Lighting Tips for Digital SLR Enthusiasts

Lighting is the most important reason a photograph will fail or succeed.

When it comes to lighting, it’s all about quality, quantity and direction, i.e. how much light you are using, the nature of the light you are using and the direction from which it is coming.

If you are using a tripod and photographing something stationary, it is unlikely that you will need more light. You can simply adjust your shutter speed and aperture. These functions can compensate for the quantity of light in the scene, whether you place a light right beside your subject or 15 metres away.

What is known as ‘main light’ is the light that creates form, i.e. shadows and highlights. The sun is the most commonly used main light, but it can be any of a range of lights that you use in a studio setting. One of the most important decisions you’ll make is where to position the main light (or the subject in relation to the main light – if it’s the sun). This is a decision that you will have to make based on your subject your skills and your taste. If you like the end result, this means you’ve made the correct decisions. Remember, light is your primary tool – you can paint shadows where you like, it’s up to you.

What is known as a ‘fill light’ is the light that fills in shadows. The best way to do this is to place the fill light as near as possible to the camera, so that any shadows created will fall behind
the subject, and therefore less visible in the image. Placing a reflector on the opposite side of the main light can also work to bounce light back.

If you don’t have a lighting reflector, and want to minimise shadows, try using early morning or late afternoon light, to help with shadows (and incidentally give a warmer effect).

When it comes to light ratio, i.e. what proportions of main light to fill light you should be using, it's up to you, but bear in mind that the higher the contrast, the more dramatic the shot. For inspiration and ideas try flicking through a magazine and noting the shadows, or lack of, on the faces you see. Is half the face in shadow? Or does the face almost completely lack shadows? Again, it’s up to you to decide what sort of shot you want. Once you have decided, it’s simply a matter of getting the lighting right.

Using automatic flash is to be avoided on account of red eye, harsh shadows and heavy outlines. These all occur because the flash and the lens are too close to each other. A flash that is even just a few feet from the camera would help make the lighting softer, although of course that can be impractical for the amateur with a camera which has an inbuilt flash.

If you have no option but to use a built in flash, make use of whatever available light you have and consider setting a shutter speed of about 1/30th of a second. As long as you have a steady hand, and if your subject matter is still enough, you could get a clearly defined photo.

Photographic Lighting