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Matt
Guest
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 Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:
Understanding Lighting |
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Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
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n.t.
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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PHOTO(graphy) Photo= pertaining to light (eg: photosynthesis,
photo-sensitivity)
And guess what the most basic unit of illumination is...... a PHOTON.
So yes, you could say 'it seems lighting/exposure plays a huge part' of
photography.
(sorry, couldnt resist ;-) )
There are countless books on lighting exposure. Pop down to your bookstore
and have a look through some. You will soon find appropriate info.
"Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:co9v3k$7pr$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important
thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
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McLeod
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 13:27:07 -0000, "Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
|
Understanding, using, and creating light are the basics to becoming a
photographer. Photography="light writing"
To understand the very basics of the physics of light and optics I
have seen some CD's of the US Navy photographers course on E-bay.
It's a good place to start.
For understanding exposure better Bryan Peterson's "Understanding
Exposure" explains all the relationships between aperture, shutter
speed, ISO, metering, etc.
To understand creating lighting in the studio "Light, Science and
Magic" is an excellent starter book and "The Lighting Cookbook" is
pretty good too.
"Mastering Flash" or "Mastering Flash Photography", I don't remember
the title exactly, explains almost every handheld flash technique you
could want to use. Kodak also has some old flash books that are
almost identical to the "Mastering Flash" book. |
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Matt
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Just to elaborate on my post, when I say great photo, I mean creative.
"Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:co9v3k$7pr$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important
thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
|
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| Back to top |
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angryfilmguy
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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and what are these photos?
"Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:co9v3k$7pr$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important
thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
|
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| Back to top |
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dadiOH
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Matt wrote:
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like
lighting/exposure plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the
single most important thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
|
Believe it or not, your hand can help immensely. Hold it in front of
you and look - *really* look - at it. Look at the highlights and
shadows...their locations, intensities and characteristics. Figure
out *why* they are as they are...determine the sources. Now move your
head relative to your hand and see how things change. Once again,
figure out why.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico |
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Matt
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Good post "dadiOH'.
I totally understand what you are saying, but you still need good lighting
initially.
Lighting is something which can not be easily be 'Photoshopped'.
"dadiOH" <dadiOH@xmail.net> wrote in message
news:hY0qd.176$1z5.45@trnddc06...
| Quote: |
Believe it or not, your hand can help immensely. Hold it in front of
you and look - *really* look - at it. Look at the highlights and
shadows...their locations, intensities and characteristics. Figure
out *why* they are as they are...determine the sources. Now move your
head relative to your hand and see how things change. Once again,
figure out why.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
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Matt
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Hello 'Angryfilmguy'.
"and what are these photos?"
That is an excellent question! The problem is, I don't actually know.
The photos are from various different media sources, therefore I do not have
any particular specifics. It is lighting as a whole I am interested in,
whether natural light, studio light or flash light. If I can get a good
basic introduction, then I can decide what direction to go in.
If you do want me to be more specific, I would say that most of the time it
would be people shots, but not portraits. People in natural places (IE, not
in a studio, although I would still be interested to learn about studio
techniques).
One style I do like is softcore female nude, colour or b&w (although B&W
maybe does have the advantage a lot of the time), with great lighting which
brings out the beauty of the female body, but not 'mens magazine' style. I
know it's an old style, but I love shots lit by a window (whether there is a
flash behind the window is another question).
I would to give you an example, but unfortunately after trying to find a
photo on the net to show what I like, I was unable to. I know in my mind
what I want, but can't find it.
But, I would also like to learn about lighting when you have the family
round for Christmas and want to get great in-door shots. At the moment I
just bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall, and it produces good results.
However, I want to experiment more, hence the reason for looking into
lighting more.
Another thing, with digital technology, are there techniques for creating
great shots? For example not blowing out the whites in the photo, which are
not recoverable. And, I don't know if you have ever seen unprocessed film
from a Hollywood movie, but it looks pretty boring and bland. However, when
you see the original footage and the post production footage side-by-side,
the post production looks amazing. But, the lighting has always been
correct before post production.
"angryfilmguy" <asdf@asdf.com> wrote in message
news:du6dnVgKerJzDTXcRVn-sQ@rogers.com...
| Quote: | and what are these photos?
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Gary Eickmeier
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:33 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Matt wrote:
| Quote: | Good post "dadiOH'.
I totally understand what you are saying, but you still need good lighting
initially.
Lighting is something which can not be easily be 'Photoshopped'.
|
Just a couple of pithy observations Matt:
1. I think the best examples of professional lighting are found in
furniture catalogs, food ads, and some portraiture.
2. If you have a great portrait that hasn't been retouched to prevent
this, you can see the lights that were used in the pupils of the
subject's eyes.
3. To reduce specular shadows, you need to broaden the light sources.
This is done with umbrellas, bounce flash, or diffuser panels.
4. If you want to emphasize textural surfaces, such as the weave in
cloth, the texture of furniture or the sides of buildings or even food,
you hit the subject with a glancing blow of specular light. Watch for
this effect - it's particularly appealing. Even works on men's faces.
5. A "kicker" of backlight, that is, specular light from behind the
subject, can make the subject "pop" from the background, and help the
three dimensional impression.
These are just a few observations for you to look for in your reading,
in addition to the key and fill stuff that you will inevitably learn.
And no, I am not an expert at any of this yet. But like you, I want to be.
Gary Eickmeier |
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Ken Davey
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:49 pm Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Matt wrote:
| Quote: | Good post "dadiOH'.
I totally understand what you are saying, but you still need good
lighting initially.
Lighting is something which can not be easily be 'Photoshopped'.
"dadiOH" <dadiOH@xmail.net> wrote in message
news:hY0qd.176$1z5.45@trnddc06...
Believe it or not, your hand can help immensely. Hold it in front of
you and look - *really* look - at it. Look at the highlights and
shadows...their locations, intensities and characteristics. Figure
out *why* they are as they are...determine the sources. Now move
your head relative to your hand and see how things change. Once
again, figure out why.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
|
Tell you what Matt.
If you get a complete understanding of 'lighting' and how to use it in most
situations write a book. I will go on record as being the first to purchase
said book.
As others have pointed out - understanding lighting and using it to full
advantage to create photogrphic art is *the essence* of all this.
ART. Repeat after me ART!
Get a grip - be famous. Adams, Karsh et all.
Go for it.
Ken.
--
http://www.rupert.net/~solar
Return address supplied by 'spammotel'
http://www.spammotel.com |
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Bob Williams
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:04 am Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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Matt wrote:
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
No question about it. It is super-important!! |
Photography is simply a way to record light.
Dean Collins is THE lighting guru in the photographic world.
He used to have a set of tapes on lighting techniques (20 years ago) but
I could not fing them on google.
However one of his students, Dave Montizambert, published a book that
incorporates his ideas and concepts. I strongly recommend it to you.
It is available at Amazon.com See:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/158428093X/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-9198773-3849765#reader-link
Bob Williams |
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Ivan
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:04 am Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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| Quote: | Believe it or not, your hand can help immensely. Hold it in front of
you and look - *really* look - at it. Look at the highlights and
shadows...their locations, intensities and characteristics. Figure
out *why* they are as they are...determine the sources. Now move your
head relative to your hand and see how things change. Once again,
figure out why.
|
Good advice. And may I add this? Have various reflecting material in your
other hand like white paper or cards, shiny things, black cards, translucent
cards. Watch what each of these do to the shadows.
Ivan |
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The Black Sheep
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:05 am Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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"Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:co9v3k$7pr$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hello.
I have been looking at various photos, and it seems like
lighting/exposure
plays a huge part of a great photo, if not the single most important
thing.
Can anyone recommend any good books/tutorials to start understanding
lighting?
|
Hunter, Fil and Faqua, Paul, "Light - Science & Magic: An Introduction
to Photographic Lighting".
Great book, used it in college. Its probably had a few new editions
since, mine is hardcover with B&W photos and shows many signs of being
well-loved. Unlike most studio books that have a "how to' approach
this one explains the all-important WHY of lighting. |
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Randall Ainsworth
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:05 am Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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In article <41A8EBAE.3070504@cox.net>, Bob Williams
<mytbobnospam@cox.net> wrote:
| Quote: | No question about it. It is super-important!!
Photography is simply a way to record light.
Dean Collins is THE lighting guru in the photographic world.
He used to have a set of tapes on lighting techniques (20 years ago) but
|
Haven't seen Dean in a number of years but he's a tremendous
photographer. |
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Simon Stanmore
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:05 am Post subject:
Re: Understanding Lighting |
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"Matt" <post@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:coa7q8$35b$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk...
| Quote: |
That is an excellent question! The problem is, I don't actually know.
The photos are from various different media sources, therefore I do not
have
any particular specifics. It is lighting as a whole I am interested in,
whether natural light, studio light or flash light. If I can get a good
basic introduction, then I can decide what direction to go in.
|
I'm of the opinion that an aspiring photographer really doesn't need books
or tuition to understand and control lighting. Long before ever setting foot
in a studio you could be trying to work out lighting postions and forming by
looking at other photog's work. Carefully observing and understanding light
and shadow around you, its sources, distances, angles, temperatures,
reflections, etc., as well as figuring out how others have dealt with their
images can teach you all you really need to know. This understanding of
light is the foundation of all visual art, not just photography. When I
first decided to take up photography I spent several weeks photographing
with household light sources such as lamps and torches to try to recreate in
miniture what I thought was well lit photographs. The 'real' lighting
equipment can seem daunting but it's all very simple. Controlling a set of
monobloc's with light formers and a flash meter is something you'll get to
grips with in just an hour or so.
That all said you asked for a "basic introduction" and this can be found
from various links on this page... http://www.photo.net/learn/
| Quote: | But, I would also like to learn about lighting when you have the family
round for Christmas and want to get great in-door shots. At the moment I
just bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall, and it produces good
results.
However, I want to experiment more, hence the reason for looking into
lighting more.
|
Often the best results come from using the available light and working with
a high ISO in these situations, unless of course you're able to set up the
shots as posed portraits/groups. For spontaeneous shots at parties the only
other way to deal with things is to use small flashheads with a wireless
trigger. If you can tape/clamp these out of harms way then you can cover one
specific area of the event at a time and get nicely lit candids.
| Quote: | Another thing, with digital technology, are there techniques for creating
great shots? For example not blowing out the whites in the photo, which
are
not recoverable. And, I don't know if you have ever seen unprocessed film
from a Hollywood movie, but it looks pretty boring and bland. However,
when
you see the original footage and the post production footage side-by-side,
the post production looks amazing. But, the lighting has always been
correct before post production.
|
Post processing for digital stills is just like that for movies in that it
has a profound effect on the image and is absolutely necessary (if you want
slick images). Try to remember that an in-cam' JPEG has already been heavily
processed and even a raw file on a converters defaults has been subjected to
massive levels of processing too (unless set to a true linear). A great
proportion of a digi' images final look is best achieved during raw
conversion but you are quite correct when you say that processing cannot
usually create the lighting effects in the first place.
Here's a studio lit portrait that's had no processing at all 'cept for
default ACR 10D settings and my resizing & framing actions for the Web ...
http://www.pbase.com/stanmore/image/36616481
This is the same image after controlled raw conversion and
processing/retouching ... http://www.pbase.com/stanmore/image/36572413 .
Most of the improvement resulted from raw conversion.
I've found that many newcomers to photographic lighting are discouraged when
they consistently fail to recreate looks that they see other photographers
achieving. It is very often their processing skills/judgement that is
lacking rather than their ability with lighting
--
Simon
http://www.pbase.com/stanmore |
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