PLAY OF LIGHT

The word photography translates to “drawing with light”. Hence, it isn’t much of a stretch to say that light is the most crucial aspect of photography. Without light, you wouldn’t be able to see, much less click a picture. When it comes to photography, the right light can make or break a photograph. And don’t make the mistake of assuming that lighting is only important for illumination; the right light plays multiple roles – it illuminates, sets the mood, evokes emotions and narrate stories. Thus, if you master lighting in your photography, you have overcome one of the biggest challenges! And here we have got all the details you would need to crack the lighting code and play with light to click the most amazing pictures.

- NITYAPRIYA KALIYATH

The Main Aspects of Lighting

To understand lighting in photography, you first need to understand the four main aspects of light – intensity, angle, quality and temperature.

Intensity of Light

Intensity of light refers to how strong (bright) the light is. Any given light is strongest at the source. As you move away from the source, the intensity of the light decreases. The reason? Although the energy of the light remains the same, as you move away from the source of light, it gets more area to spread. Hence, the intensity reduces.

If you want to control the intensity of light in the picture, you can either adjust the position of the light source or you can move away from it.

Angle of Light

The angle of light refers to where the light is coming from (direction). There are multiple ways you can position your light source or subject to create different effects. This also creates changes in the angle of the lighting thus affecting the final outcome. Also, the angle of lighting controls the shadows. Hence, if you want a pleasing picture that doesn’t look flat, you need to understand the angle of the light.

Quality of Light

The quality of light, which controls the mood of the image, is determined by the size and source of the light. Majorly, there are two types of light quality – hard and soft.