim light coming from behind the subject at 45-degree angle, double-rim lighting calls for two rim lights to evenly define the cheek bones of the subject. As a result, the subject looks somewhat fantastical, like a futuristic version of themselves.
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Rear-Curtain Flash
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Activate rear curtain mode on your camera's flash to capture moving shots. Rear curtain mode enables your flash to fire as the shutter of the camera closes, rather than when it opens. The result is a double exposure: one blurry exposure of ambient light, and a frozen flash exposure on top of it. The two different exposures juxtaposed together portray movement within the frame.
Tungsten White Balance
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Take away the bland gray hue of an overcast day by changing the camera's white balance setting to "tungsten." The tungsten setting is symbolized most often on cameras with a light bulb, which it is made to compensate for. The setting is meant to cool off warm light, however when it is used to cool off neutral cloud lighting, the result is a deep blue hue. Under expose your shots to deepen the blue tone. Overexpose your shots to lighten the effect. Add orange gels to your flash head and use the tungsten setting to pose normally colored subjects in front of a saturated blue background.
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References
- Photo Credit portrait of a man with lighting necklace image by sasha from Fotolia.com
