Lighting

Side Lighting

Side lighting allows us to catch the subject from the side with the shadows being the main stand-out; this allows us to change the general mood of an image. It increases the contrast and is most effective when used with black and white pictures because it captures needle sharp edges. Whereas, front lighting allows us to capture 3D like image with the shadow, it’s the most basic lighting.

It can also have a massive effect on the photo. The brightness of the light usually comes from the left or right, making one dark darker than the other. This is a great technique for capturing an image with a mysterious feel to it. For a more natural feel I could use something that reflects the light onto my person’s body which would soften the effect.

Back Lighting

Back lighting is pretty basic. It literally is just the light that approaches from the back. This can have to effects; turn a photo into something of beauty or turn a beautiful photo into a disaster. The camera reads the brightness of the light behind something and sets itself to only expose certain lighting.