Formal Element: Light

Natural light

Just how important is light for a photographer ? It is everything, just like colour is. However before one can understand and study the categories that light fits into, one must first know about the two main types of light.

          These are:

1. Natural Light,
2. Artificial Light.

Natural Light refers to the light that is created by the sun's rays, whereas artificial light refers to light that is man made.

Since we now know about the two main types of light that exist, we can now talk about how both natural and artificial lighting is important for the photographer.

When using natural light (as a photographer) and artificial light, it is important to keep in mind that the angle at which light hits a certain surface and the intensity of the light itself must be examined well.  The level of detail in a photograph is based solely on the level of light that is available. This also has to do with exposure, since if a photograph contains too much light it will lose detail, whilst if it doesn't contain enough light it will also have the same result. Thus one must really know how to use light sources well in order to achieve the perfect results.The angle of light depends on the origin of the main source (natural light or artificial) and thus by experimenting with different angle of light, one can attain a different distribution of shadows every time.

Just as, in a studio one can experiment with different types of light, one can also do the same outside (naturally).

Diffused light - Attained using a softbox (in studio) or naturally by waiting for clouds to appear infront of the sun. Diffused light is light that is not bright (unlike direct sunlight) but instead is light that is dispersed across a larger surface area and evenly too (meaning that there are no shadows).

Strong light - Usually is either direct sunlight or else can be done in a studio by placing a light directly in front of the subject.

There are also different ways in which to light up a subject when taking photographs. One can decide to place a subject at an angle to the light from the sun or else a studio light and thus will bring out certain shadows which help the image to become more dramatic.


References:


James, T, (n.d), "7 Basic Elements of Photography" [online] Available at: http://www.ehow.com/info_10026945_7-basic-elements-photography.html
[Accessed - 3rd January, 2014]