Light is an integral component of photography that needs to be considered but it can also play a role in the aesthetics of a photo. With automatic and mobile phone cameras you may easily forget about the lighting conditions, however Paul Ritchard provides some essential but basic rules for setting up lighting for photography. These include identifying one main light source, whether it is a natural or artificial light source, setting up three-point lighting and adding supplementary diffused lights (2020). Interestingly, Ritchard shows us how you can set up these lighting conditions with simple equipment at home highlighting how important lighting for photography is and that you can adjust the conditions even with basic equipment outside of a studio setting. Another aspect of lighting I found interesting was the use of a flash, especially when set up as an indirect light source rather than pointing directly at a subject matter. This method is something I haven’t used before so it could be interesting for me to experiment within my work. I found some usual information by photographers on how to use flash on the blog Strobist (2020) that could be helpful with my project.
Aside from the basic technical aspects of setting up light for photography, there is also the visual and aesthetic element of lighting. One style of photography I like that utilises light in a unique way is hyper-real, which is High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. With HDR photography luminosity is improved by using several images, underexposed and overexposed to different degrees, composited together to create a single image with an increased dynamic range (Kushinski, 2016). We researched the work of Trey Ratcliff who uses this method in his work, such as his photos of the colosseum, which appear as if they are glowing and we see a wide range of colours in the sky and landscape.
The Roman Gladiators of Gaul – Author Trey Ratcliff
Kushinski discusses this style of hyper-real photography and its particular use on the built environment and ruins, such as in Ratcliff’s work and its surreal qualities (2016). It is the technical ability of HDR photography that helps create this style, where “The surfaces of the subject matter seem to glow, the tension between shadows and light intensifies, and colours somehow appear simultaneously more muddled and more vivid” (2016). Kushinski continues to point out that HDR techniques are often used for images of ruins and abandoned places as the technology allows for these light qualities that create atmospheric effects. Personally, I like this style of photography as it reminds me of film and cinematography, so it may be something I will use in my next project to experiment with mood and atmosphere.
References:
Kushinski, A. 2016, ‘Light and the Aesthetics of Abandonment: HDR Imaging and the Illumination of Ruins’, Transformations Journal of Media & Culture, 19 September, viewed 12th of November < http://www.transformationsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Kushinski_Transformations28.pdf>
Ritchard, P, 2020, ‘Delib Film lighting talk short video’, lecture notes, COMM2628, RMIT University, viewed 12th of November 2020, < https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/16yBeDbW9DfjKQiQKjwHr6uOzTKb221GK>
Strobist, 2020, ‘Learn how to light’, Strobist blog post, viewed 12th of November 2020 <https://strobist.blogspot.com>
