by Ojie Paloma

Photography And Studio Lighting Basics

Imagine photographing a black cat in a dark room wearing dark glasses . . . the outcome will be photographing darkness and nothing more. This can be considered the first lesson when a person holds a camera. Light is the primary and perhaps the most important factor when it comes to photography. There can be no photographs without light. Bright light, dim light, silhouettes and frames . . . whatever you want to click, you will have to ensure the right interplay of lights. This, however, can be difficult to attain. Using lights to ones advantage to get the best photograph is an art that only experts can achieve. It is a blend of common sense with practice and eventual mastery.

Photography and studio lighting forms the backbone of photography. If you go by definition, one can explain the concept of photography lighting very simply.

It basically refers to the kind of lighting used to get the best possible photograph of the object / subject in concern. This can refer to almost any kind of photographs that are taken by a photographer. It can be natural lighting or, artificial lighting; it can be indoors or, it can also be out doors. Studio lighting, however, refers to lighting used to photograph an object or subject while inside a photography studio. Such kind of photography lighting basically depends upon artificial lighting, because natural lighting cannot do much indoors.

Whatever be the choice of location, when it comes to lighting, it is a must to remember that soft lights work wonders for pictures. If you want your photographs to show all details well, without looking like a blur or, too shiny at certain places while dull in the others, ensuring the strength of the lights is necessary. Harsh lights can cast dark shadows or, illuminate photographs in a way that is completely undesirable. While inside a studio, one must opt for accessories that can convert event the strongest light to a diffusion so that the pictures come out well. Usually, translucent plastic and white fabric sheets aid in proper indoor photography lighting.

What causes concern to the new photographers is outdoor photography. You can resort to a number of tricks while taking pictures indoors in a studio or, otherwise, but what can you do to alter sun and its light? There is very little that one can do to alter sunlight which can affect the picture of the object. To handle this, one can wait for clouds to form a cover in front of the direct sun or, can choose a shaded place for the purpose. What comes next is how to determine whether the light is harsh or soft. Sometimes, even the light that falls softly in the eyes and causes no apparent disturbance, can be harsh. The best way is to observe the shadow that the light causes the object to cast. If the shadow is strong, the light is harsh and if the shadow is soft or, almost non existent, the light is soft and perfect for photography.