How to take photos with a sense of light and shadow

When you use a flash for lighting, do you feel that the flash always makes the entire shooting area very bright? But it's not enough to control the light to the local area that needs to be brightened? Or do you feel that the light produced by the flash lacks some delicate and changing layering?

If readers feel sad after seeing this, then let the author introduce to you the honeycomb light control application that can control the range of light irradiation and create a quite layered sense of light.

Generally speaking, when you want to control the range of flash light, you will use the following methods. Let’s take a look!

1. Change the focal length range of the external flash

Generally, mid-to-high-end external flashes can manually adjust the focal length range of the flash. The main purpose of this flash zoom function is to change the range of the flash projected on the subject according to the different focal lengths of the lens. The closer the focal length setting range is to the wide-angle end, the larger the area projected by the flash light, making it more suitable for use with wide-angle lenses. On the contrary, when the focal length setting is adjusted toward the telephoto end, the projection range is more concentrated, forming an effect similar to local light control. Adjusting these data and the actual projection distance will affect each other. If you are not very familiar with the flash characteristics, it will be more time-consuming to operate. And when the flash we use is not an external flash (such as a shed light or a portable shed light), there is no way to use this method to control the range of the flash. .

2. Adjust the distance between the flash and the subject

When the flash is closer to the subject, the illuminated area becomes more local, and the farther away from the subject, the wider the illuminated area. The concept is very simple, just like we use a flashlight to shine on a wall. The farther away from the flashlight, the wider the light will shine, but the light intensity will decrease. The closer to the flashlight, the more concentrated the light will shine and the best light intensity.

3. Use appropriate lamps to control light

If you want to have a good light control effect, but also want it to be simple, fast and effective, in fact, it is best to use appropriate lamps to control light. a method. Of course, every lamp will have the characteristics of changing the range of light exposure, but in terms of local light control, the best one is the honeycomb chip light control that the author will introduce next.

What is a honeycomb sheet (cover)?

A honeycomb sheet is actually a piece of black plaid shield installed in front of a flash or lamp. It looks like a honeycomb or grid with neat lines, hence its name. When the flash light source passes through the grid pattern of the honeycomb sheet, the light will become directional light due to the restrictions of the grid pattern, so that the range of the flash light irradiation is limited to a region. The actual light produced will gradually lose light from the center to the periphery. The smaller and denser the grid of the honeycomb cover is, the more obvious the light loss effect will be, and the range of light exposure will be more localized. The light emitted through the honeycomb sheet has good directionality and rich and obvious gradient changes between light and dark.

Honeycomb covers for flashes can be found in major camera stores.

Light layout

In this photo, the author used Nikon SB-900 and installed it behind the radome through an adapter ring and placed it at a high angle on the left front of the model. Through the 49-centimeter radome and honeycomb light control, the bright light range can be limited to the area around the model's face, and the areas between bright and shadows will produce beautiful gradients due to the honeycomb light loss effect. feel. In this scene, as long as the author adjusts the light position, I can use techniques to guide the expression of the model's body and charm.

When we use honeycomb chips to create a local light effect, the backlight area will fall into shadow because the light is limited to a specific range. But these areas in shadow may be an integral part of the subject (such as hair or body curves). In this case, we can add a light to the area that needs to be brightened to fill in the light.

Light layout

In this photo, the light illuminating the subject is a Nikon SB-900 with a honeycomb chip placed in front of the model on the right side. The flash is placed at a 45-degree angle with a honeycomb lens, so it only illuminates the area directly in front of the model. The backlit areas (back and hair) fall into shadow because they cannot make up for the light. So I added a Nikon SB-800 behind the model to highlight the back and hair area. The SB-800 behind it also adds a blue color filter to change the color temperature of the flash, and uses the difference in light color on the front and rear sides to create a sense of fashion.