Study material for BA (JC 1103/ Basics of Photography)

PHOTOGRAPHY and LIGHTING

 Photography means Writing with Light.

 NO PICTURE NO LIGHT.
 Light makes impression on the film and in Digital Camera on the CCD

Light has its own characteristics which at any point of time has its own effects.

TYPES OF LIGHT AND PROPERTIES:

Lights keeps varying during the day and during the seasons.

For example-
 in the months of summer light is very strong, even harsh.
 in the months of winter, it is very pleasant, it is very warm.
 during monsoon light can be very flat. It can be overcast, leave no
shadow.

Camera records these effects faithfully therefore in photography, study of light

is very-very essential.

Sources of Light
1. Natural source of light
2. Artificial source of light

1. Natural sources of light

Sun is the biggest source of natural Light, which is available to us throughout

the year. Moon, bright stars in the sky, terrestrial body like Milky Way are
sources of natural light.
Another source of light is lightening which we normally take it as a subject or
thrill matter, but the fact is that the amount of light it gives can be used even for
doing great Photography.

2. Artificial sources of light

Combustion based lamp on the walls is one of the best sources available
in the olden period. During those days whale oil was used to light up these
lamps. Today they are used as antiques and they have great amount of
decorative values.

ARGON FLASH
Argon Flash produce bright light and it used for flash purposes.
GAS LAMPS
Gas Lamps used for eliminating buildings, light houses and even cars and
motors bikes for their headlights. Even the miners and the hunters have been
using this light to light up their area of operation.

BUTTER LAMPS
Butter lamps were used by the Buddhists in their Monasteries and houses. In
this yak butter was used to light up the lamps. However today they are using the
normal oil available in the market.

CANDLES
Candles are made with solid wax and wick inside. These are most decorative
pieces today. Candlelight creates a beautiful atmosphere, a romantic mood and
an ideal candlelight dinner.

PYROTECHNICS
These were initially used by the army to light up an area so that they could fire
upon the enemy. Today they are used all over for the sports event, film
shooting.

GAS LIGHTING
Gas lights used for lighting up the houses, business places, and during the
marriage’s possession. They are very useful and the amount of light they
generate is for a very long time and white light which is pure manages to last
very long.

KEROSENE LAMPS
Today they have found place in the corner somewhere in the house.

LANTERNS
Lanterns are always beautiful and scientifically constructed. Using kerosene oil,
these lanterns still have a quality of beauty. Today they are used as decorative
pieces in the restaurants, in the hotels.

TORCHES
Torches produced is very creative and very strong light.

Electricity based sources of light

ELECTRIC BULB
Most used tungsten bulbs and are still in great demand and great use.

STUDIO LIGHTS or the FLASHLIGHTS

These lights are used under controlled conditions and they are intensity oriented
one can control the intensity of these lights and use them as per the requirement.

HALOGEN LAMPS
Halogen lamps are using during weddings and many functions. they are very
useful; they help you in doing photography when you don’t have flashlight
available to you.
COMPACT FLOROSCENT LAMPS
This is the latest Introduction in the lighting system, these lights are very bright
and at the same time they are very economical.

CARBON ARC
This is the light source which is used in Cinema Halls for Projection Purposes
as it gives Natural Lights.

MERCURY AND SODIUM VAPOURS LIGHT

We must have seen in the streets, on the roads, and avenues not only looks
beautiful but have a certain amount of charm in it.

PROPERTIES OF LIGHT

 Direction
 Intensity
 The Quality of Light

DIRECTION OF LIGHT

Lights from the sides create soft shadow

Light from the top creates Hard shadow (bellows the nose, below the eyes)

Mostly best time for photo shoot in day light is when the sun is over your
left shoulder or the right shoulder, because at this point the details are maximum
and the tones are maximum.
Normally said that the best time to shoot is before 10 AM and after 2 PM,
on other hand architectural shots come out best during afternoon time. It
depends upon the photographer, how he wants to use this light creatively.

INTENSITY OF LIGHT
A Light source may look negligible in front of a Sunlight, for example a lamp
which if used in front of a sunlight, but at night when you use it in a room or
else where the amount of light it creates is mind-blowing.
There are two effects or aspects of this kind of light.

 Technical aspect
 Creative aspect
The intensity of light has technically controlled by using the aperture and
the shutter speed.

While creative aspects depend upon the Photographer, how he wants to

use them, whether he wants to use them for shadow? Whether he wants to use
them for highlights? Intensity of light is controllable, human eye sees what it
wants to see but camera sees whatever is there in front of it, it does not
distinguish between a beautiful girl or a not so handsome boy. The other thing
to note is that flash light can be reduced, it can be increased, it can be controlled
by the various controls available to us, similarly we have strobes, we have other
areas where we have to control the lights. We also have the aperture which can
reduce the entries, we also have shutter speed, ISO which can be modified
depending upon the type of effect we want.

QUALITY OF LIGHT

Quality of light creates mood. It creates entire impact. Mr. V. Murthy,

who has just been awarded Dada Saheb Phalke Award, was known only for his
creative lighting used for Films like “Pyaasa”.
There are two sources of light,

 Hard lighting source (creates Hard shadow, Sun)

 Soft lighting source (creates Soft shadow, Moon)

Bigger the source the softer the shadow (reflector) and smaller the source the
harder the shadow (bulb).

COLOUR TEMPERATURE
Colour Temperature is like any another unit of measurement, but its impact is
different as far as photography is concerned. For example: In Morning it is
Orangish at Noon Time Light is Bluish and at the fall of the day light is
Orangish or Yellowish or even Red.
Now all this eye does not see but camera does because of the colour
temperature. Therefore, one must know what colour temperature is and what
kind of impact one will get.
  The temperature of light during noon time is around 5500-degree
Kelvin.
 In the morning time it is between 2700 to 3000-degree Kelvin.
 Later half of the day it goes down to 2700 to 3000-degree Kelvin.

Light during noon time is known as cool light and light during other time of the
day (morning or evening) is known as warm light. Cool light gives all-natural
colours while Warm light gives orangish or radish colours.
In case of Film Cameras to counter the colour balance problem we use
colour filters. In case of Digital Cameras to counter the colour balance problem
we use white balance.

Conclusion
Light is the medium for making pictures, without Light there is No picture. To
understand this, it is better that you take pictures show them, get them
acclaimed, see the pictures of senior photographer. How they use quality of
light in their Pictures. Also, it is necessary to understand the impact of light on a
picture carrying natural colours. We must go by the results and take corrective
measures in terms of using filters, accessories, and other things available to us.
The quality of light and quality of film are equally important, and we try and
match picture as per the quality required in the end. I would recommend that all
photographers see others work and compare it with their own work and also
show their own work to other people and try to get critical view of the others,
this will improve their photography. For me anytime is picture time, and do not
get bogged down by the timings of the day. For example, if it is raining, you
will not be able to catch the beauty, the mystery, the suspense of the fog or mist.
Similarly you shoot the galaxy, the milky bodies and you will see how different
the world becomes for you.