Direction, Texture, and Tone
Aphotographer’s most powerful creative tools are the eyes and physical movement. Moving to find the right camera position is a step many photographers omit, at the expense of the image. Light falling onto a subject is directional. Changing your camera position changes how the camera sees the interplay of light and shadow on the subject, creates texture, and influences the placement of tones and color in the scene. While the basic names for lighting positions are listed as horizontal locations on a circle around the object, the height of a light source will also change the appearance of the scene.
Think of a sphere, not a circle, when evaluating (or placing) lights. Front lighting is the term used when the light source is closely aligned with the camera position, as when the sun is behind the photographer, or a flash is mounted on the camera. It’s also called flat lighting, because objects then look wider. (Your driver’s license was probably taken with flat lighting.) That’s because the shadows that are cast fall behind the subject. This is a high-key portrait:
The lighting was from a broad source near and slightly above the photographer’s shoulder. It was designed to eliminate shadows. The setting was an all-white enclosure. The exposure was chosen to just hold details in the highlights, and eliminate any true blacks. The result is a low-contrast image, with saturated colors. High-key lighting often produces low-contrast images, due to the lack of deep shadows in the picture.
If the vertical angle of a light source is high and to the front, there will be shadows cast down. This is what causes “raccoon eyes” in those family group pictures when the photographer lines everyone up facing the sun after lunch.
Full side lighting, with the light source coming into the frame at a 90-degree angle, dramatically models the subject, adding the impression of three dimensions to the two-dimensional medium of photography. It emphasizes texture and form with the shadows it creates. Gary Todoroff’s landscape employs sidelighting to rake the surface of the ocean and reveal the waves. The blending of dark cold tones in the sea and sky with the warmth of the setting sun adds well-placed color contrast to the composition.
Full 90-degree sidelighting adds a dramatic element to landscapes. Controlling contrast with very bright or dim light sources can be tricky. You may have to choose between holding details in the shadows, or highlights in bright sun.
In controlled-lighting situations, you can use additional light sources to fill in the shadows, as seen in the photo. This is a low-key picture, and the exposure was set to emphasize the darker end of the tonal range and produce deep blacks. Sidelighting makes faces look a bit narrower than they really are, just as flat lighting makes them look wider. The cooler temperature, the direct gaze of the subject, and the 90-degree sidelighting all increase the impact of the composition.
45-degree sidelighting produces a result between frontal and 90-degree sidelighting that reveals texture and adds dimension with moderate contrast. This is very popular for portraits and people pictures, as seen in the image here. Her subject is turned lightly toward the light, and the exposure was set to create a soft shadow.
Backlighting is rarely used as a primary light source. It is mostly used to create silhouettes, or rim the subject with light. This photo shows the rimlight effect on the bride and her veil. This type if lighting requires a careful exposure to avoid totally washing out the highlights and the sky. Here the sun is in the upper-left corner, so the picture uses the intensity to produce an effect where the sky progresses from brilliant white on the left to a medium blue on the right. Notice the highlights on the bride’s arms. A second light source was used to illuminate the bride’s back.
It’s easy to see why Mike and Cody are in demand as photographers and mentors from their use of light and color in this image. Here, backlighting was used to light the subject and create highlights and shadows that impart a message of their own. The Bible was adjusted at an angle so that the ring produced a heartshaped shadow, and the highlight became a cross.
The depth of field was very shallow due to the close proximity of the camera to the ring, and the focus point was centered on the shadow. The color was accentuated during processing, growing more intense as it moved to the top of the picture.