Sunlight has always been the simple and logical way for photographers at all levels of experience to take pictures. The reasons are easy to understand. First, the sun is predictable and exists in literally every location in the world, each and every day. We know exactly when and where the sun will rise and set and can reasonably predict its direction, trajectory, brightness, and color cast. It is basically a constant on which we can rely day after day. People from all walks of life understand that the sun is often needed to take a nice, well-lit photograph. Most consumers have been told to put the sun at their back and aim the camera at their subject and the picture will be well lit and well exposed in most cases. It has always been a default way to take pictures.
Image I–1. Direct sunlight can often result in a great image—as long as there is a high-impact subject and a great exposure.
Image I–2. Throughout the world, the correct exposure will remain consistent as long as the sky is clear. This is one of my favorite places.
Image I–3. Deep, rich skies help as a background for the graphic design of this architectural image.
Image I–4. Filtered direct sunlight can often add a sense of drama into a scene.
In the early days of photography, the sensitivity of plates and films to light was extremely slow. I have read that equivalent ISOs might be as low as 2. This required so much light that the photographer often had to use flash powder or other methods to augment the existing light in order to make a good exposure. Early portrait photographers, who relied on only direct sunlight or window light in their work, would position their subject’s head against a headrest that acted as a stabilizer and prevented them from moving during the very long shutter speed required to make adequate exposures. Accordingly, you may have noticed that there are not many smiles in portraits from the late 1800s and early 1900s. This is because the photographers’ subjects simply could not hold a steady smile over the long durations—often minutes—required for the exposure. A smile that began at the first part of a long exposure would slowly wane and, of course, cause blurring in the mouth, lips, and cheeks. It was just easier for the photographer to tell them not to smile—just to be still.
Image I–5. Working on location can be more rewarding than strictly shooting in the studio. Incorporating the subject’s environment, as in this portrait of a chef, often yields a more successful image.
Image I–6. We’ll be discussing the addition of flash to ambient light situations throughout this book—and how to best utilize your camera controls to get the look you desire.
Of course, today’s technology and amazing product development means that we now have ISO speeds that allow us to shoot in almost complete darkness. ISO settings as high as 6400, 12,800, or even 25,600 are being used at an increasing rate as they become better and better with less and less digital noise. I know working wedding photographers who are no longer using flash at receptions, choosing instead to work at high ISO settings and shoot with available light only—and they are getting fantastic results.
One of the great things about working with the sun is that it is an absolute constant with regard to its brightness. After the sun rises in the morning and reaches a place in the sky of approximately 20 degrees or more above the horizon, the brightness is exactly the same anywhere in the world, all day long—provided there are no clouds in the sky to diffuse the sunlight. Once the sun moves across the sky, toward sunset, and falls below 20 degrees on the other horizon, the exposure begins to change and get darker once again. Obviously, this is repeated every single day.
People will occasionally try to out-think this simple concept. I’ve often heard that the sun is brighter at higher elevations. Not true. I have literally tested the brightness of the sun all over the world at different times of the day and as long as there is nothing blocking the sun—no clouds or fog—the exposure for a front-lit subject is exactly the same. Think about the sun being approximately 93,000,000 miles from Earth. Do you think that a difference of a few thousand feet in elevation could possibly make a difference in exposure? Likewise, the true exposure for a full-moon picture is the same as for a sunny-day picture. That holds true because of the enormous distance of the sun from the Earth and the moon, which is only about 240,000 miles from Earth.
Image I–7. Using a window as your primary light source can make a statement with great visual power. It’s all about controlling the placements of the subject, window, and photographer relative to each other.
There are only a small number of absolutes when it comes to sunlight control and it is these few controls that we will explore and explain in this book. I will also spend some time explaining what I call the applications of light that fall into the category of light quality. They are: additive light, subtractive light, diffused light, and reflected light.
In my first studio lighting book, many years ago, I received great reviews but was chastised a bit by some for my lack of diagrams to show the reader “where to put the light.” Well, I have added in a few more diagrams in this book. However, I want to be clear that in no way do I want to create a recipe book that illustrates a road map for each and every picture in the book. Readers should study the content, think about the concepts, and then try it for themselves. This process of hands-on self-discovery is the most important part of learning the techniques contained in these pages. Your results will vary greatly—and often spectacularly—if you do the work and investigate for yourself the numerous things we will talk about in the following pages. Your results will be completely different than mine and that is the point. In fact, your results may be better than mine!
After going through this book and working to understand the concepts, I hope that you will come a little bit closer to taking the type of pictures you want to take. Once you have a firm grasp on the technical aspects of light, your creativity can kick in and you will be vastly improved as a photographer and artist.