You can't have photography without this

Light is all around us and it is what allows us to see things, It reflects off objects around us. This reflection is carried to our eyes which then transfers the information to our brains. The same is true for a camera; light reflected from our subject is focused by the camera lens onto our recording media which in a digital camera is the electronic sensors.

Now, because the camera is not as accurate as our eyes in transferring and recording images (this will be discussed in later postings) we need to understand lights and the limits of our camera and how to overcome these limitations when possible.

Light comes in a variety of colours determined by the source; and each creates a different atmosphere in our photographs.

There are three main types of lights; there is visible light which is visible to the human eyes and there is infrared and ultraviolet light both which are invisible to the human eye. For our purpose here we will be concentrating on visible light.

Visible light comes from two sources, there is natural light and artificial light. Natural light is either sunlight or moonlight. Artificial light is light from a man-made source and of which the most common are light bulbs and fluorescent lamps.

Hard light, soft light, transmitted light and reflected light

Hard light is when the light comes from a small light source, it has a sharp glare with high contrast and the shadows created have sharp edges. An example is the sun on a clear day, because the sun is so far away it acts like an extraordinary bright light bulb in the sky. Other examples include a bare light
bulb, spot light or a photography flash. Hard light reveals textures very strongly and this can be used
creatively in your photographs.

Soft light is when the light is diffused, this means the light is spread out and not as focused or hard as direct sunlight, it generally comes from a light source that has a large surface area, it has a low contrast and hardly any shadow. An example is the sun shining through a large mass of cloud which becomes the light source, the sun shining on an overcast day or a big window with a lace curtain. If soft light is used incorrectly the photograph will end up looking dull.

Transmitted light is when the source of light is visible in the photograph, an awareness of the effect of transmitted light in a photograph allows you to use it creatively.

Reflected light is when the source of light is not visible; this is the type of light around us most times since every time our eyes see an object it is because light has been reflected off the object to our eyes.

The best time for taking outdoor pictures is the time called the “Magic Hour” by photographers; this is half an hour before and after sunset or sunrise. During sunset and sunrise we get both hard light from the direct sunlight with reduced intensity or harshness; and soft light from the sunlight diffused
across the sky. This combination makes for more interesting photographs.

In moonlight or for night-time pictures a tripod is recommended because you will be using slow shutter speed, hand-holding your camera when using slow shutter speed will lead to blurry images.

Pay attention to the types of light around you; is it hard light or soft light? Can you sense the colour with your naked eyes? How does your photograph look with one form of light to the other? What is the photograph atmosphere like?

Paying attention to the different types of lights and their effects on your photograph is the first step in understanding exposure (will go into more details on exposure in later postings).