Photography Lighting

Finding unique moments and beautiful light is the essence of great photography. The reality is that natural light can be harsh and unflattering 99 per cent of the time. This is where artistry comes into play. Photographers are similar to painters in that we must be able to shape light in simple ways. I prefer to think of these minor "issues" as advantages. To create solutions, some photographers use studios-banks of softboxes and expensive lighting equipment. I'm a travel photographer who frequently works in remote locations, so I only bring a few basic tools with me. Normally, I only use one camera body, one lens, and one flash.

We'll show you how to make amazing photographs anywhere, at any time, and without a tonne of equipment in this blog. Remember not to get too caught up in the technical concerns that you forget to shoot with your heart. Great technology should never come between amazing art and great technology. It ought to improve it.

 

Spot Metering

The first step is to change how you perceive light. Rather than viewing bright light as a hindrance, we should consider it an opportunity. If the light is too strong and the dynamic range is too broad, we'll metre only the highlights and let the rest of the image fade to a dramatic dark black. The fact that cameras don't see everything our eyes see is a huge advantage because it allows us to create more complex, dramatic images simply by exposing the highlights. we should prefer to visit places that are dark but have a lot of light. Rather than metering for everything in a high contrast scene, we should isolate one highlight and metre it.

 

 

Off-Camera Flash

Off-camera flash is another simple technique we frequently employ. We rarely use our flash because we believe it destroys the mood and removes context by overpowering existing lighting. So often, just a sliver of light from the side tells a better storey. This works well for portraits, and we usually do it with just one SB-910 Speedlight off-camera. We used to use a flash cord to trigger the off-camera flash, but now we use the SU-800 commander unit or radio-controlled triggers.
 
Sunset portraits are an excellent way to practise this technique. Because your subject will always be backlit, a small amount of off-camera fill flash can mean the difference between an underexposed portrait and a stunning, "National Geographic"-style portrait. You must first measure the amount of light in the room. In this case, (Image of an African man), there is a brighter sky area, followed by the darker trees in the background. You must first determine your background and then decide how you want to be exposed to it. We like to add drama by obscuring the sky. Metering was as simple as framing the bright sky areas and switching to manual exposure mode. We purposefully underexposed the image, taking the exposure two-thirds of a stop below the zero of my camera's built-in metre. This creates a vibrant colour pop in the background.
 
The following question is, "How do we metre for the flash?" We recommend that we rely on the incredible technology that we have at our disposal. The benefit of using TTL flash is that the camera and flash will automatically determine how much light to add to the final exposure. You can check your camera's LCD to see if you like the exposure, and then adjust the power of your Speedlight. We cannot overstate how simple TTL flash is to use. It frees us from agonising over correct exposures and instead allows us to focus on connecting with what's in front of us. Take advantage of the opportunity and experiment with a single Speedlight to help set your work apart. The right flash, combined with some experimentation, will undoubtedly elevate your storytelling to the level of art.


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