Master Photographic Lighting

Though learning to make your subjects appear comfortable and at ease is something that is difficult or even impossible to learn, mastering lighting techniques is a snap and the right patterns will make or break an image.

Poor lighting - as well as myriad other mistakes - CAN be fixed in Photoshop. That is, if you are willing to spend all your time and profits in front of your computer instead of in front of your models.

To avoid all those hours fixing mistakes, you'll need to know some basic patterns and techniques for controlling light. Try this...

Instead of just hit or miss shooting, first learn the foundations of light. Here are a few of the basic patterns.

1. Narrow light
2. Broad light
3. Split light
4. Butterfly
5. Renaissance
6. Closed Loop
7. Open loop

The best part is, all this knowledge can be gotten for free! All you need to do is visit the photo section in your local library. There are plenty of books that will describe what each of these patterns look like and how to create them. Take a ton of notes, you will want each of these in your repertoire. Each one tends to be the best pattern for certain effects and faces.

Now, go home and - leaving your camera in the bag - let's do some experimenting.

Grab a model (yours or your neighbors' kids will do admirably) and place them on a chair in a darkened room. Using a flashlight as your only light source, move the light around the models' head and learn where it has to be to replicate all the lighting patterns. Make notes and draw diagrams so you can repeat the pattern at will.

Right now, we are concerned with the angle of the light and shadows. Not the color or intensity.

Once you know the proper angles to create the lighting patterns, then start playing with intensity. Bring your flashlight closer to your model, then further away. Note the affect on the intensity of the highlights and shadows.

Stick a piece of tracing paper over your light. See how the shadows change once they are diffused? The same thing happens when a cloud comes between your subject and the sun.

This is called your main light. Have one of the kids hold the light in place and add a second flashlight to the mix. Try putting it where the camera would be. This is your fill light. What happened to your lighting pattern? How about the shadows? Move the light closer and further back. What changes?

How about the background? Move your subject closer and further back from a wall. What happens with one light? Two? Do the shadows change? What about a third light directly on the wall? What happens?

A willing model, a few flashlights and a couple hours of experimenting should answer all your lighting questions and make you a much better photographer. Make notes.

Once you are confident with the various lighting patterns and when each should be used, let's go on location. Now we'll learn to create our patterns outside.

Let's make the sun our main light. Practice positioning your model at various angles to the sun - to learn how to create the same patterns you were making before. To get the angles, intensity and color of light you want, you may have to adjust the time of day for your experimentation.

If your artistic vision demands a diffused light source, figure out how to diffuse the sunlight. Remember the tracing paper experiment? You'll need to put something between your model and the sun.

You may want to wait for a cloud to come by, use the shade of a porch or a tree or, if you are feeling high tech, use a large piece of translucent material.

If you want a pattern that calls for two lights, use the sun as a main light and your on camera flash as the fill. If diffusion is needed, tape tracing paper over the light. Two layers of paper for additional diffusion.

With only a few hours invested you can dramatically improve your photography and be better at lighting than most anyone else in your area.

Dan Eitreim is a professional photographer in southern
California with a client base of over 6000. He says
ANYONE can learn to sell their OWN photography and be
making money in as little as 2 weeks. For more information
and a free ebook, go to: http://www.PartTimePhotography.com
or http://www.FreelancePromo.com