Light: Science and Magic. An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

Front cover......Page 1
Title page......Page 4
Copyright page......Page 5
Table of contents......Page 6
Dedications......Page 11
Introduction......Page 12
1 How to Learn Lighting......Page 16
WHY ARE THE PRINCIPLES IMPORTANT?......Page 17
HOW WERE THE EXAMPLE SUBJECTS CHOSEN FOR THIS BOOK?......Page 18
DO I NEED TO DO THESE EXERCISES?......Page 19
WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DO I NEED?......Page 20
SHOULD I SHOOT FILM OR DIGITAL?......Page 21
WHAT LIGHTING EQUIPMENT DO I NEED?......Page 23
WHAT IS THE "MAGIC" PART OF THIS BOOK?......Page 24
2 Light: The Raw Material of Photography......Page 26
WHAT IS LIGHT?......Page 27
Brightness......Page 30
Color......Page 31
Contrast......Page 32
LIGHT VERSUS LIGHTING......Page 35
Transmission......Page 37
Direct and Diffuse Transmission......Page 39
Absorption......Page 40
Reflection......Page 41
3 The Management of Reflection and the Family of Angles......Page 44
DIFFUSE REFLECTION......Page 45
The Inverse Square Law......Page 49
DIRECT REFLECTION......Page 50
Breaking the Inverse Square Law?......Page 51
THE FAMILY OF ANGLES......Page 52
POLARIZED DIRECT REFLECTION......Page 54
Is It Polarized Reflection or Ordinary Direct Reflection?......Page 58
Turning Ordinary Direct Reflection into Polarized Reflection......Page 59
APPLYING THE THEORY......Page 60
4 Surface Appearances......Page 62
THE PHOTOGRAPHER AS EDITOR......Page 63
CAPITALIZING ON DIFFUSE REFLECTION......Page 64
The Angle of Light......Page 65
The Success and Failure of the General Rule......Page 68
The Distance of Light......Page 70
Doing the Impossible......Page 72
Using Diffuse Reflection and Shadow to Reveal Texture......Page 75
CAPITALIZING ON DIRECT REFLECTION......Page 78
COMPETING SURFACES......Page 81
Try a Lens Polarizing Filter......Page 83
Use a Still Larger Light......Page 84
Use More Than One Light......Page 85
Use a Gobo......Page 86
COMPLEX SURFACES......Page 87
5 Revealing Shape and Contour......Page 92
PERSPECTIVE DISTORTION......Page 94
Distortion as a Clue to Depth......Page 95
Manipulating Distortion......Page 96
TONAL VARIATION......Page 97
THE SIZE OF THE LIGHT......Page 98
Distance from the Subject......Page 99
THE DIRECTION OF THE LIGHT......Page 100
Light on Side......Page 102
Light above the Subject......Page 103
Fill Light......Page 104
Adding Depth to the Background......Page 108
HOW MUCH TONAL VARIATION IS IDEAL?......Page 110
Photographing Buildings: Decreasing Tonal Variation......Page 112
Photographing Cylinders: Increasing Tonal Variation......Page 113
Remember Surface Detail......Page 114
THE GLOSSY BOX......Page 115
1. Use a Dark Background......Page 116
2. Eliminate Direct Reflection from the Box Top......Page 117
3. Eliminate Direct Reflection from the Box Sides......Page 118
4. Finish with Other Resources......Page 120
USE DIRECT REFLECTION?......Page 122
6 Metal......Page 124
FLAT METAL......Page 125
Finding the Family of Angles......Page 126
Lighting the Metal......Page 129
Keeping the Metal Bright......Page 130
Keeping the Metal Dark......Page 133
The Elegant Compromise......Page 137
Controlling the Effective Size of the Light......Page 139
Keeping the Metal Square......Page 143
METAL BOXES......Page 145
A Light Background......Page 148
A Transparent Background......Page 149
A Glossy Background......Page 150
ROUND METAL......Page 153
Keeping the Light off the Camera......Page 154
Using a Tent......Page 155
Polarizing Filters......Page 157
Dulling Spray......Page 158
WHERE ELSE DO THESE TECHNIQUES APPLY?......Page 159
THE PRINCIPLES......Page 162
THE SOLUTIONS......Page 163
Bright-Field Lighting......Page 165
Dark-Field Lighting......Page 169
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS......Page 173
Defining the Surface of Glassware......Page 175
Minimizing the Horizon......Page 179
Stopping Flare......Page 181
Eliminating Extraneous Reflections......Page 183
COMPLICATIONS FROM NONGLASS SUBJECTS......Page 184
Liquids in Glass......Page 185
Secondary Opaque Subjects......Page 189
RECOGNIZING THE PRINCIPAL SUBJECT......Page 192
8 An Arsenal of Lights......Page 194
The Basic Setup......Page 195
Light Size......Page 196
Where to Put the Main Light......Page 198
Left Side? Right Side?......Page 204
Broad Lighting or Short Lighting......Page 205
Eyeglasses......Page 207
ADDITIONAL LIGHTS......Page 208
Fill Lights......Page 210
Background Lights......Page 216
Hair Lights......Page 218
Kickers......Page 220
Rim Lights......Page 222
MOOD AND KEY......Page 223
Low-Key Lighting......Page 224
High-Key Lighting......Page 225
DARK SKIN......Page 228
AVAILABLE-LIGHT PORTRAITURE......Page 229
A Window as a Main Light......Page 230
The Sun as a Hair Light......Page 232
Combining Studio and Environmental Light......Page 233
SETTING RULES?......Page 236
9 The Extremes......Page 240
The Perfect "Curve"......Page 241
A Bad Camera......Page 243
Overexposure......Page 245
Underexposure......Page 247
A Real CCD......Page 248
WHITE-ON-WHITE......Page 251
Exposing White-on-White Scenes......Page 254
Subject and Background......Page 256
Using an Opaque White Background......Page 258
Using a Translucent White Background......Page 263
Using a Mirror Background......Page 266
BLACK-ON-BLACK......Page 267
Lighting Black-on-Black Scenes......Page 268
Using an Opaque Black Background......Page 270
Using a Glossy Black Surface......Page 273
Keep the Subject away from the Background......Page 274
THE HISTOGRAM......Page 276
Overmanipulation......Page 279
CURVES......Page 281
NEW PRINCIPLES?......Page 282
CHOOSING THE RIGHT STROBE......Page 286
GETTING THE EXPOSURE RIGHT......Page 287
Using a Flash Meter......Page 288
Using the Guide Number......Page 289
GETTING MORE LIGHT......Page 291
Multiple Strobes......Page 292
Multiple Flash......Page 293
Bounce Flash......Page 295
Feathering the Light......Page 298
LIGHTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS......Page 300
Why Is the Color of the Light Important?......Page 301
Nonstandard Light Sources......Page 302
Do the Colors Mix?......Page 305
The Remedies......Page 308
LIGHTS OF DIFFERENT DURATION......Page 310
IS STUDIO LIGHTING POSSIBLE ON LOCATION?......Page 312
Index......Page 314