Articles & Tutorials

What's in a picture?
The answer: some 'light' reading...

Photography isn't so much about capturing a subject so much as it's about capturing the light that falls off of a subject.

"Um, okay - big deal" ...you might say.

The word 'photography' translates literally to "painting with light", and capturing light is what's occurring when you press the shutter button. Dramatic light is what brings about dramatic colors, textures, lines and shapes. Flat light will typically yield... a flat picture.

The act of 'taking a good picture', then, should first involve considering how the light falls off a subject. Ever wonder why some subjects seem so drab in print, when they seemed so nice in person? Good quality light will make a picture 'pop'. A good quality subject may not.

On that last point: Because a subject 'moves' you when you see it in person, it may not be moving when you view it in print. Quality of light plays a huge role in the impact of a photograph. Take the Golden Gate Bridge, for example. It's hard not to be moved by it's presence (and I've lived here for 30 years!), but the bridge by itself won't make a moving picture.

Simply said, you must pay attention to the light, and adjust your photographic schedule accordingly.

But the act of taking a picture should not focus solely on capturing the light from a subject. With poignant or dramatic photographs, it isn't so much that a subject was captured so much as an image was created. This is key. And it's the main ingredient in the idea of 'composition'. "Creating an image" means you consider your subject and your background. Move around. One subject can become an element of multiple images, simply by 'composing' your shot differently.

Next time you're out shooting, particularly if you're shooting with a digital camera, play around with one subject on different backgrounds, and in different lights. And always remember to focus on the image, rather than the subject...

How to capture light.... metering!