Photo(genics) Things your camera never told you - Part 5
Lesson 5 - Using external Light Sources
In the last lesson we learned about using an extended exposure to compensate for low light as well as using it to create an added effect.
In this lesson, we are going to expand on the idea of controlling light in order to accentuate details.
Consider the following:
You want to take a picture of the outside of a Gothic Church at night in order to create a dramatic effect. You want to highlight the intricate designs hidden in the shadows of the nooks and crannies, without over exposing the rest of the scene. What do you do?
First of all, a camera mounted flash will have a limited range, likely no more than 20 - 30 feet. Objects near the front of your scene will be over exposed and objects in the back will still be under exposed. The overall effect will be less than perfect.
If you can set up spot lights around the church that light it perfectly from every angle, you would have the ideal solution. The reality is that most of us don't have that capacity.
There are, however, a couple of simpler solutions.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to add light to your scene is to take the flash off the camera and use it remotely. For this you need a separate flash unit that normally fits in a "hot shoe" on top of your camera. An onboard flash will not work. Put the camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release and lock the shutter open. A medium wide angle lens and small aperture will allow for the entire scene to be in focus. Once the camera is set, simply move toward your subject, while trying to stay outside the camera's field of view. Directing the flash toward the subject, you can set it off several times, from different angles throughout the scene in order to accentuate those details. Remember than generally speaking, your shape will not be picked up by the camera in this low light, so long as you keep moving and are not reflective. In other words, don't let the light reflect off you otherwise some part of you, will end up in the photo, and don't stand around inside your scene. You may have to try different shutter speeds, ranging from 15 seconds to perhaps a minute or more, depending on how many flash exposures you want to use. Every scene will be different, due to the amount of ambient light available and experimentation is the key. Don't expect to get it perfectly on the first try.
For an even more dramatic effect you may want to consider "painting with light".
Painting with light refers to the use of an artificial light source, such as a spotlight or a flashlight, and shining it on specific areas of your subject. You would set up the camera in the same manner as the previous example, except in this case, you would move the light across the scene and wave it slowly back and forth concentrating on those areas that needed more light. Depending on the intensity of your light, you may not even have to approach the scene. The effect is similar to lighting a movie set with a number of strategically placed lights, but in this case we are using a much smaller light and moving it around, "painting" with it.
The effect created by this technique is often surreal but is very dramatic. Again, experimentation is the key. It is only through trial and error that you will learn how long it takes to get the best exposure. Every scene is different.
A word of caution when using these techniques: Your flash emits a light with a color temperature of approximately 5200 K, which means it is designed to closely replicate natural sunlight. Because of this, flash photos do not generally have any color distortion issues associated with other light sources. A flashlight, or spotlight, on the other hand, has a much cooler color temperature. The effect will be a yellowish tint in a color photograph. Again, you can compensate with a light blue filter, or by shooting in black and white format, which will add further drama to your photograph.
Many people will use a photo editing suite such as Photoshop to make color corrections.
Likewise, the subject in your scene, and the camera, must remain completely still for the entire exposure. Wind causing tree branches or to move or any other movement, such as camera movement, will result in blurriness.
In any event, the more you use these techniques, the better you will become at creating the kind of effect you want. Try different angles and different exposures. Use your imagination.
Enjoy and until the next lesson, Happy Shooting!
In the last lesson we learned about using an extended exposure to compensate for low light as well as using it to create an added effect.
In this lesson, we are going to expand on the idea of controlling light in order to accentuate details.
Consider the following:
You want to take a picture of the outside of a Gothic Church at night in order to create a dramatic effect. You want to highlight the intricate designs hidden in the shadows of the nooks and crannies, without over exposing the rest of the scene. What do you do?
First of all, a camera mounted flash will have a limited range, likely no more than 20 - 30 feet. Objects near the front of your scene will be over exposed and objects in the back will still be under exposed. The overall effect will be less than perfect.
If you can set up spot lights around the church that light it perfectly from every angle, you would have the ideal solution. The reality is that most of us don't have that capacity.
There are, however, a couple of simpler solutions.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to add light to your scene is to take the flash off the camera and use it remotely. For this you need a separate flash unit that normally fits in a "hot shoe" on top of your camera. An onboard flash will not work. Put the camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release and lock the shutter open. A medium wide angle lens and small aperture will allow for the entire scene to be in focus. Once the camera is set, simply move toward your subject, while trying to stay outside the camera's field of view. Directing the flash toward the subject, you can set it off several times, from different angles throughout the scene in order to accentuate those details. Remember than generally speaking, your shape will not be picked up by the camera in this low light, so long as you keep moving and are not reflective. In other words, don't let the light reflect off you otherwise some part of you, will end up in the photo, and don't stand around inside your scene. You may have to try different shutter speeds, ranging from 15 seconds to perhaps a minute or more, depending on how many flash exposures you want to use. Every scene will be different, due to the amount of ambient light available and experimentation is the key. Don't expect to get it perfectly on the first try.
For an even more dramatic effect you may want to consider "painting with light".
Painting with light refers to the use of an artificial light source, such as a spotlight or a flashlight, and shining it on specific areas of your subject. You would set up the camera in the same manner as the previous example, except in this case, you would move the light across the scene and wave it slowly back and forth concentrating on those areas that needed more light. Depending on the intensity of your light, you may not even have to approach the scene. The effect is similar to lighting a movie set with a number of strategically placed lights, but in this case we are using a much smaller light and moving it around, "painting" with it.
The effect created by this technique is often surreal but is very dramatic. Again, experimentation is the key. It is only through trial and error that you will learn how long it takes to get the best exposure. Every scene is different.
A word of caution when using these techniques: Your flash emits a light with a color temperature of approximately 5200 K, which means it is designed to closely replicate natural sunlight. Because of this, flash photos do not generally have any color distortion issues associated with other light sources. A flashlight, or spotlight, on the other hand, has a much cooler color temperature. The effect will be a yellowish tint in a color photograph. Again, you can compensate with a light blue filter, or by shooting in black and white format, which will add further drama to your photograph.
Many people will use a photo editing suite such as Photoshop to make color corrections.
Likewise, the subject in your scene, and the camera, must remain completely still for the entire exposure. Wind causing tree branches or to move or any other movement, such as camera movement, will result in blurriness.
In any event, the more you use these techniques, the better you will become at creating the kind of effect you want. Try different angles and different exposures. Use your imagination.
Enjoy and until the next lesson, Happy Shooting!
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