Nature photographers often use backlighting on days when the sun is harsh, and fashion photographers also use it frequently, for example, lighting a model from behind to show the softness of her hair. Backlighting and silhouette sometimes lend an intimate, spiritual feel to subjects and can show details that you might otherwise not notice. If you’re making a silhouette, look for a moment when the subject comes and light. For example, shoot right into the sun to get a deep, deep red, and let your subject turn to silhouette completely. If the subject is a recognizable shape, you can often underexpose the frame to get richer color. Try working on either side of the correct exposure to play with colors. Other Lighting Considerations should be that the viewer doesn’t realize that it’s been used in an image. scene if necessary. Open shade exists where there is shade apart from the sun. It’s even and beautiful—very much like studio light. Usually, if you can move people into a doorway or beside a window, you’ll get open shade and a much lovelier behind your subjects. Finally, whenever you’re photographing an event or you’re in a staged setting, remember that a lighting engineer has usually been there before you. Your job is to capture the light that the engineer has carefully designed and created.
Assignment 1. Choose a subject you’re passionate about, perhaps your children or even your pet. Then, try out some of the color and lighting concepts discussed in these lessons. For example, try a silhouette; play with exposure of the silhouette during the daytime and in the evening. Or see what you can do with open shade. Try photographing your subject in the light of a window or door. Put your full passion into your work and try to stretch beyond anything you’ve done before. Learn more at http://thongchaimedical.org/?p=85 and http://spanishinperu.org/nantucket-wedding-photographer-2015/
Write with Light
William Albert Allard—Storytelling Lessons 21–22 professional photographers often travel the world to produce photographic essays, but anyone can tell a story with pictures without buying a plane ticket to a faraway place. You can tell a story about the neighborhood you live in or your own backyard. The elements of lighting, composition, and other aspects of photography discussed in this course apply to wherever and whatever you decide your story will be. Building Stories through Pictures When you’re building a story through pictures—whether it’s about a country, a neighborhood, or a subculture—look for images that give the viewer a sense of place. Check out http://pommettphotography.com/ to learn more.
This is vital to the story. You need pictures that say something about where you are, what it’s like to look around the place you’re in, what others might see there, and—if the picture is good enough—what it might feel like to be there. Think, too, about what the people who live in this place are like—not just how they dress, but how they look when they reveal themselves while working, at play, or in quiet, intimate moments. what you’re doing, and why you think it’s important to tell this particular story—perhaps to show a way of life that may be dissimilar to many others but may explain how certain people live, even though they’re vastly different.