How to light a photo?

How we choose to depict a scene is subjective and depends on the interpretation. In most cases, there will be a balance between light and shade, which will produce an average or medium gray, which is considered as a general situation.

However, in some cases, the natural laws of things tend to go to extremes in the dark, just like foggy or snowy days, or at night. Artists may choose to strengthen this extreme state in order to gain visual impact or convey specific feelings.

1. 1 high profile

High-profile pictures with white as the main color or very bright colors often look bright and light. High-profile lighting is often (but not always) soft, and the details are generally low. High-profile light can be found in fog and snow in nature, and even the shadows here are very shallow, because a lot of light bounces around.

The amazing simplicity in this photo is created by very few tones: white, warm yellow and dark gray.

1.2 keep a low profile

Low-key scenes have only a little light because of their attributes. The contrast is often high and the light is hard. Low-key lighting can create a very gloomy atmosphere and is often used to create this atmosphere. The most typical low-key lighting state is at night, but it can also be found in other situations, such as storms or indoors.

The low-key lighting enhances the artistic effect of this painting.

2 white balance

Most of the light sources we encounter in our daily life are colored, but our brains are very good at filtering them out. When the three primary colors of light are mixed together vaguely, our brain interprets it as white. Even under intense color illumination, we have the ability to filter the information received by our eyes, which makes us understand them in a relative way, not in an absolute way.

The most typical explanation for this is that when using a digital camera, the daylight white balance mode will be turned on: this is a neutral setting that reflects the real color. The following example is a photo I took with the window as the light source. The light comes indirectly from the cloudy sky and is relatively neutral.

In the next photo, I use different colors of lights as my light source:

Perhaps the color projection in this photo surprises you, because we often don't notice that tungsten lamp is so bright yellow/orange. Our brains will change colors to make them similar to the first picture, but this time it is the camera that draws the correct picture.

Three o'clock lighting, and why you're such an asshole.

Three-dimensional textbooks often describe the classic three-point lighting setting and encourage beginners to use it as an effective way to illuminate the scene. It is a way originated from photographic lighting, and one of its advantages is that it is easy to learn and understand. It consists of a bright main light, a weak diffused light and the background light behind the object to highlight the edge of the object.

The biggest problem with this setting is that it is intentional and does not reflect the facts. Background light should only be used when you are looking for special effects, because it is too artistic and outstanding. Backlight is very effective, but it should be used differently, not blindly in all cases. The type of light produced by simple three-point lighting does not exist in nature, so it looks fake. It has been imbued with this fact in too many textbooks and given the meaning of old ideas, so it has become boring.

It has been out of the love of photographers and film directors for a long time, so it will be difficult for you to see it in product photography or mainstream movies. If you want to light an environment or an object, it will be much better to try some of your own ideas in lighting, and study what happens in nature, and then invent your own solutions.

Everyone has seen the portraits of Peugeot, a photography studio that relies on formulaic lighting: they look exactly the same because photographers use the same lighting every time. The result is that the photos taken are dull and lifeless. If you want your works of art to avoid old ideas and beauty, then ignore the formulas in the textbook and think independently.

4 lighting

The direction we look at the light source will have a profound impact on our perception of it and how the objects in the scene will be presented. Choosing which direction your main light comes from is one of the most important decisions you can make, because it will have a great influence on how a scene is presented and the emotions conveyed by your image.

4. 1 front lighting

The light source here is directly behind the viewer's viewing angle. This is most common in flash photography. If the light source is hard, it is usually unattractive-with some exceptions, in some cases, a soft front light source will bring very attractive images.

Pre-lighting is of little help to show the shape or texture, because the shadow is basically hidden in the line of sight. As a result, it can make the object look flat. However, for this reason, soft and diffuse front lighting may also be very popular under some themes. For this reason-it can help hide wrinkles and flaws, so it is often used for portrait and product photography.

Strong front lighting suddenly appeared: dazzling and very unsightly.

4.2 Side lighting

Side light is very beneficial to show the shape and texture of an object and give it a three-dimensional effect. Shadows are obvious, so the contrast will be strong. Side light is used to project artistic shadows on walls and other surfaces to create an atmosphere. Generally speaking, sidelight is attractive and often used in many effects: it is a type of lighting that appears at the beginning and end of a day, and it is also common in movies and photography.

The potential disadvantage of using sidelight is that the shadow area in the image will be lost and wrinkles will be displayed. For example, portrait photography is used more on men than women because it looks rough, especially when the shadow edge is not soft.

Side lighting can be used in many effects to show shapes and textures.

4.3 Post-lighting

Backlighting means that the viewer is looking at the light source, and the illuminated side of the object is facing away from us, showing a silhouette or dark light brought by diffuse light. It is often a case of Gao Fancha, and it often looks very atmospheric and artistic. If the light source has a slight angle with respect to our line of sight, there will be a light edge showing one or more of their edges. The stronger the light, the more obvious the edge.

Backlit scenes usually contain a lot of shadows, unless the light source is very soft. Most of the time, the image will be a prominent darkness with a beam of artistic light. The edge light that appears in this case is very useful for reflecting the shape on the shadow. Another feature of this type of lighting is that it shows transparent, translucent and subtle details along the edge of bright light. This type of lighting is very effective in bringing artistry to images.

Backlight can make the most common objects seem to move.