PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING

Higher numbers just mean that your camera sensor becomes more sensitive to light, which allows the camera to be used in darker situations. The cost of doing so is more grain.

Even though camera quality and adaptability is evolving and have improved over time, many models of cameras are still able to use high ISO settings and get images that appear clear and useful.

To put it simply, if speed is required to shoot a photograph, a higher ISO would be used so that a faster shutter speed can be used to freeze the moment. But this can be another whole topic by itself; Exposure.

Flash can look harsh and unnatural especially for indoor portraits. Therefore, there are various ways that you can take an imagine indoors without resorting to flash.

If flash is an absolute necessity, then use a flash with a head that can be rotated. Point the light towards the ceiling at an angle, and take your photographs. You’ll be amazed and the difference that makes!

 

Where to position your lights

The source of where the light comes from has a huge impact on how it falls on the subject. We need to remember that light originating from behind the camera and pointing directly onwards gives us a very flat lighting image. It will also cause shadows to fall in the background of the image.

For those aspiring photographers, try side lighting, it produces a far more interesting light, as it shows the share of the subject much more and cast it in partial shadow giving it a more dramatic effect.

 

Shaping & Manipulating Light

Adding a diffuser to a light source can reduce glare and harsh shadows and also diminishes blemishes on your subject. It gives the artificial light a softer more natural looking result.

Diffusion of light can happen in numerous ways - using soft boxes, umbrellas, and sheer heatproof material work really well to achieve this result. Light can be manipulated to fall on a particular area of interest on your subject. This can be achieved through the use of diffusers and reflectors.

Collapsible Reflectors shape sunlight or bounce flash light on the area that is to be highlighted. Spot lights can also be covered in light shapers that enable us to have more control over the direction the light will fall and how broad the light spans.

 

Interesting Fact

Ever heard of Rembrandt lighting? That’s right - it is an effective common example of this lighting type. Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used to studio portrait photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector, or two lights, and is popular because it is capable of producing images that appear both natural and compelling with minimal equipment used.

 

In Summary

All in all, though there seems to be many things we can do to ensure a better turn-out for our photographs, all we need to do is pick out a few tips that work for us and stick to them. That’ll do the trick!