Light: Science and Magic. An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

321 Pages·2007·45.64 MB·English

by  Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua

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Light—Science & Magic
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Light–
Science & Magic
An Introduction to Photographic Lighting
Third Edition
Fil Hunter
Steve Biver
Paul Fuqua
Amsterdam • Boston • Hiedelberg • London
New York • Oxford • Paris • San Diego
San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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Acquisitions Editor: Diane Heppner
Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison
Project Manager: Paul Gottehrer
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Barrett
Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis
Cover Design: Alisa Andreola
Interior Design: Gene Harris
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
Copyright © 2007, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-
copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology
Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: [phone], fax: (+44)
1865 853333,
E-mail:
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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
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CONTENTS
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
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CONTENTS
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
Other Resources 144
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 Principles 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
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CONTENTS
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 240
White-on-White 240
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
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CONTENTS
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
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