I happened to chance upon a Basic Lighting lesson when checking out one of Singapore's photography forums. Since it is free, I gave it a shot and went for the lesson. The organiser of the lesson is a professional by the name of Francis Wong. Credits to him for delivering a wonderful lesson for the group there yesterday and here are some pointers he gave when we are lighting our subjects.
- Observe the light. Quantity, Quality and Colour. Depending on the type of effect you want to create, these three factors will influence how the resulting photo will look like. As a general rule of thumb, when you cannot see shadows around you, the diffused light (main light) is just right to take your photos.
- You do not need fancy equipment to do many things, learning to improvise and know how to take advantage of what you have is a good way of achieving the shots you want, without having to break your wallet. For example, instead of investing in multiple flashguns for field lighting, consider a cheaper reflector. They can be as versatile and useful in a outdoor photo session if you know how to use one (it comes with practice).
- Understanding the subject is a good way to start to decide what kind of light you want for your photograph. Putting it in context of cosplay, when we have a heroic character, give him a frontal lighting that is high up, like rays coming down from the heavens. When you have a villain, a low angle light to give the character an aura, a green/red tint might help to bring out the evilness. If the character is a mysterious one, you can try lighting the character from the side, giving you the image that the character has two sides to him, provoking thought. There is endless possibilities, types of characters and ways to light him or her up. In the end, you would want to put the character in the "right light" when telling the story.
- Depending on the type of event you are doing, you have to adopt slightly different approach. A corporate photo shoot is normally short and formal while a wedding photo shoot is generally more relaxed and fun. Knowing when to be more informal during events will help your subjects be more comfortable the presence of your camera. However, having said that, as an photographer, you do not want to be hesitant. You need to be in control of your equipment and assistants (if any) so that the client knows that you are capable and worth spending their $$$.
These were taken with the subject back lit, which cast a shadow on the subject himself, looking a bit underexposed. The next picture we try to balance it by asking the subject to stand at a 45 angle and with a reflector, bounce some light back to his face (secondary light). It looks a bit better, but the side facing the camera is still quite dark.
Now as we swapped positions, the subject is lit from the front, making the exposure much more balanced and we can easily see the subject's features. This is comparatively better then the earlier two photographs as we want our "CEO" to look bright and smart, and not dark and dull. Another composition on the right shows the CEO contemplating on his future plans, and with a reflector, we can bounce the light back to his face to light it up.
I would say it had been very fruitful as I have learn a thing or two during the lesson by Francis Wong. A huge thank you to Mr Francis and our smart looking model guy!
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