Art of Light by Rachel Korinek

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Art of Light
Copyright © 2017 Rachel Korinek | Two Loves Studio
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the
author at the email address below.
hello@twolovesstudio.com
www.twolovesstudio.com
Acknowledgements
Photography by Rachel Korinek

www.rachelkorinek.com
Case Study Images Food, Prop Styling + Recipe Creation by Carmel Gohar
www.carmelgohar.com
Image A, B, C + D from our case studies + Pavlova.
Workbook Design by Sarah Renae Clark

www.sarahrenaeclark.com
Author portrait by Matt Korinek

www.mattkorinek.com
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WHAT’S INSIDE
1 2
Introduction Myths of Lighting
You’ll never know how incredible 5 common myths about light and
light can be until you explore it. how to shift to a growth mindset.
3 4
Dynamics of Light Taming A Hard Light Source
Understand the dynamics of natural How I utilised a hard light source to
light and how it behaves. produce two very unique images.
5 6
Create Mood Enhance Your Shadows
Discover simple manipulation aids Why shadows are so important
I used to create mood. and how I enhanced them.
7 8
Manipulate Light At Home Troubleshooting Tips
Uncover manipulation aids to help Tips you can quickly integrate to
you shape beautiful light. get the light you crave.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
How To Use This Case Study Workbook 2
Introduction 3
Chapter 2: Myths of Lighting 4

5 limiting lighting mindsets 5
#1: Artificial light will solve all my problems 6
#2: I have to wait until the natural light is perfect for me to shoot 6
#3: Natural light is bad to shoot in, as it keeps changing 7
#4: I live in a part of the world that isn’t good for photography, as it’s always cloudy 7
#5: I need fancy equipment to manipulated natural light correctly 8
Chapter 3: The Dynamics of Natural Light 10

Colour temperature of light 12
Distance from light source 14
Height of subject to light source 20
Apparent size of light source 23
Hard vs soft light 26
Direction of light 31
Fill light 36
Shadows 39
Natural Light Case Studies

Chapter 4: Taming Hard Light 41
Images A + B 43
The steps I used to tame hard light 47
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CONTENTS
Light source: Sun vs diffuser 47
Apparent size: Sun (small) vs diffuser (large) 48
Adding back shadows: Negative fill 49
Create it 50
Checklist 50
Chapter 5: Create Mood 51

Image C 52
Tools I used to create mood 55
Creating a strip 56
Using black foam core to block light 56
Reducing ambient light 57
Edge light 58
Create it 59
Checklist 59
Chapter 6: Enhance Your Shadows 60

Image D 61
Moody light can be soft light 64
Using distance + fall-off 64
Reducing fill light 65
Size of negative fill 65
Key light blocking 66
Create it 67
Checklist 67
Chapter 7: Manipulate Light At Home 68

Must-haves 69
Combining tools 71
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CONTENTS
Creating a collection 71
Uncovering your light 73
Creating at home 74
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Tips 75

I need more light 76
There is too much light 76
I feel like trying hard light 77
Soft light is my jam! 77
Shooting with hard shadows 78
I want softer shadows 78
I only ever have clouds 78
I only ever have direct sun 79
I have too much fill 79
I love shooting bright + airy 79
I want to create dark and moody 80
I want that ‘special sauce’ 80
How do I make things shine? 81
What’s the most common light direction? 81
Final Thoughts 82
Worksheet: Light Manipulation 83
Glossary 84
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How To Use This Case Study Workbook

This Behind-The-Scenes Case Study Workbook is here to both educate and empower you
to create the light of your dreams at home, with the tools you already have.
Before we get into the juicy behind-the-scenes setups, I want to first take you through
some of the Dynamics of Light. Don’t be afraid now; this isn’t as complex as you think and at
the end, you’ll have a whole new setup of tools to approach natural light at home.
I slowly introduce you to some foundation lighting concepts in the Dynamics of Light
section. Don’t fret if you feel like we just touch on the juicy stuff then move on. I will show
you how I apply each of these concepts in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 with diagrams and images.
I am all about empowering you to be able to create on your own, so when you start to
manipulate light for your next shoot, you can use the Troubleshooting Tips section to see
how you can put these into action.
Then you’ll be able to see the potential in ANY natural light.
And as always, remember to enjoy the journey.
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Introduction
The difference between ok and amazing light is you
I thought I was blessed with amazing natural light in my house when I first started my
photography journey. Any light was amazing to me, I was just happy to be creating. As I
learned more about how light works, how to harness it and looked at the lighting in images
that I liked, I noticed that my light was always different to how I imagined it.
I struggled to find decent light for dramatic photos. I struggled to take pictures because the
light was always changing. I struggled to get even lighting and make my shadows anything
other than boring. It was hard for me to build my still-life scene from nothing, style my food
and props how I wanted, and shoot with the ever-changing light (all at the same time)!
I was frustrated because I was always waiting for the lighting to be perfect. I didn’t have the
ability to see the potential in my light source; I just shot with what I was given.
Being so focused on composition and styling, I noticed that I was creating the same old
images with boring, flat light. The thought of learning yet another skill (truly manipulating
light) left me feeling overwhelmed; however, I knew this was the most important thing I
needed as a photographer. Now I live by this idea from my photography pal Bea Lubas:
The magic happens when you stop taking photos of objects and start capturing the light.
Knowing that light could make or break an image, I decided to stop being controlled by
light and start taming it. To work with it, shape it and make it. That’s when I focused on
exploring and building my light manipulation skills. My goal: To strengthen my ability to see
the potential in any light source I faced. The light I couldn’t change. The light I was given.
I realised that natural light is beautiful, it will surprise you and there are occasions when
you won’t have to lift a finger for it to be beyond beautiful. But many times the difference
between amazing natural light and ok natural light is YOU.
You’ll never know how incredible light can be until you explore it, harness it, tame it.
Together, let’s seek out your hero light manipulation skills with simple, low-cost techniques
you can implement without fuss and...
create beautiful images every time with natural light.

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The number one frustration I hear from photographers is that they struggle
with lighting
Now, when photographers say ‘the lighting never ends up looking like it did in my head’, I can
totally put myself in their shoes. This is a frustration I have dealt with constantly throughout
my photography journey.
See, I would only ever shoot in my go-to lighting and in my comfort zone as it produced
good results. But I got stuck there - and let me tell you, it’s unfulfilling. As my journey
progressed and I started to freelance more, I was no longer able to rely on my lighting
comfort zone. So many times the light I was used to shooting just wasn’t available.
Being presented with more and more new lighting challenges allowed me to troubleshoot
to produce more beautiful light than I was able to before. Not to mention a huge sense of
achievement and creative freedom.
The key is that by having a growth mindset, new challenges with lighting can lead to never-
before-captured opportunities.
Yes, there are times when bad light stops us in our tracks, but if you approach bad lighting
as a temporary situation, then amazing light is just a few manipulations away.
5 limiting lighting mindsets:

· #1: Artificial light will solve all my problems.
· #2: I have to wait until the natural light is perfect for me to shoot.
· #3: Natural light is bad to shoot in, as it keeps changing.
· #4: I live in a part of the world that isn’t good for photography, as it’s always cloudy.
· #5: I need fancy equipment to manipulated natural light correctly.
Let’s clear up some common lighting limitations and misconceptions that you may have
come across and how you can shift these limitations into areas of growth.

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Limiting mindset: Artificial light will solve all my

problems
Growth mindset: Knowing the dynamics of light will empower me to create
beautiful light.
Truly understanding the dynamics of light requires some physics. Not sexy - I know, but
some photographers don’t find their groove with natural light and think that they’re cursed
with ‘I just don’t have good light in my house’.
Their solution: artificial light.
But let me ask you, how will you create and manipulate artificial light without a solid
understanding of natural light?
The answer? You’ll probably struggle just as much.
The good news is that if you understand the dynamics of light that we’ll cover in this
case study, then you can apply this knowledge to any light source. Natural or artificial.
Ever heard the saying, ‘you’ll always take the weather with you’? Well if you don’t tackle your
natural light manipulation skills head-on, those gaps will roll over into artificial light.
Everything you learn here will not only put you in a better position to create beautiful light
with natural sources, but you’ll be working on your knowledge base for artificial light down
the track.
Limiting mindset: I have to wait until the natural light is

perfect for me to shoot
Growth mindset: Each lighting situation is a chance for me to discover and
capture something new.
If you’ve come from other niches of photography where you’re primarily shooting outdoors,
then you may have a mindset of having to wait for perfect light. With food photography - as
we’re indoors - we have more opportunities to turn imperfect light into something worth
shooting.

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The images in this case study were all created with lighting that was not my go-to choice.
Each scenario brought new lighting challenges, but the results were freaking beautiful.
Now can you imagine if I just put the camera down and said, ‘this isn’t perfect for me to
shoot’? Exactly - I would have missed creating these beautiful images.
That’s the cost of a limiting mindset and only shooting when the light feels perfect.
Approach each lighting limitation as a chance to put your skills to the test and find new
beauty.
Limiting mindset: Natural light is bad to shoot in, as it

keeps changing
Growth mindset: In every moment, there is the possibility to find new magic.
We tend to have the mindset that change is bad. Natural light can change quickly, for
sure - but your ability to adapt with it is what produces consistent results. Even when your
lighting changes unexpectedly, embrace that change and take the opportunity to capture
something new.
Photography is all about problem-solving. See it as part of the process and you’ll reap the
rewards.
Limiting mindset: I live in a part of the world that isn’t

good for photography, as it’s always cloudy
Growth mindset: Light isn’t static. You have the power to change any situation.
Full sun or full cloud: Each can provide you with magic to tell your story.
A cloudy sky doesn’t mean less light. In fact, there is no one factor that determines ‘less’
or ‘more’ light. It’s all relative, as we’ll explore in this case study.
There is this unconscious idea that natural light is a take-it-or-leave-it situation. Light is

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light. It’s not static. If you understand the dynamics we’ll cover in this case study, you’ll see
that you have more power in controlling and manipulation light than you thought.
This is exciting! You’ll be able to work with whatever natural light you have. No more
feeling jealous over another photographer’s Instagram because they live in a different part
of the world to you.
Limiting mindset: I need fancy equipment to

manipulated natural light correctly
Growth mindset: If I know my sh*t, there are so many possibilities that I already
have or that are ‘free 99’ that I can use to create the light I want.
We tend to think that to be a ‘good’ or ‘professional’ photographer we need expensive

equipment. With the rise of fancy behind-the-scenes Instagram stories, we can get trapped
into thinking that in order to create beautiful images, we need a lot of stuff - or complex
setups.
But complex setups don’t always equal better images.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you create work you’re proud of.
There are so many things that are right at your fingertips that you can use to manipulate
light.
In this case study, we’ll cover many manipulating techniques that are free and don’t require
any aids.
If you understand the dynamics of light, then you can make everyday items work for you.
Promise.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS
The key ideas to hold onto from this section are:

• It’s hard to fully utilise artificial light without an understanding of how natural light works.
• Waiting for ‘perfect’ light can allow you to miss opportunities to capture something new.
• When you adapt to natural light changes, you can produce consistent results.
• There is no one factor that determines more or less light.
• Complex lighting setups don’t always equal better images, understanding the dynamics
does.

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Light will literally make or break an image
It’s the difference between a good image and a powerful, fist-pumpingly-good image.
No matter how incredible your food is, there is no amount of glisten on your chocolate
ganache that can save poor lighting. In fact, with poor lighting, you probably won’t have any
glisten at all!
If you have a killer dish but shoot it in terrible light, it’s going to look ho-hum. Shoot a,
ahem… ‘ugly’ dish in amazing light, however - and you may be onto something.
It’s just like a selfie.. Bad hair days... no makeup... but good light - it does wonders right? On
the flip side, not even makeup can save us from bad lighting. That’s the power of light, my
friend!
Moral of the story: light before ANYTHING.
But light is light, right? Not even close. Not all light is created equal and there are many
factors that change how light shows up for us.
Even if you know a lot about natural light, we’re about to explore the dynamics of natural
light like never before. Get excited, because you’re about to...
See the potential in any natural light and create beautiful images every time.
Explore the dynamics of natural light
A taste of what we’re about to uncover:

• Why colour temperature is different with each light source.
• How distance is totally a manipulation tool.
• That height of a light source will affect light quantity and direction.
• What apparent size is, and why this concept will blow your mind.
• The directions of light and when to use each one.
• The concept of fill light.
• Hard light vs Soft light.
• Why shadows are an important part of your lighting.

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Then we’ll piece it all together and work through how to create each type of light and when
to use it. I’m excited - because once I truly understood all this, a massive shift happened in
my work. Now it’s your turn. Ready? Let’s do this!
COLOUR TEMPERATURE OF LIGHT

Each light source has a temperature value, which is measured in degrees kelvin. As well as
having an actual temperature value - so how ‘hot’ the light source is in degrees - light also
has an associated colour depending on how warm or cool the light source is. Now let’s take
a look at the associated colour of different sources of daylight.
The colour of daylight
When the colour temperature of light is high, more of the colour blue will exist. If the colour
temperature is low, more of the colour red will exist. Now I know this feels contrary to the
actual ‘feel’ of temperature. We tend to think that high temperature feels ‘warm’, whereas
low temperature feels ‘cool’. Just remember that ‘colour temperature’ works differently.
Natural light or ‘daylight’ is made up of sunlight and skylight. We get differing colours in
the sky throughout the day as sunlight is scattered at different wavelengths depending on
where the sun is in the Earth’s orbit.
Sunrise/sunsets have a low colour temperature, so more red coloured light will be present.
That’s why we have that ‘warm’ look associated with sunsets and sunrise.
At other times, daylight, on both cloudy and clear days will have a higher colour
temperature so more blue light will be present.
But before you shout ’enough with the science!’, let me share the colour temperature
examples you’ll find commonly used in white balance examples.

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Daylight Colour Temperatures Degrees Kelvin
The Blue Hour (Skylight) 9500

Shade 7500
Cloudy day 6500
Daylight* 5500
Sunrise or Sunset 2000
*Because daylight is made up of sunlight and skylight, there is more ‘warm’ colour in it than
pure skylight, which only occurs when the sun isn’t up. So the blue hour would be an example
of skylight.
Colour temperature in photography
Ok, enough with the science and let’s talk photography - you with me?
Why is it important to know about the colour temperature of light? You may have heard
photographers gush over the ‘golden hour’ as the best time to shoot. This is because the
light is soft and warm, and casts an incredible glow on landscapes and skin.
But does this apply to the daylight in your home? The answer is: of course!
Depending on the time of year, time of day and the direction your windows face, the light
temperature will ‘feel’ different. Whilst our eyes regulate light temperature changes very
well, the camera will capture light differently.
It’s important to seek out how the light ‘feels’ at different times of the day and through
different facing windows.
North-facing windows will give you different light to south-facing windows. Just as east-
facing and west-facing will be different. The time of day will change this, as well as the time
of year.
North-facing light tends to be warmer, whilst south-facing tends to be cooler - IF you

live in the Southern Hemisphere. This will be the opposite for those living in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Now the temperature of light is associated with white balance, so if you were thinking about

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this, then you are correct. However, here we are really looking at how the light ‘feels’ as we
get more acquainted with how we can utilise different light in our homes.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Colour temperature isn’t the same as ‘actual temperature’ of light.
• High colour temperature has more blue (blue hour).
• Low colour temperature has more red (sunset/sunrise).
• Natural light is known as ‘daylight’, which is made up of sunlight and skylight.
• Light will ‘feel’ different depending on its colour temperature.
• The temperature of light will feel different throughout the day and at different times of
year.
• It’s important to seek out different-feeling light depending on your creative direction.
DISTANCE FROM LIGHT SOURCE

If you’re a bit of a nerd (like me) and you love the ins and outs of photography, then this
section of the case study workbook is going to be epic! We’ll cover one of the most
fascinating concepts in lighting.
As a photographer, you may have noticed that the distance from a light source will affect
how much light you have falling onto your scene or subject. We kinda know that - just from
living our life. But there’s soooo much more to it.
The closer you are to a window, the more intense the available light will be. The further
away you are to a window, the less intense the available light will be. Sounds about right,
but there’s a little bit more to it than that.
Let the fun begin!

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Distance from a light source is a little more complex. If you ever plan on using artificial
lighting, (even mixed lighting) in the future, then understanding the role distance plays in
relation to the amount of available light is a crucial concept.
The inverse-square law (It’s not scary at all, promise!)
Don’t be afraid if the title of this section sounds too technical - Really, it’s not. The inverse-
square law is actually a super simple concept that applies to many things in today’s world.
Even though it makes reference to the laws of physics, we’ll look at this law in a practical
sense and how it relates to photography.
I promise you’ll have no problems understanding it when we’re done.
Any type of lighting - whether it is natural or artificial - follows what is called the Inverse-
square law.
The Inverse-square law states that the power of available light is inversely proportional
to the square of the distance.
In a nutshell, the Inverse-square law provides us with the understanding of how the
amount of available light works over a given distance. It will also reveal why the distance
between your light source and your subject is so important when manipulating any source
of light.
Now, stick with me here. This will all make sense in a moment, I promise.

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How the inverse-square law works
Forgetting about the unit of measurement, if we were to take a distance of ‘2’ and square it,
(so 22 or 2x2) we get a value of ‘4’. The law states that light is inversely proportioned to the
square of the distance - Inversely, meaning that the value we get is not ‘4’, it’s ‘1/4’.
Whether this made sense or not, taking a look at a practical level, you’ll see how this works
for lighting in photography.
The above example shows us that as we double the distance from our light source, (so
2m x 2m OR 2ft x 2ft) our value of available light is now 1/4 as powerful as it was before we
moved. So we now have not half the amount of light, we have 1/4 of the amount of light.
Simply put:
Doubling your distance from the light source will give you 1/4 of the power of light.
The most common mistake photographers make is to think that when we double the
distance, we get half the amount of the original power of light. But physics tells us that’s not
how it works.
Let’s take a look at a few more examples to really hit this home.
(I am going to use meters in this example, but don’t get caught up on the unit of
measurement. The same would apply to any other unit).

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Distance from light Amount of light fall off % of original power
1x 1 of original power 100%

2x 1/4 of original power 25%
The Inverse-square law explains the dramatic fall-off in light over distance. Fall-off
simply means; the reduction in the amount of light, or the power of light, the further you get
from your light source.
A key point to remember is that initial fall-off of light happens very quickly. Then fall-off
slows down quite quickly the further you get from your light source.
(If you’re interested in the math, this is because the inverse-square law or the ‘fractions of
power’ get smaller more slowly as the light moves further away).
If we take a look at the above figures, we can see that this is demonstrated when we move
from 1x to 2x, (x being any unit of measurement), we now have 25% of the original power of
light. Therefore we lost 75% of the original power of available light (100%-25%).

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But the further we get, from 4x to 5x, (x being any unit of measurement), we’ve gone from
6% to 4% of the available light. Therefore we’ve only lost 2% of the original power of
available light.
Why is this important in photography?
At the most basic level, it is important to know that distance will change the power of
available light. Dramatic fall-off will occur very quickly (against original power), but the
further you get away from the light source the less relative fall-off you’ll experience.

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When shooting with natural light, the immediate space between your window and your
scene or subject, at say the first 1-1.5m (3-5ft), will make a huge difference and impact on
how the available light can change your image.
It’s this little amount of change that can bring you exponentially more or less light.
Now to really blow your mind, distance can be on the horizontal plane as well as the
vertical. So what this means is that the Inverse-square law applies to the height of your light
source compared to your subject - so let’s move onto that.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Inverse-square law states that the power of available light is inversely proportional
to the square of the distance.
• The Inverse-square law provides us with the understanding of how the amount of
available light works over a given distance.
• Doubling your distance from the light source will give you 1/4 of the power of light, (NOT
half the power).

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• Light fall-off happens very quickly, then slows down the further we get from the light
source.
• Moving in the immediate space between your window and your subject will have the
most impact on available light.
• The Inverse-Square Law applies to both the horizontal (distance) and vertical (height)
planes.
HEIGHT OF SUBJECT TO LIGHT SOURCE

Now we may think that because we’re using natural light, we don’t need to worry about
placement as you would have to do when setting up artificial light.
But the height of light will change both the distance and direction of your light.
As we just learned, the distance from our light source will change the amount of light we
have. It will also change our shadows and how defined their edges are - but we haven’t
gotten to that section yet... Hold that thought!
Height of our window as distance
Let’s think about this concept in terms of a window that is a reasonable or average size,
but not floor to ceiling. There is about 1.5m (5ft) from the floor to where the window starts,
which obviously lets in no light.
We know now that the height of our light source is also a distance factor that can change
available light.
Using our trusty reasonable-sized window that sits about 1.5m (5ft) off the ground, let’s
imagine we are shooting on our table that is the same height as the window.
Here we have the largest amount light available, and it’s coming to our scene as sidelight.

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Now let’s say that this is too bright for what you want and you decide to move closer to the
floor. You will have reduced the amount of available light by nearly 75%!
Height and the effect on direction
Using the same window example as above, let’s assume that you shoot on the floor, and
are planning an overhead shot. Suddenly your lighting could become top-down lighting,
(the extent of this will depend on the distance between your window and the floor). If you
moved your scene onto the top of a table that sits at the same height as the window, then
you’ve changed the lighting to become sidelight.

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If you have floor to ceiling windows, then height isn’t going to be a consideration. You’ll
still want to think about distance, size of light source, reflectivity or diffusion.
On the other hand, if you don’t have floor to ceiling windows, getting closer to your
window will give you more intensity of available light. Your light will become sidelight
and will change your shadows. If you lower your setup from the window height, then you
will have less intensity of available light - the light ‘may’ become top-down light and your
shadows will look different again.
Now if you’re thinking, ‘so which is the best direction of light for me to shoot with?’, I hear ya!
I’ve got you covered with the pros and cons of each lighting direction and when to use each
type a little later on in this section. If you can’t wait and need to read it now, jump ahead to
Direction of Light.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Inverse-square Law also applies to the height of your light source.
• You’ll lose power from your light source the lower your setup is from the window.

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• Shooting on the ground with a high window that isn’t floor to ceiling can produce top-
down lighting.
• Shooting at the same height as the window will give you side or back lighting.
• Floor to ceiling windows are less likely to change the direction of your light.
APPARENT SIZE OF LIGHT SOURCE

The size of your light source is an important concept in photography. Actually, scratch that
- It’s a crucial concept in photography, and I want to empower you to know the difference
between ‘actual’ and ‘apparent’ size, because it’s a game changer when it comes to
understanding and manipulating natural light.
Again, nothing in photography is isolated, so size is dependent on our good ol’ friend -
distance.
Yep, distance will get involved every time.
Actual vs apparent size
When we refer to the actual size of the light source, we’re referring to its overall dimensions
or magnitude. Whereas, the apparent size of the light source is its ‘size’ relative to the
subject when you take into account the distance between the two.
Another way to think about this is the size of the light source as viewed from the
perspective of the subject. From the subject’s perspective, is it large or small?
Let me break that down with an example:
Take a piece of fruit; a plum, for example. Now the plum is always the same size, meaning
the actual size of our plum doesn’t change. However, the further it is away from our camera,
the smaller it looks. Closer to the camera, the plum looks larger. This is a concept known as
apparent size.

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This concept can also be applied to our light source.
Our light source is a window. No matter if we are standing next to it or are across the
room, the actual size of the window never changes. What changes instead is the window’s
apparent size. If we’re standing next to the window, it seems larger in comparison to if we’re
standing across the room from the window.
Let’s put this into action and test it out.
ACTION: Walk to a window, then move to the other side of the room.
Which position makes the window seem larger? Keep moving back and forth if you
need to. (The answer is being close to the window).
The light source in natural light
Now, as we’re talking about natural light here, we now know that our ultimate light source is
always daylight (made up of sunlight and skylight).
The actual source of your light will depend on where you’re shooting and what you’re
shooting with.
If you’re shooting outside, your light source is the sun. (Unless it’s a cloudy day, then your
light source becomes the clouds themselves).

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If you’re shooting inside with natural light, your light source is your window. (Unless the sun
is shining directly through it, in which case your light source goes back to being the sun).
Let’s explore this idea a little more.
If you’re shooting with a manipulation aid (e.g., a diffuser) between the sun and your subject,
then it will become your light source. (Just let that sink in for a minute before we move on. It
took me a while to understand this concept).
Size is dependent on distance
When it comes to the size of your light, it’s not just a blanket rule that a bigger light source
will give you more light, and a smaller one will give you less.
In addition to the power of light, the amount of light is also dependent on the distance
from the subject. (And sometimes other factors can trump this as well).
This is where things get really exciting: Distance is totally a manipulation technique!
I’m going to take you through my thought process and how to use distance to manipulate
light in the case studies coming up. Get excited!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The size of the light source is dependant on distance. It’s not simply a large window
provides more light, or a small window provides less.
• Actual size is the dimensions or magnitude of your light source.
• Apparent size is ‘size’ relative to the subject when you take into account the distance
between the subject and the light source.
• The apparent size changes as you move toward and from the light source. Actual size
never changes.
• The apparent size of a window is larger the closer you are to it.
• The apparent size of a window is smaller the further you are from it.
• The sun is your light source when shooting outside in full sun.
• Clouds are your light source when shooting outside on an overcast day.
• A window is your light source when shooting indoors, unless in direct sunlight.
• If using a diffuser, the diffuser becomes your light source.
• Using distance is a manipulation technique.
HARD VS SOFT LIGHT

We’ve covered a lot of fascinating points about the dynamics of light. For me, I love how
photography is about problem-solving. It’s about seeing the beauty in seemingly ‘everyday’
things; light included. I think that’s why people love natural light so much.
In this section, we’re about to put some of these ideas together (like distance and
apparent size) as we talk about the two main types of light.
Misunderstanding light
Natural light can be either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. You will find both types of light present even
before you start to manipulate it.

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We will dive into what each type of light actually refers to and how to produce it; but before
we do that, I want to call out my biggest confusion when it came to the distinction of each
lighting type that led to a misunderstanding of light.
Hard light isn’t ‘harsh’.
Harsh by definition means: unpleasantly rough, having an undesirably strong effect. Nor is
hard light ‘bad’ light and soft light ‘good’. They are just different types of lighting.
Hard light is not just undiffused light either. I used to think that they were one in the same
- but they’re not. You can have either hard or soft lighting with both diffused and undiffused
light.
Hard light shouldn’t just be thought of ‘direct sunlight in the middle of a sunny summer’s
day’ either. Sure, the UV rays and heat of the day may feel ‘harsh’ on our skin, but
conceptually calling this ‘harsh light’ led me to misunderstand.
Neither should we think that a cloudy day always means soft light.
It may be soft, but simplifying this without considering the definition of hard and soft
light didn’t empower me to move beyond basic concepts of lighting.
So, forget:
hard = harsh = full direct sun/undiffused = bad
OR
soft = good
...and prepare to get savvy!
Hard light
Hard light is the type of light that creates shadows that have a sharp edge. That’s the core
of it. Any type of light that creates shadows that have a sharp edge comes from a hard
light source.

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What determines a hard light source is the size of the source relative to the subject, so
examples of hard light aren’t as simple as just naming a bunch of small light sources that
we may encounter each day.
Knowing what a sharp edge is (when it comes to the shadows hard light produces) is
important in understanding a hard source of light.
Shadows that have a sharp edge are shadows with an abrupt transition, without much
gradient from light to dark. It goes from light to dark very quickly causing a ‘sharp’ edge.
As you may have guessed, the opposite of hard light is soft light.
What is soft light?
Soft light is the type of light that creates shadows that have ‘soft’ edges.
Soft light tends to wrap around objects, casting a diffused shadow that has a gradual
transition from light to dark. Soft light is any light source that creates shadows that have
soft and generously transitioned edges.

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Light sources that are soft are also dependent on certain factors like relative distance
and apparent size.
Soft light is often deemed to be ‘good’ lighting and therefore desirable. But there is such
a thing as ‘too much of a “good” thing’. Super soft light can eliminate all shadows, which
can have an impact on a three-dimensional subject both aesthetically and emotionally.
Both types of light can be beautiful sources to create food photography with, depending
on what mood and feeling you’re striving for. Neither is better than the other as a rule of
thumb.
One of the main differences between hard and soft light in terms of creation/manipulation
is that natural hard light needs to be found, whereas soft natural light can be either
found or manipulated from hard light. This is because you can turn hard light into soft
light, but it is harder to turn soft light into hard light.
Creating hard light
As we mentioned, hard light is easier to be found than created.
The most obvious example of natural hard light that we have is undiffused sunlight that can
be found outside in direct daylight or streaming directly in through your window. The latter
will change depending on the time of day and time of year.

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For example, in the Southern Hemisphere, north-facing light tends to stream directly
through the windows in winter, but significantly less in summer. Daylight can stream into
east-facing windows in the morning as the sun climbs from sunrise to noon but will soften
through these same windows as the day progresses.
When I am referring to ‘harder light’, I’m not necessarily referring to the most extreme end
of hard light, but creating a light that is harder rather than softer. The shadows will be less
gradual in transition.
Hard light can be created by having a larger distance between your light source and the
subject because that makes the light source appear to be smaller.
Creating soft light
Soft light, on the other hand, is easier to create through manipulation. You can find soft light
on a cloudy day, under an awning or roof. Shade is also a good source of soft natural light.
Again, soft light is characterised by shadows with soft, transitioned edges.
In order to work with your light to make it soft, you’ll want to reduce the distance
between your subject and the light source, to have the light source appear larger.
We’ll see this in action in our first case study in Chapter 4.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hard light isn’t good or bad. It’s just another type of lighting. The same goes for soft.
• Hard light creates shadows that have a sharp or defined edge.
• Soft light creates shadows that have a transition or gradual edge.
• Hard natural light usually has to be found, but soft natural light can generally be found
or created more easily.
• For hard light, the light source should appear smaller, relative to the subject.
• For soft light, the light source should appear larger, relative to the subject.

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DIRECTION OF LIGHT
By now, we’re beginning to see that most light concepts are totally dependent on other
factors, which is exciting because understanding this will put you ahead of the competition.
Now we’ve done a lot of digging into the intricacies of natural light here, and I’d like you
to give yourself a big high-five for tackling these concepts with me. It’ll all get easier from
here. We’re about to see the spectacular view from the top of the mountain.
Let’s now move onto the direction of light and when to use it.
Light source and direction
As daylight is a combination of sunlight and skylight, it comes from whichever the direction
the sun is in the sky.
If you ever shoot outside, you’ll notice that the majority of the time the lighting is top-down,
(apart from the time during sunrise and sunset).
However, when we’re shooting indoors, suddenly the light no longer just comes from the
top-down direction. As we just learned, when shooting inside, our window or diffuser is now
our light source.
This means that the direction it comes from is determined by the direction we’re facing
in relation to the window.
Types of light direction
Commonly, we can have four directions of light; top-down light, back light, front-on light
and side light.
Let’s take a look at each type of light and when to use it.
Front-on lighting
Front-on light can be troublesome to shoot with. That’s because, in order for you to achieve
front-on lighting, you need to be in-between the light source and your subject.

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This, as you may know, causes two less-than-ideal things (usually).
The first is that you will cast a shadow onto your subject, which is not ideal (unless you’re
trying to block hard or different temperature lighting), and the second is that you will
reduce the amount of available light by blocking it with your body.
I recommend to steer clear of using front-on light for those reasons.
If you do ever happen to encounter beautiful looking front-on lighting, don’t discourage
exploration just because it typically isn’t the primary direction in food photography.
You never know - you might create something no-one ever has before.
Side lighting
Side lighting is when you are shooting with light coming either from the right or left of your
scene or subject.
It is probably the most common lighting direction in food photography.
It’s reliably flattering for nearly all food and is easy to work with. It can usually be
manipulated to create even lighting across your scene.

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Side lighting is also a go-to choice for food photographers, as it is complementary with
almost every angle you’d choose to shoot, all the way from front-on to overhead, and every
angle in between.
If you’re ever in doubt, default to side lighting.
Back lighting
Back lighting is when your light source is coming from the back of your scene.
It can produce very powerful images and can take your food photography to the next level.
With back lighting, it can be difficult to get even lighting onto main subjects in your
frame. A common example is trying to take a selfie with the sunset behind you - You get
the sunset exposed, but you are usually just a silhouette at the front of the frame.
Many times you will need an aid like a reflector to assist with getting decent exposure on
subjects at the front of your scene.
Back lighting should be used to capture specular highlights, shine and glisten on your
food. This extends to glisten from syrups or chocolate ganache and to the highlights on the
top of liquids.

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To pick up these specular highlights, not every angle will work. So explore the best angle
(usually between 15-30 degrees and sometimes 70-85 degrees) to see where the light and
your shooting angle intersect to create that almighty shine.
Top-down lighting
Top-down lighting mostly occurs when shooting food outside, as your light source
becomes the sun.

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When indoors, top-down lighting will only occur if you have sky-lights, small basement
windows that only appear adjacent to the ceiling, or if you have considerable height
between the window and your subject.
Top-down lighting isn’t usually very flattering. It can sometimes make your subjects
appear very flat, and eliminate the necessary shadows to add dimension.
That being said, hard top-down lighting can create a very artist look. It shouldn’t be
discounted altogether, but doesn’t generally need to be considered for more editorial-style
food photography.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Front-on lighting is when the light source is in front of your subject.
• Front-on lighting isn’t flattering, as you block your light source and cast shadows.
• Side lighting is when the light source is to either side of your subject.
• Side lighting is the most flattering, more evenly lights your subject and can be used for
any angle.
• Back lighting is when the light source is behind your subject.
• Back lighting is used to capture specular highlights at angles between 15-30 and 70-85
degrees.
• Top-down lighting is when the light source is above your subject.
• Top-down lighting isn’t usually very flattering and can eliminate shadows needed to add
dimension to your subject.

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FILL LIGHT
Fill light is our next super-important concept that often throws a spanner in the works when
it comes to understanding how light behaves when we’re changing distance and relative
size of a light source.
We’ll cover it briefly here, as it’s important to think about how fill light will act in your scene
or setup.
Fill light is light that is being bounced or reflected from the light source onto your subject.
So any light that is hitting your subject at a different angle to your key light (the main light
source) is fill light. It’s also light that is being added to the shadow areas in order to make
them less dark. It can be intentionally or unintentionally created.
What do I mean by that?
Intentionally vs unintentionally
Most commonly, fill light is created by reflectors that are strategically set up to bounce light
from your window (back into your scene on the shadow side) onto areas where you’d like
more even exposure.

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This is where we’d intentionally set up reflectors such as white foam core, or reflective disks
to bounce light around.
Unintentionally, most of us will experience fill light being created from the walls in our
house. Commonly, we have white/off-whites or light-coloured walls that will bounce a
proportion of light onto our subjects and setup.
It’s reasonable to forget how this plays a role in our setup, especially if we have a small
setup for still life photography that appears to not be close to any of the walls in our house.
Fill light can be very beautiful and is essential for bright and airy images.
Negative fill
On the other hand, if we want to create rich tonal or ‘moody’ images with dark shadows, fill
light can provide an excess amount of light onto our scene; preventing us from creating
the emotion we’re after.
This is where negative fill comes into play. It’s most commonly seen where you place black
reflectors to soak up light, preventing it from being bounced back onto your scene.
Negative fill is commonly used in ‘moody’ images, or when you are trying to eliminate
light bounce and create defined shadows.

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We’ll see some examples of this throughout the case studies.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Fill light is any light that is hitting your subject at a different angle to your key light.
• It’s added to your shadow area to make shadows less dark.
• It can be intentionally created using any reflective device.
• It can be unintentionally created from bounce off white walls in your house.
• Fill light can be very beautiful and is essential for bright and airy images.
• Negative fill is used to reduce light being reflected onto your subject.

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SHADOWS
Shadows are shadows are shadows. They’re my favourite aspect of food photography.
Without shadows and contrast, we’d just have a blank image. Shadows are almost always
present in some capacity in photography; the question is how much shadow is necessary
for each image.
Different photography niches require different amounts of shadow and can follow trends
and styles.
In HDR photography, the goal is to bring out as much detail and colour as possible in the
shadows so everything looks evenly lit, (as would be seen by our eyes). With wedding and
portrait photography, soft lighting will be used for shadows that are less defined to achieve
a soft feeling that is flattering to skin.
In food photography
For food photography, it’s more a matter of style, personal taste and the story you want
to tell. However, I generally feel that shadows are important in helping to shape food and
ingredients and bring depth and dimension to the image.
Therefore, seeking more defined shadows, rather than less defined, can be a big
contributing factor in turning a good image into a GREAT image.
Shadows help to define our subjects, create dimension and give rise the multitudes of
textures we have to work with in food photography, in both food, ingredients and props.
As we’ve covered in previous chapters, the amount and definition of shadows will depend
on the size, distance and direction of your light source.
It’s a great place to finish off the dynamics of natural light; because if you’re ever in doubt
about your light, you can...
look at your shadows; they’ll tell you a lot about what your light is doing.
Shadows are probably my favourite thing about photography, so I’m excited to you show
how to enhance them in Chapter 6.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Shadows are important in helping to shape food and ingredients.
• Shadows add dimension and depth to subjects; helping to bring out textures and
definition.
• If you’re ever in doubt about your light, just look at your shadows. They will tell you a lot
about what your light is doing.

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Hard light can be so much more
One of my favourite things to do when I was a kid was to lie in the direct sunshine that
streamed through the north-facing windows in our sitting room and read or play with
whatever I was interested in at the time. I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed basking in its
sunlight; I’d often find my dogs Brodie and Jesse hanging out there too. I knew exactly
which part of the day had the best light for basking, and I’d be continually moving
closer and closer to the window as it faded and move into the afternoon. Maybe you did
something similar?
Although my adulthood doesn’t allow me to bask in the sun as much as my childhood did,
it’s on my goals to have a reading chair in a sun-filled room where I can spend part of my
weekends soaking up that feeling of being a child again.
One of the reasons I loved it so much was that it was warm and relaxing. Even though the
sunlight in Australia can be quite harsh, sunlight has calming qualities about it. Although
I have these fond calming memories of direct sunlight and how it felt on my skin, when it
came time to use it in photography, it didn’t conjure up those same feelings. Remember
when I told you that I had this misconception of hard light? Well, those false ideas led me
to be afraid of using it.
While hard light can be very beautiful and quite trendy, the brief has to be super specific
in order for us to use it in our food photography. So most of the time, we don’t explore and
play with hard light at all. I know I certainly didn’t.
Anytime I’d see such harsh light, I would disown it, search for something else or actively
plan my shoots at other times. But one day I stumbled across the beauty of hard light
accidentally and it totally changed the way I thought about it.
Hard light is great to shoot in both as-is, and manipulated. It can give you a range of
emotions beyond just bright and airy. You just need to know which tools and aids to use to
get the look you’re after.
Now let’s grab light by the bulbs and make some magic.

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Upside Down Banana Cake
When I started to think about the light that I wanted for this shot and what feeling I wanted
it to communicate, I knew immediately how I wanted to feel. I wanted it to transport me
back to that feeling of warm sunlight I would bask in as a kid. For my audience, I wanted
that warmth to feel like it was coming from the Upside Down Banana Cake - as if it had just
come out of the oven, all sticky and delicious.
I knew right away that I wanted to take the hard light I loved as a kid and turn it into a soft
bright source, paired with defining shadows to highlight the varying textures on the top
of the cake.
Images A + B
Image A Image B
Light Source Sun Diffuser

Primary aids None Diffuser
Secondary aids Negative Fill Negative Fill
Distance from light source Far Close (<1m, <3ft)
Apparent size of light source Small Larger
Type of light Hard Soft
Time of day Afternoon Afternoon
Time of year Winter Winter
Direction North-facing North-facing
Weather Full sun Full sun
Both Image A and Image B are beautiful; there is no doubt about that. But they have totally
different feelings, due to the type of lighting used.
Image A uses hard light, whereas Image B uses soft light.
If I were shooting for a client, the brief would explain the lighting required to match the
concept.
So how do you tame hard light, and turn it into soft light?

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Well, that’s exactly what I did for this image set. With a simple diffuser, I turned hard light
(Image A) into soft light (Image B).
Now, the diffuser might be a simple and common aid to use in manipulating light, but...
the real magic is where you place the diffuser and the type of light that falls onto it.

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The steps I used to tame hard light
This image was shot in the early afternoon of a sunny Winter’s day. The light streamed
directly through a north-facing window.
As there were no clouds on this particular day to act as diffusers, I was dealing directly
with daylight as my light source.
Unmanipulated and coming directly through the window, the light source is hard.This is
because when compared to our subject, (our Banana Cake), the sun is a long way away, so
the apparent size of the light source is small.
We know from the Dynamics of Light that a smaller-sized light source creates hard light.
Need a refresher on hard light?
In order to make soft light, we need a light source that is large in comparison with our
subject.
Let’s take a look at the steps I used to make the light soft.
Light source: Sun vs diffuser
Our light source in both Image A and Image B is, in fact, different.
Now, you might be thinking, ‘but how, you’re shooting with natural light so it’s the sun, right?’
While that is correct, what we need to think about is how the light source appears from
the perspective of the subject.
In Image A, the sun is coming directly through the window onto our subject. As the windows
are clear glass, the sun’s rays are able to directly fall onto our subject and scene.
This changes when you use a diffuser in between the light source and the subject.
In Image B, from the perspective of the subject, the light source now becomes the diffuser.
This is important, as the distance will now change the apparent size which controls if our
light is hard or soft.

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Apparent size: Sun (small) vs diffuser (large)
Since the light source in Image A to Image B has changed from the sun to the diffuser,
we’ve also changed the apparent size.
In Image A the light source is the sun. Although the sun is huge when we compare it to our
subject, the distance between the sun and the subject makes it small. This, therefore, gives
us hard light.

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Adding the diffuser between the window (where the sun is streaming in) and the subject,
we’ve changed the light source to be the diffuser.
Even though the diffuser isn’t as large as the sun in actual size, it’s so much closer and
therefore relatively larger. This is therefore what gives Image B this nice soft light.
Adding back shadows: Negative fill
The space that I was shooting in had a lot of light and reflective surfaces. There was a lot of
light being bounced around the room and back onto my scene.
As shadows add dimension and depth to subjects, I wanted to reduce the amount of fill
that was hitting the shadow area. I did this by using a large black sheet folded several
times to be very thick, and hung this over two lighting stands.
I didn’t change the negative fill between the two images; which does slightly vary the
results, but the end goal here was to reduce the fill into the shadows and so I wanted to
eliminate the fill light as much as possible on the opposing side to the light source.
To do this I placed the sheet as close to the setup as possible.

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CREATE IT
Key takeaways to tame hard light:

• Turn it into soft light by making the light source’s apparent size larger.
• Use a diffuser that is close to your subject, (less than 1m or 3ft).
• Add negative fill to the opposite side of your light source to reduce the amount of fill
being added to your shadows.
CHECKLIST
• Large close diffuser (for soft light version)

• Large Negative Fill
• Direct daylight (for hard light version)

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Mood is more than just ‘dark and moody’
Many people associate my works with ‘bright and airy’ imagery, but that analysis is only
surface-level. The things that get me the most excited in my photography are shadows
and mood.
Yet, the common mistake that’s made when we hear the word ‘mood’ is that it’s often
associated with a dark and moody style. It’s not that surprising though; because we hear
these two words together so often, we tend to combine them as being the same style.
When in fact, mood doesn’t always mean dark photography.
I believe that truly great photographers know how to incorporate mood and shadows into
both light and dark work. This is what I strive for and what ticks in the back of my mind
when I create and manipulate light.
Incorporating mood into photography is what helps to make an image dramatic.
A dramatic image for me is one that is exciting - it’s striking, it brings my creative spirit
to life. These strong feelings bring up all kinds of nostalgia around food, gatherings and
creative autonomy for me. Both light and dark work can be dramatic and make me relive
those stories and emotions. The key to creating mood in food photography is having strong,
yet well balanced tonal contrast in an image.
Adjusting and enhancing tonal contrast is the most important aspect of photography
editing and is one of the key secrets I teach in Lightroom Magic.
When I manipulate light, I tend to let my initial gut feeling tell me if the light is ‘exciting’
or not; if it’s the type of light that the viewer is instantly drawn to. I focus on manipulating
light that isn’t tonally heavy in the midtones, but plays in the darks and shadows, and
the highlights and whites. I know when I get the perfect combination of tonal contrast, as
I instantly get the sense the image that’s being created is dramatic. I’ll always check my
histogram just to make sure I know technically where my tones are sitting and if I can easily
manipulate them in the editing process.
Ansel Adams once said ‘you don’t take a photograph, you make it’.
For me, part of making a photograph is putting your final touches - your style stamp - into
your image through editing. It’s my favourite part of the process and is where I continue to
craft and shape the story I want to tell by focusing on my tonal contrast.

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The secret to striking images is quite simple; use light that provides a range of tones. From
darks to shadows, to lights and whites.
Let there be light.
Lemon Meringue Pie
When I started to think about the light that I wanted for this shot, my first focus was on light
that would really complement and enhance the meringue, which is the hero in this recipe.
I wanted to enhance its texture and shape so that the viewer could almost taste the
fluffy, sugary sweet goodness.
I knew that my strength of shadows for mood and love of highlights would point me in the
right direction to start shaping light.
With this shot, I had to focus on the macro AND micro level to ensure the whole image
worked with this type of light, just as much as it would with the meringue itself.
Image C
Image C
Light Source Part of the diffuser

Primary aids Diffuser + Black foam core
Secondary aids Roller blind
Type of light Hard/Soft
Time of day Mid-morning
Time of year Autumn/Fall
Direction East-facing
Weather Sun/Cloudy
For this shot, I wanted light that was in-between soft and hard light; or at least a
combination. The main reason for this was so that I could have a range of tones for tonal
contrast, and to make sure I wasn’t blowing out my whites/highlights on the meringue in
the foreground.

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As I was faced with a partly-cloudy day, there were times when my light source was the sun
and I had hard light. When the clouds appeared, my light changed to be softer and more
like I had envisioned.
To manipulate the light in this image, I used three simple tools: a diffuser, a roller blind
and black foam core.
Although simple, using them together in this combination gave me some powerful light to
play with.
Tools I used to create mood
As we’ve just learned, adding mood to an image adds to making it a dramatic image; and
we know that to add mood to an image, we want to focus on creating tonal contrast.
When we start to manipulate light for our setup, we have to test what the light is going to
do. Usually, for many of us, our go-to manipulation aid is the diffuser. It’s a simple but super
powerful way of turning hard light into soft light as we explored in the Case Study: Taming
Hard Light. It is possible, however, to have so much soft light that we lose emotion in our
work. We can lose shadows and definition.
After testing what a sole diffuser would do, I felt that there was too much fill light in the
shadows, and so they were too transitioned or feathered.

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Creating a strip
In the behind-the-scenes shot you can see that the diffuser is my light source in this image,
but it’s deeper than that. As the window was a strip, and adjacent were two solid walls, the
placement of the diffuser means that only a section of light is falling onto the diffuser. You
can see this from the square or ‘strip’ of light in the diffuser.
Using black foam core to block light
The strip of light is further created by the black foam core on the left-hand side, which is
acting as a blocking tool to block light.

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As the purpose of the foam core here is to shape the key light, we should see similar (if
not the same) results by using either black or white. This is because the light is behind the
foam core, and its purpose is to block light.
If you were worried about fill being a contributing factor, you could play with dark and light
foam core to see if you could get different results.
Reducing ambient light
Ambient light is another term for available light. Sometimes there may be too much
available light for the mood you’re trying to create.
In this setup, the window was almost floor-to-ceiling and my diffuser was not that big,
so the direct daylight was streaming through the window above the diffuser. This wasn’t
directly falling onto my subjects, but it was creating more ambient light.
As the amount of fill light is relative to the amount of light available, more ambient light will
give you more fill. Less ambient will give you less fill. The room this shot was taken in had
white walls and a reflective flooring, so I wanted to reduce the amount of fill light in the
shadows to create more mood.
To put it simply, I wanted to cut out some of the light that was coming through the window,
so I used the roller blind and drew it halfway down the window.

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As the roller blind was slightly transparent, I wasn’t killing the ambient light completely,
only reducing it. The diffused blind above the circular diffuser is still adding a little bit of fill
to our shadows.
Edge light
One of the beautiful things about artificial lighting is that you have more control over
moving the light around. Edge light is basically indirectly lighting your subject by using
the edge of a light source. It’s commonly used in artificial lighting.
Creating this strip lighting with different edges (one with the wall behind the diffuser and
the other with the black foam core), I was able to use it’s edge light differently between the
foreground and the background.
This gave a different look to the shadows and light between the foreground and
background.
In the foreground, you can see we have soft shadows, (being shadows that are well
transitioned from dark to light), and hard shadows in the background, (being shadows that
have less transition from dark to light).
This combination of shadows really helps to make this a striking image, that speaks
drama and excitement.

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Sure, the food is beyond drool-worthy; but as you can see from the really soft light, it totally
changes the feeling.
CREATE IT
Key takeaways to create mood:

• Use black foam core to block some light and create shadows/blacks.
• Use an available aid to reduce ambient light and add darker tones (e.g., slightly
transparent roller blind).
• Combine a diffuser with a blocking aid to create strip lighting.
CHECKLIST
• Small diffuser
• Black foam core
• White foam core (if you don’t have a strip window)
• Blinds
• Second diffuser like a light-coloured sheet (if you can’t use a transparent blind)

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Shadows play an important role in beautiful images
Shadows, as I have come to learn, are my favourite thing to integrate and focus on in my
food photography. Maybe even my favourite thing about photography in general.
But it’s taken me quite some time to get to the realisation that shadows are so important.
In pursuing and learning photography, we’re constantly focused on finding and improving
light. “More light, more light, better light” would go through my head and I’d just keep
adding more light to my scene because I loved bright and airy work. You see, I viewed
bright and airy on the surface level. I thought that bright work equalled more light, forsaking
everything else.
Eventually, I got to a point where I had starved my work of shadows, I’d forgotten about
them in the pursuit of bright and airy light. I ended up in a place where my work was flat,
lacking emotion and at first I couldn’t work out why.
As I am sure we’ve all experienced, there are many times in our photography journey where
we re-evaluate our style and what we want to create. Looking deeper in what I wanted
to create, I realised that I was drawn to work that had a strong emphasis on shadows and
highlights. I started to create the distinction that both shadows and highlights can be
found in both bright and airy work, as well as dark and moody.
From then on, I changed how I looked at photography and how I would approach shooting
and editing. The results: shadows would play a large role in how I manipulated and shaped
light.
Shadows are so important in photography. They help shape subjects and create a dynamic
image by adding dimension, emotion and energy.
When used powerfully, they can turn a good photo into a show-stopping one.
But perhaps even more importantly, they’re silent indicators of what your light is doing.
So let light lead you.
Lamb Pie
The hearty meat pie is a huge cultural sensation in Australia. Many pie shops take pride in
preparing a homemade pastry delight with ‘real meat’, like chunks of quality beef. For me,
the insides of a pie feel like they’d really shine with an emphasis on shadows.

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This doesn’t mean that your image needs to be super shadow heavy, but - how shadows
will shape the texture in the pie should be a top consideration.
Because I am focusing on shadows in my work, I had a realisation when shooting some

savoury meals that they tend to fall into the ‘dark side’. Trying to force savoury meals to be
bright and airy sometimes doesn’t have as much power as if the focus was dark shadows
and highlights.
So although this image might fall into the ‘dark and moody’ category, I’d say it’s more, for
me, a focus on the tones in shadows and highlights.
Image D
Image D
Light Source (Half) Diffuser

Primary aids Diffuser + dark/black boards
Secondary aids White fill
Type of light Soft
Time of day Early afternoon
Time of year Winter
Direction East-facing
Weather Cloudy
Before I get into the light in Image D, I just want you to take a moment and think about
something: Does this image feel ‘soft’ to you?
I can’t guess for sure what your answer is, but I’d guess that your answer is no. Because that
would have been my answer before I started to understand the true meaning of soft and
hard light.
In the past, I associated dark, moody and heavy shadows with not being soft. Soft, to me,
was the feeling of a cloud; and this image is quite the opposite of a cloud; a hearty pie
served in a dark metal dish.
But here’s the truth - this is a soft image.

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Moody light can be soft light
The light is super soft, and we can tell that from the shadows. They are the most
transitioned of any shot that we’ve looked at. That might be a surprise to think about. I
wanted to point this out as it is a key part in unlocking light’s full potential.
Soft and hard light really are about the light itself and shadows by definition, rather than
how the light feels to you.
To incorporate darker shadows into this image with soft light, I had to think about:
distance from the light source, light fall-off, and the amount of fill. So that’s primarily
what I played around with.
Using distance + fall-off
We know from the beginning of this book that the inverse-square law tells us that the
amount of light fall-off occurs very quickly in the immediate area close to our light
source. So doubling the distance of my setup to around 2m (6ft) from the light source, I
will experience 75% fall-off in light. Basically meaning that I will only now have 25% of the
original light power.
All we really need to focus on here is that the first 2m (6ft) in front of your light source will
give you the best options to pursue and enhance shadows. Beyond that distance, the
power of the light isn’t changing much at all. So as you move further away from the
window, for example, your light will basically stay the same (but you will experience more
even fill light).

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Reducing fill light
The other factor that we want to focus on for deepening or darkening shadows is the
amount of fill light. Again, this was shot in a room with light-coloured walls and flooring.
Something which most of us have in our homes and something you’d tend to find in studios.
To reduce the amount of fill light and darken my shadows, I wanted to essentially add
negative fill to my setup. For this shot, it involved adding four dark boards that we had
available. Sometimes on shoots you just have to make anything work - I’m all about that!
Size of negative fill
I used two different heights of negative fill here to also reduce the available light to
further darken the shadows. As the windows were strip, floor-to-ceiling windows, I wanted
tall boards to reduce the amount of light that was spilling over the top and filling my scene.
The goal here was to stop as much light as possible from filling my shadows, and hence,
make them darker.
You can see in the image that I have a small white tray that is acting as a reflector to bounce
a little bit of light back onto the front meat pie, which is our hero and focal subject.
The size of this reflector is super important too. As we’re reducing fill light, we want this
reflector to be as small and intentional as possible.

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Key light blocking
Not only is one of the negative fill boards reducing the amount of fill on our scene, it is
also reducing available light and shaping our light source.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that our diffuser is our light source in this example and that we’re
creating a similar shape of light as in the previous example. By creating a narrower strip of
light, we now have less light that we’re working with - a great thing for shadows!
The position of our light is towards the foreground in this image, meaning that the light in
the background will be reduced in comparison.

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CREATE IT
Key takeaways to enhance shadows:

• To reduce light, play around with moving your setup in the first 1-2m (3-6ft) to allow
for fall-off.
• Darken your shadows by incorporating as much negative fill (cards or black foam
core) as possible. Experiment by adding and subtracting the negative fill until you
get the right look.
• Use tall boards to reduce available light for tall windows.
• Use a small and strategically-placed reflector to bounce light onto your main
subject if needed.
CHECKLIST
• Small reflector
• Black foam core / black boards
• Chairs or solid items to lean negative fill against
• Diffuser

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The potential of light is waiting to be discovered
As we’ve made it this far, we can now see there is so much potential in all types of natural
light – it’s just waiting for you to discover it for yourself.
All of the images in these case studies were created using already-accessible and free
manipulation aids that you can find around your home. The great thing about using these
items is that you start to really see how you can make anything work with your setup, and
that’s super exciting.
Must-haves
Before we get into creating a collection of aids and uncovering your light at home, let’s just
quickly cover the three ‘must-haves’ when it comes to manipulating light.
#1: Diffusers
The purpose of a diffuser is to disperse light so that the light is now coming from multiple
directions, creating a larger surface area of light.
A diffuser is often used to create softer light. It can be anything that is going to be placed
in-between the subject and the light source that will disburse light. The most common
diffuser is white fabrics or plastic, but it can also be netting and any shades of grey.

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#2: Reflectors
Can be any shiny or reflective surface that is intended to reflect light back onto your subject
or scene.
It’s used to open up shadows and create more even light. Light isn’t the only thing that will
be reflected; colour can also be reflected onto your subject, depending on the colour of the
reflector. Unwanted colour-casts should be avoided, so the most common reflectors are
silver or gold to reflect cool or warm light, respectively.
White is commonly used as a reflector, but black shouldn’t be ignored. There are times in
which there is unwanted reflectivity and negative fill can be used.
#3: Fill
Fill light refers to light that ‘fills’ the shadow area and comes from other areas or light
sources that aren’t from key light. Fill tools or aids can be any surface that reflects and
bounces light.
The most common thing that creates fill light in our homes is white or off-white walls. Fill
light is commonly present in bright and airy work, and negative is present when more
shadows, (and defined) shadows are needed. This can be dark and/or moody images.
Negative fill is usually from dark surfaces - particularly black.

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Combining tools
Most setups will use a combination of the three types of manipulation aids. In each case,
distance plays a large role in how a diffuser, reflector and fill will act.
Size should also be considered.
Because seeing is believing, also play around with your tools in terms of distance and
placement. As we know, natural light is always changing, from day to day, we may need to
adjust the two main factors – distance and size.
Creating a collection
Building a bank of light manipulation aids doesn’t have to be a daunting or costly exercise.
There are many untapped manipulation aids around your home that are just waiting to
be a part of your photography setup. We’ve just got to look beyond their face value.
Here is a list of aids that you most likely already have, or are cheap options that can assist in
shaping your light.

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Free + Household Items
Baking paper Create a diffuser or softbox by taping baking paper to a

window.
White sheets Create a diffuser by covering a window.
Bulldog clips Clip sheets or foam core to a stand or clothes horse.
Car windshield sun protector Act as a reflector.

(silver)
Sliding flyscreens Scrim to reduce the amount of light/diffuser
Baking trays Act as a negative fill.
Tall, adjustable clothes horse Hang a sheet to create a portable diffuser/reflector.

(hangers)
Packing polystyrene Self-standing reflector.
White t-shirt + wire hanger Cover a wire hanger to create a diffuser.
Tin foil Create a reflective surface.
White walls To create fill light/reflector.
Mirrors Create concentrated fill light.
Children’s wooden table Hold and stabilise reflectors/diffusers.
Salvage Items
Wooden pallets Stabilise and lean backgrounds/diffusers/reflectors/fill

cards.
Old woods/doors Create negative fill.

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Purchased Luxuries
White foam core Reflector.
Black foam core Negative fill.
L brackets Paired with bulldog clips to create self-standing

reflectors.
Diffusers Diffuse natural light, in various sizes.
Reflectors Varying degrees in reflecting light.
Lighting stands, adjustable Hold reflectors and diffusers.
Curtain netting Differing thicknesses will create various scrims to reduce

light.
Uncovering your light
The most powerful way to uncover the type of light that you have at home is to watch it
throughout the day and throughout the seasons.
This is not a new concept - and I’m sure it’s something that you’ve already read. But have
you actually taken the time to do this? Most likely the answer is no. Why? Because it is
time-consuming and we like to seek quick fixes.
Observing takes time. It takes being present and mindful to remember to feel and
document how the light felt at a certain time of day, through a given part of your house,
not to mention the time of year.
Find a way that works for you. This doesn’t have to be a super intentional and painstaking
process whereby you sit in a chair with a notepad, staring at the windows until your eyes
water...
You can just set an intention to discover the light in your house. Watch what your
shadows are doing. How long are they? Are they soft or hard? How do they change
throughout the day? Can you see a difference in the temperature of light? Do the sun rays
stream through your windows? What time of year is it?

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Every day, I take a moment to look at the light around me. Whether it is in my home,
when I’m going on my daily walk, when I’m in any new environment, when I’m driving in the
car… the list goes on.
It’s a process. A journey. Make it fun.
ACTION: My suggestion to you is to try it on for seven days. Take 30 seconds a couple
of times during the day to notice the light around you.
Notice the shadows. Notice what you like about them.
Creating at home
If you’ve just started to explore your natural light at home, you might be tempted to over-
complicate your setup. This can quickly lead to frustration.
The best way to go about finding what will work for your shoots is to think about the type
of light that you are after, its direction, how far you are away from your light source and the
colour/reflectivity of your surroundings. You can see examples of this in the three case
studies above.
You can write down each aspect you need to think about when manipulating light, then
look through the list of items to see what you might need for:
• Type of light
• Direction of light
• Distance from light source
• Reflectivity or fill from surrounds (e.g., white walls)
A good way to start is going through the case studies to see how you can create each
type of light at home. See the results and how the light either enhanced or distracted from
your image. Write down any adjustments you’d make in the future or what worked and why
you liked it.
Attached is a worksheet for you to print and complete with each shoot. File for future
reference until you become confident, every time.

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A huge part of photography is problem solving
Great photographers have a lot of experience to call upon in times when things aren’t
working. Experience doesn’t mean that problems stop arising; it means that we have
more knowledge to draw upon to remove and reduce issues in shoots. Part of the journey
is to love the process; and that comes with embracing problem solving.
Using your now-expanded knowledge of the dynamics of light; the behind-the-scenes

setups and creating a collection of manipulation aids, you can now see the potential in any
light source and create some natural light recipes.
Now, let’s run through some troubleshooting tips that you can quickly integrate into your
shoots and get the light you crave!
QUESTION: I need more light
How to get more available light:
I acknowledge that not all of us have great light in our homes, period. But you’ve probably
thought to yourself that ‘to get more light, I need more light’ and you don’t have any control
over how the sun shines on any given day.
But you don’t always need more light to ‘have more light’. Are you with me?
This is where your understanding of the inverse-square law help you the most.
If you need more light, move closer to your light source. The closer you are, the more light
will be available from your light source.
ANSWER: Shoot within the first 0-1m (0-3ft) to get the most power from your light source.
QUESTION: There is too much light
How to reduce available light:
We may think that having too much light is a good problem to have - but that’s not always
the case. There are times when our manipulations aids won’t be large enough to reduce the
available light.

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ANSWER: Try doubling your distance to reduce the light by 75% of the light source’s
original power.
TRY: Reducing available light by using a roller blind or drapes.
TRY: Creating a smaller light source by using black foam core to block light.
QUESTION: I feel like trying hard light
How to create hard light:
To get hard light, we need two basic things; a small apparent size; and as a result, a greater
distance.
ANSWER: Use direct sunlight as your light source.
TRY: Shooting at a time when your sun is streaming directly through your window.
TRY: Even shooting outside in direct sunlight, (not on a cloudy day)
QUESTION: Soft light is my jam!
How to create soft light:
Soft light might be your thing - remembering that soft light doesn’t have to be bright and
airy. Here we need two things; a large apparent size; and as a result, a closer distance.
ANSWER: Allow the diffuser to be your light source by putting it between your light and
your setup. Make the apparent size of your light source larger by reducing the distance
from your scene.
TRY: Using a diffuser combined a blocking aid to reduce available light.
TRY: Shooting on a cloudy day so the clouds act as your diffuser / light source.
TRY: Cover a large portion of your windows with baking paper.

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QUESTION: Shooting with hard shadows
How to create hard shadows:
Getting hard shadows simply means we need hard light to shoot with.
ANSWER: A smaller, further-away light source will give us more-defined shadows.
TRY: Using the sun as your light source, either outside or directly through a window
TIP: Pinpoint which time of day the sun comes directly through your window. (This will differ
depending on the direction of the window, the time of year and which part of the world you
live in)
QUESTION: I want softer shadows
How to create soft shadows:
Shooting with soft shadows simply means we need soft light to shoot with.
ANSWER: A larger, closer light source will give us soft, transitioned shadows.
TRY: Using a diffuser as your light source, placing it between the window and your subject.
TRY: You can even use a large diffuser outside to block direct sunlight from falling onto
your set.
TRY: Utilise a cloudy day when you don’t have access to manipulation aids.
QUESTION: I only ever have clouds
How to harness a cloudy day:
Clouds are just a huge softbox; ready and ripe for soft light.
ANSWER: Cloudy days are just light manipulated for you. Use them to create soft shadows
by moving as close to the window as possible for more light and greater fall-off.
TRY: Using blocking aids to reduce window size for darker shadows if needed.

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QUESTION: I only ever have direct sun
How to harness direct sunlight:
Direct sun is a light source that is far away, giving us hard light. Hard light can be
manipulated to give us soft light if we desire.
ANSWER: Use a diffuser to turn hard light into soft light; use the diffuser as the light source.
TRY: Shooting directly in it to use hard shadows for a unique composition.
TRY: Reducing ambient light with a blocking aid in combination with a diffuser to shape
your light source.
TRY: If possible, use a window on the opposite side of the house/building to where the
light is streaming directly so that it’s the blue sky that is your light source.
QUESTION: I have too much fill
How to reduce fill light:
There is proportionally more fill light the further you are from your light source. So distance
will play a role, as well as the reflectivity of your space.
ANSWER: Darken your shadows by using negative fill opposite to your light source.
TRY: Where possible, getting closer to your light source to naturally reduce fill.
TRY: Reducing the size of your light source by using blocking aids.
QUESTION: I love shooting bright + airy
Setup must-haves for bright and airy photos:
If you’re looking for bright and airy, your scene will require lots of light and soft shadows.
ANSWER: Creating soft light will give you that bright and airy feeling.
TRY: Using a light source that is large in comparison to your subject (e.g., large window or
large diffuser).

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TRY: Clouds are great for acting as a large softbox on a cloudy day, so utilise them if you
can.
TRY: Increase your fill light by shooting in a white room, or by using reflectors opposite your
light source.
QUESTION: I want to create dark and moody
Setup must-haves for dark and moody:
If you’re looking for dark and moody, your scene won’t necessarily require less light - but
darker shadows and less fill.
ANSWER: Reduce fill by surrounding your scene with negative fill.
TRY: Shooting in a room with darker walls or drapes.
TRY: A smaller window will have less available light than a large one.
TRY: Getting close to your light source so there is more fall-off.
TRY: Reduce available light by closing or drawing blinds or drapes.
QUESTION: I want that ‘special sauce’
How to add depth and dimension to your scene:
The secret or ‘special sauce’ in a photo can be many things and totally comes down to
personal preference. For me, it’s capturing a wide range of tonality for tonal contrast.
ANSWER: Enhance and darken shadows by increasing fall-off; getting closer to your light
source. This will also ensure you are maximising your highlights too.
TRY: Enhance and darken shadows by reducing fill.
TRY: Think about whether your story is more powerful in hard or soft light.
TRY: Use blocking aids to shape your light source (e.g., a strip light).
TRY: Creating a strip light in the middle of the frame to use edge light.

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QUESTION: How do I make things shine?
Using backlight:
The best way to make things shine like chocolate or glisten like the top of a cocktail is to
use backlight.
ANSWER: Capture specular highlights by shooting from an angle between 15-30 and 70-85
degrees.
TRY: Placing your light source behind your subject and shoot from the front.
QUESTION: What’s the most common light direction?
Using sidelight:
The most common go-to light for food photography is sidelight. It’s the most flattering at
every angle and more evenly lights your subject.
ANSWER: Use sidelight when you need to capture a range of angles quickly.
TRY: Placing your light source to either side of your subject and shoot from the front.

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Final Thoughts
Now that we’ve reached the end of these case studies on natural light, I hope that Art of
Light has given you some new ways to think about light and to see the potential in every
light source.
I know that physics aren’t sexy, but what is - is knowing how to turn ordinary light into
something extraordinary. Understanding the inverse-square law will unlock a lot of
manipulating power for you and I promise it will be a total game changer when you do.
Any type of light is beautiful, and artificial light does have a certain draw to it; but what’s
fascinating about natural light is that it’s both predictable and unpredictable at the same
time. Its ever-changing nature means that you have the potential to capture something
that nobody else can.
Just like creativity, the way you look and think about light is very unique. No-one can
view it the way you do. If you take the things you’ve learned from this book, observe and
appreciate the light that you have, there’ll be no end to what you can create.
If you’re having a hard time thinking about how to put what you’ve learned here into action.
my advice is to think about what lighting would complement your story or brief, then search
through my Troubleshooting Tips to find what type of light you’d like to work with, and
implement the suggestions.
Lastly, remember that natural lighting can be frustrating - and that’s ok!
Nothing works perfectly all the time. If you stick with each frustrating experience and try
your best to problem solve, you will be adding new skills that you can use for the future.
I’d like to leave you with one final thought:
We don’t know what we’re missing if we never try something new. If you’re faced with a
new lighting situation, truly explore it using the concepts in this book. You never know what
magic you can uncover.
#letlightleadyou
Thanks for joining me on this journey.
Rachel xx

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Glossary
Actual size
The overall dimensions or magnitude of something (e.g., your light source).
Apparent size
The relative size of the something (e.g., the relative size of your light source to your subject
at a given distance).
Artificial light
Any light source that doesn’t occur naturally from daylight, sunlight or skylight.
Available light
Also known as ambient light. Any source of light that isn’t explicitly created or supplied by
the photographer. The light and amount of light that is naturally available.
Backlight
The direction of light that comes from behind your subject.
Blue hour
The twilight period either in the morning or evening when the sun has set and there is
residual skylight before dark.
Daylight
Also known as natural light. The light that we have during the day that is made up of
sunlight and skylight.
Depth
Definition and shadows that create 3D ‘depth’ to a subject.
Dimension
The subject or image has shape and emotion due to certain light or composition
characteristics.
Dynamic
Full of energy or emotion.
Editorial style
The style of photography that is aimed at natural emotion, story-telling, loose and free
styling as opposed to advertising.

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Fall-off
The reduction in the amount of light, or the power of light, the further you get from your
light source.
Fill light
The amount of light that is being bounced back onto your subject and filling your shadow
area from any light or reflective surfaces.
Front-on light
The direction of light that comes from in front of your subject.
Hard light
Light that produces defined shadows where there is little or no transition from light to dark.
HDR
Stands for High Dynamic Range; a technique used to capture greater dynamic range in
your images similar to the range of luminance that is experienced by the human eye.
Histogram
Graphical representation of where the pixels in your image sit with respect to exposure.
Inverse-square law
The Inverse-square law states that the power of available light is inversely proportional to
the square of the distance. When you double the distance, you reduce the amount of light
to a quarter of the power at the original source.
Inversely
Where a number becomes inverted, so ‘4’ becomes ‘1/4’.
Kelvin (degrees)
Unit of measurement used to measure the temperature of light. Also associated with colour
temperature.
Key light
The main source of light a photographer is using in a photo.
Manipulation aids
Anything used to assist in manipulating light for a given outcome.
Mixed lighting
The combination of different light sources working together to produce light in a

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photograph, usually natural and artificial light.
Natural light
Also known as daylight, made up of sunlight and skylight.
Negative fill
When light is prevented from being reflected onto your subject and adding light to the
shadows.
Reflective disks
A disk made of reflective material that is used to reflect light from the key light back onto
your subject.
Scrim
A device used to modify properties of light. The variety and type of scrims will depend on
its use and type of light. It is used to reduce the intensity and/or hardness of light.
Shadows
The dark area that is produced by an object coming between light and any given surface.
Side light
The direction of light that comes from the side of your subject.
Skylight
The light that comes from the sky.
Soft light
Light that produces soft shadows where there is a noticeable transition from light to dark.
Sunlight
The light that is produced by the sun.
Tonal contrast
The separation between the tones, darkest (blacks) and brightest (whites) area of an image.
Top-down light
Light that comes from above your subject.
White foam core

White foam boards that come in different shapes and sizes, used to manipulate light -
mainly for use as a reflector.

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About the Author + Photographer
I help food photographers create work they’re proud of.
Hey there, I’m Rachel. An Aussie food photographer. I love capturing visual stories and
adore bright, clean and uplifting imagery that emphasises the beauty of real food.
When I take photographs, I focus on the honest details and intricacies that connect us
emotionally to food.
My work has been featured in a range of magazines and publications all over the world
including Bride Magazine, Woolworths, Huffington Post, West Elm, Nourish Magazine,
Robert Gordon, Decor8, Aldi and more.
More importantly, though, I know what it’s like to sit in your 9-5 gig and want something
more. And I LOVE teaching and empowering others to find joy and inspiration in their
photography and creative life. I’ve taught photography masterclasses all other the world
and online with my signature course, Lightroom Magic.

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Technical aspects of photography are important, but so is creativity. I like to teach the
technical aspects in a way that’s accessible, without using confusing ideas or jargon. As
photography is about storytelling, I feel it’s important to bring this into my teaching - plus I
have the best time doing it!
Connect with me, I’d love to hear from you.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/twolovesstudio/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/twolovesstudio
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/twolovesstudio/
Courses: https://two-loves-studio.teachable.com
Blog: http://twolovesstudio.com/
Portfolio: http://rachelkorinek.com
About the Stylist

Hello, I’m Carmel and I’m a stylist in all things
creative. I have worked within the advertising
industry for over 15 years as an Art Director,
Communication Designer and Food Styling
Assistant.
Noted for my technical and conceptual

proficiency, meticulous eye for detail and ability
to think beyond the square, I am the wearer of
many hats. My objectives are to be constantly
challenged, to work with inspiring people and
to have the work that I put my hand to achieve
a positive and lasting impact. Oh and to have
fun in the process of course!
Instagram: https://instagram.com/carmelgohar/
Portfolio: http://www.carmelgohar.com/

Art of Light by Rachel Korinek

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Art of Light by Rachel Korinek

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A R T of LI GH T

Copyright © 2017 Rachel Korinek | Two Loves Studio

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

Photography by Rachel Korinek

Workbook Design by Sarah Renae Clark

Author portrait by Matt Korinek

two loves studio

two loves studio

Chapter 2: Myths of Lighting 4

Chapter 3: The Dynamics of Natural Light 10

Natural Light Case Studies

two loves studio

Chapter 5: Create Mood 51

Chapter 6: Enhance Your Shadows 60

Chapter 7: Manipulate Light At Home 68

two loves studio

Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Tips 75

Worksheet: Light Manipulation 83

two loves studio

How To Use This Case Study Workbook

Then you’ll be able to see the potential in ANY natural light.

And as always, remember to enjoy the journey.

two loves studio | PAGE 2

The difference between ok and amazing light is you

create beautiful images every time with natural light.

two loves studio | PAGE 3

5 limiting lighting mindsets:

· #3: Natural light is bad to shoot in, as it keeps changing.

· #5: I need fancy equipment to manipulated natural light correctly.

two loves studio | PAGE 5

Limiting mindset: Artificial light will solve all my

Their solution: artificial light.

The answer? You’ll probably struggle just as much.

Limiting mindset: I have to wait until the natural light is

two loves studio | PAGE 6

Limiting mindset: Natural light is bad to shoot in, as it

Limiting mindset: I live in a part of the world that isn’t

two loves studio | PAGE 7

Limiting mindset: I need fancy equipment to

We tend to think that to be a ‘good’ or ‘professional’ photographer we need expensive

But complex setups don’t always equal better images.

two loves studio | PAGE 8

The key ideas to hold onto from this section are:

two loves studio | PAGE 9

Light will literally make or break an image

Moral of the story: light before ANYTHING.

Explore the dynamics of natural light

A taste of what we’re about to uncover:

two loves studio | PAGE 11

COLOUR TEMPERATURE OF LIGHT

The colour of daylight

two loves studio | PAGE 12

Daylight Colour Temperatures Degrees Kelvin

The Blue Hour (Skylight) 9500

Colour temperature in photography

North-facing light tends to be warmer, whilst south-facing tends to be cooler - IF you

two loves studio | PAGE 13

The key ideas to hold onto from this section are:

DISTANCE FROM LIGHT SOURCE

Let the fun begin!

two loves studio | PAGE 14

The inverse-square law (It’s not scary at all, promise!)

I promise you’ll have no problems understanding it when we’re done.