{"id":1436,"date":"2014-11-12T13:26:11","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T18:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debralwallace.com\/?p=1436"},"modified":"2014-11-12T13:26:11","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T18:26:11","slug":"take-better-pictures-direction-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/take-better-pictures-direction-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Better Pictures: the Direction of Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most people a great picture is 95% subject matter – such as a cute baby or a kitten. \u00a0But here is a little known fact – the single most important thing you can do to take better pictures is to understand the direction of your light source.<\/strong> \u00a0This is more important than a better camera, and maybe even more important than having a kitten around.<\/p>\n

Beautiful light depends on the quality and direction of the light. \u00a0Whether it’s “natural” or not is completely irrelevant. \u00a0The sun can create both beautiful and hideous light. \u00a0Flashes can also create both. \u00a0What matters is the size of the light source and its placement in relation to the subject. \u00a0 <\/strong>This post is just about placement.<\/p>\n

A quick trick to tell if your lighting is good is whether you can see the color of your subject’s eyes. \u00a0If so, then you’ve got the correct angle.<\/p>\n

\"take<\/a><\/p>\n

If not, then you don’t.<\/p>\n

\"3<\/a><\/p>\n

In this image, Averie has her head at a 45 degree angle to the light source, but Abbie doesn’t. \u00a0It’s a cute image anyway, but technically it would be much improved if the light had been closer to me.<\/p>\n

So now that you know what you’re looking for (directional light), we’ll discuss the\u00a0two really awful types of lighting that are the bottom of the barrel. \u00a0Anything is better than these two things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Direct flash.<\/strong> \u00a0Aside from florescent lighting, direct flash is the most evil and terrible type of lighting ever in the history of the universe. \u00a0This is not to be confused with fill flash, but that’s a different subject. \u00a0Direct flash is when the primary light on your subject comes directly from the camera, and it’s evil because it is ugly and not coming in from the correct angle. \u00a0Your flash should pretty much never be pointed at a person.<\/p>\n

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Our eyes are not used to seeing light from from where we’re standing and so it’s not attractive. \u00a0No shadows on the face, a harsh shadow under the chin, and a dark background are all telltale signs of direct flash. \u00a0Direct flash can also cause red eye (whereas every other type of lighting does not).<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Bright sun at noon.<\/strong>\u00a0 Lighting that is overhead or close to directly overhead creates terrible shadows over the eyes and is basically just ugly, again because it’s not from the correct direction. \u00a0 Avoid taking images out in the sun at lunch time!<\/p>\n

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I still love this image, but you can see the harsh lighting on the baby. \u00a0There are dark shadows on his face and on mom.<\/p>\n

Beautiful light comes in at an angle.<\/strong>\u00a0 There are many different angles you can use and there are books written on the subject, but a quick and fail safe rule of thumb is about 45 degrees above the ground, and about 30 degrees to the side of the photographer. \u00a0Think school pictures – where are the umbrellas? \u00a0If the school picture day analogy doesn’t work for you, here are some examples.<\/p>\n

If you’re inside…<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Use window light.<\/strong> \u00a0Window light can be great for this since your ceiling will force the light to enter at the correct angle. \u00a0All you have to do is position your subject in relation to it. \u00a0The problem with this is that window light is notably dim.<\/p>\n

\"wallace<\/a><\/p>\n

This image was taken just with window light. \u00a0I love the light on Eli’s little chubby face! \u00a0Admittedly, this photo would have looked a lot worse without my really nice camera….<\/p>\n

2. Buy a bounce flash\u00a0and then throw the light behind you. <\/strong>\u00a0Bounce flashes can be a little pricey ($150 and up), but the results are oh so worth it.<\/p>\n

\"bounce<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the same day and time as the direct flash image. \u00a0You’ll notice that there are no harsh shadows, everything in the image is evenly lit and there are gentle shadows on the face that give shape to Eli’s pinchable cheeks.<\/p>\n

If you’re outside…<\/h3>\n

1. \u00a0Go under something like a bridge or a pavilion<\/strong>. \u00a0This has the same effect as a roof indoors.<\/p>\n

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Corbett’s Glen <\/a>has remarkable lighting by the tunnel.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Plan to be outside at sunset or sunrise<\/strong> because the sun is – you guessed it, at an angle. \u00a0I couldn’t find any pictures like this… I guess I’m usually sleeping then, or putting kids to bed, or cooking dinner or doing the dishes or something.<\/p>\n

You will take better pictures by focusing on the direction of your light source. \u00a0Or if all else fails (or even if it doesn’t) hire a photographer who uses off camera lighting! \u00a0People who label themselves as “natural light photographers” are a little like a chef who says he only cooks with an omelet pan. \u00a0Natural light works sometimes and is beautiful sometimes, but it’s limiting.<\/p>\n

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To delve into this subject, check out Neil van Niekerk’s book, “Direction and Quality of Light<\/a>.” \u00a0Creative title for sure, but he is a master of all things flash.<\/p>\n

Debra Wallace Photography is now offering online scheduling. \u00a0To grab your spot, click here<\/a>\u00a0or sign up for the newsletter <\/a>so you won’t miss a thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most people a great picture is 95% subject matter – such as a cute baby or a kitten. \u00a0But here is a little known fact – the single most important thing you can do to take better pictures is to understand the direction of your light source. \u00a0This is more important than a better<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tutorials","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debralwallace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}