Light : science & magic : an introduction to photographic lighting /
No matter how smart your digital camera is, its lighting is hit-or-miss at best. That's still a job for your eyes and brain. Lighting is worth the effort to learn well-there is no other skill that can improve your photography so much, so quickly. This is not your typical how-to book! This is a...
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| Other Authors: | , |
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford :
Focal,
2007
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| Edition: | Third edition |
| Subjects: |
Table of Contents:
- Chapter 1 How to Learn Lighting 3
- What Are "The Principles"? 4
- Why Are the Principles Important? 4
- How Were the Example Subjects Chosen for This Book? 5
- Do I Need to Do These Exercises? 6
- What Kind of Camera Do I Need? 7
- Should I Shoot Film or Digital? 8
- What Lighting Equipment Do I Need? 10
- What Else Do I Need to Know to Use This Book? 11
- What Is the "Magic" Part of This Book? 11
- Chapter 2 Light: The Raw Material of Photography 13
- What Is Light? 14
- How Photographers Describe Light 17
- Brightness 17
- Color 18
- Contrast 19
- Light versus Lighting 22
- How the Subject Affects the Lighting 24
- Transmission 24
- Direct and Diffuse Transmission 26
- Absorption 27
- Reflection 28
- Chapter 3 The Management of Reflection and the Family of Angles 31
- Types of Reflection 32
- Diffuse Reflection 32
- The Inverse Square Law 36
- Direct Reflection 37
- Breaking the Inverse Square Law? 38
- The Family of Angles 39
- Polarized Direct Reflection 41
- Is It Polarized Reflection or Ordinary Direct Reflection? 45
- Turning Ordinary Direct Reflection into Polarized Reflection 46
- Applying the Theory 47
- Chapter 4 Surface Appearances 49
- The Photographer as Editor 50
- Capitalizing on Diffuse Reflection 51
- The Angle of Light 52
- The Success and Failure of the General Rule 55
- The Distance of Light 57
- Doing the Impossible 59
- Using Diffuse Reflection and Shadow to Reveal Texture 62
- Capitalizing on Direct Reflection 65
- Competing Surfaces 68
- Try a Lens Polarizing Filter 70
- Use a Still Larger Light 71
- Use More Than One Light 72
- Use a Gobo 73
- Complex Surfaces 74
- Chapter 5 Revealing Shape and Contour 79
- Depth Clues 81
- Perspective Distortion 81
- Distortion as a Clue to Depth 82
- Manipulating Distortion 83
- Tonal Variation 84
- The Size of the Light 85
- Large Lights versus Small Lights 86
- Distance from the Subject 86
- The Direction of the Light 87
- Light on Side 89
- Light above the Subject 90
- Fill Light 91
- Adding Depth to the Background 95
- How Much Tonal Variation Is Ideal? 97
- Photographing Buildings: Decreasing Tonal Variation 99 Photographing Cylinders: Increasing Tonal Variation 100
- Remember Surface Detail 101
- The Glossy Box 102
- Use a Dark Background 103
- Eliminate Direct Reflection from the Box Top 104
- Eliminate Direct Reflection from the Box Sides 105
- Finish with Other Resources 107
- Use Direct Reflection? 109
- Chapter 6 Metal 111
- Flat Metal 112
- Bright or Dark? 113
- Finding the Family of Angles 113
- Lighting the Metal 116
- Keeping the Metal Bright 117
- What Is a "Normal" Exposure for Metal? 120
- Keeping the Metal Dark 120
- The Elegant Compromise 124
- Controlling the Effective Size of the Light 126
- Keeping the Metal Square 130
- Metal Boxes 132
- A Light Background 135
- A Transparent Background 136
- A Glossy Background 137
- Round Metal 140
- Camouflage 141
- Keeping the Light off the Camera 141
- Using a Tent 142
- Polarizing Filters 144
- Black Magic 145
- Dulling Spray 145
- Where Else Do These Techniques Apply? 146
- Chapter 7 The Case of the Disappearing Glass 149
- The Problems 150
- The Solutions 150
- Two Attractive Opposites 152
- Bright-Field Lighting 152
- Dark-Field Lighting 156
- The Best of Both Worlds 160
- Some Finishing Touches 162
- Defining the Surface of Glassware 162
- Illuminating the Background 166
- Minimizing the Horizon 166
- Stopping Flare 168
- Eliminating Extraneous Reflections 170
- Complications from Nonglass Subjects 171
- Liquids in Glass 172
- Secondary Opaque Subjects 176
- Recognizing the Principal Subject 179
- Chapter 8 An Arsenal of Lights 181
- The Single-Light Setup 182
- The Basic Setup 182
- Light Size 183
- Skin Texture 185
- Where to Put the Main Light 185
- Left Side? Right Side? 191
- Broad Lighting or Short Lighting 192
- Eyeglasses 194
- Additional Lights 195
- Fill Lights 197
- Background Lights 203
- Hair Lights 205
- Kickers 207
- Rim Lights 209
- Mood and Key 210
- Low-Key Lighting 211
- High-Key Lighting 212
- Staying in Key 215
- Dark Skin 215
- Available-Light Portraiture 216
- A Window as a Main Light 217
- The Sun as a Hair Light 219
- Combining Studio and Environmental Light 220
- Keeping the Light Appropriate 223
- Setting Rules? 223
- Chapter 9 The Extremes 227
- The Characteristic Curve 228
- The Perfect "Curve" 228
- A Bad Camera 230
- Overexposure 232
- Underexposure 234
- A Real CCD 235
- Using Every Resource 238
- White-on-White 238
- Exposing White-on-White Scenes 241
- Lighting White-on-White Scenes 243
- Subject and Background 243
- Using an Opaque White Background 245
- Using a Translucent White Background 250
- Using a Mirror Background 253
- In Any Case, Keep the Background Small 254
- Black-on-Black 254
- Exposing Black-on-Black Scenes 255
- Lighting Black-on-Black Scenes 255
- Subject and Background 257
- Using an Opaque Black Background 257
- Using a Glossy Black Surface 260
- Keep the Subject away from the Background 261
- The Histogram 263
- Preventing Problems 266
- Overmanipulation 266
- Curves 268
- New Principles? 269
- Chapter 10 Traveling Light 273
- Choosing the Right Strobe 273
- Getting the Exposure Right 274
- Letting the Strobe Determine the Exposure 275
- Using a Flash Meter 275
- Calculating the Exposure 276
- Calculating the Guide Number 276
- Using the Guide Number 276
- Getting More Light 278
- Focused Flash 279
- Multiple Strobes 279
- Multiple Flash 280
- Improving the Quality of Light 282
- Bounce Flash 282
- Feathering the Light 285
- Lights of Different Colors 287
- Why Is the Color of the Light Important? 288
- Nonstandard Light Sources 289
- Do the Colors Mix? 292
- The Remedies 295
- Lights of Different Duration 297
- Is Studio Lighting Possible on Location? 299