How to deal with complex lighting scenes and solutions in photography

In the process of product photography and video shooting, we often encounter complex lighting environment.

Natural light is beautiful light.

If you are a lover of natural light when creating photos, then you are just like me-you like light. You like its flow in the window and how it creates shadows. There are many miracles in the way that light naturally comes into place. Many times, it is great to put nature on the right track and create beautiful scenery.

However, the reality is that although we can always let nature take its course, sometimes Mother Nature can't meet the requirements of human life. Sometimes nature will give you too much light. So the question becomes, "What do I do with the light?"

Let's look at some real scenes and discuss the solution of too strong light in photography.

Scene # 1: Strong light passes through the window.

As a person who often takes photos of interior design for magazines, I always encounter this situation. I went to a house and found a beautiful big window. I projected soft light on a part of the room, but there was a strong glare near the window. We usually use HDR to solve this problem. However, sometimes, you can't set up a tripod because space doesn't allow such luxury.

In the following example, the dining room has amazingly large windows. It can let a lot of light into the room, which is very suitable for those who are eating. This situation is not suitable for taking clear and detailed images. If you look at the photos below and shoot them during family activities, you can see how bright windows will affect your image in more personal situations.

The big window behind the monitor was blown up a little, but it was not so terrible. The problem is that the lights and other things on the cake are dim.

In this case, the bright light of the big window behind the monitor will reduce cakes and signs. If you expose photos to reduce the background brightness, the logo will be in shadow. If you expose the logo, the light behind it will become very distracting and reduce the appearance of the photo.

It would be much better to use different settings and lighting combinations on cakes and signboards, but the image is still not very good.

The final work

In this case, the solution is to block some light behind with the object being photographed. I changed the shooting angle and tried to fill the picture with items on the display table. Now that the photos are correctly exposed, they can attract memories of family occasions.

I changed the angle to block the bright light outside and create a uniform lighting state. If I post-process this picture, it will record the situation of the day well.

Scene 2: Bright afternoon sunshine can't bring people to the shade.

It is difficult for people to move on family trips or special occasions. You must deal with the shadows and squints caused by the strong summer sunshine. What if there is no flash?

Last summer, I took photos and wrote an article about building birch bark canoes by traditional indigenous methods. I can't let my elders work in canoes and move the whole operation to one place, so that I can take better photos. He's working. He won't bear everything for me.

It is important to adapt to the environment.

As you can see from the photos below, the sun is shining and I don't flash. Wearing a white shirt and dark skin, he will encounter challenges in exposing this dynamic range. Color photos are relatively dull. It has no depth type, or I like to look at my images.

From an artistic point of view, this image is absolutely impossible. From the reporter's point of view, they are not so picky about these kinds of problems, but they must keep a balance. However, the editor of the article did agree that the light in the photo did disappear. Our solution is to post-process in black and white. The advantage of black and white is that it can hide faded colors and reduce the influence of blowing white. Working in such bad lighting conditions, you can consider the choice.

This is an unedited photo. I try to balance the exposure of light and shadow.

In black and white, I can control the image a little, process it, and show the strength in the arms of my elders.

Scene # 3: Bright Spot

In some cases, the light is only in some parts of the scene, but in other cases, it is too bright. It will cause unnecessary glare and reflection in your photos.

In this case, you can use HDR again. There are some other options to consider. Consider using a flash to fill in the shadows caused by balanced lighting. Flash lamps and diffusers are used to create more uniform lighting in the following situations. The hanging lamp is still on, but unfortunately, there is nothing to do. The only way to reduce distraction is to make women active. The audience will find women pouring wine, which will help them pay attention to other things in the scene besides bright lights.

In some cases, you may have to accept the light of failure. However, you can take measures to minimize the influence of light on photos.

By adding a flash, I can reduce the shadow on her face.

conclusion

When taking pictures, the light is both a blessing and a challenge. Sometimes you have to think quickly. You need to find a solution to the problem and manage the lighting effectively. Even in the most difficult situation, there are many ways to create photos, so please consider the scene carefully before you. Try to be creative when managing challenging situations.