This weekend in Europe the clocks are being turned back. The already dark evenings will be darker as days are starting to shorten and nights lengthen. Finding light where we can becomes ever more precious.
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Photography is nothing without light, of course. And light plays a crucial part in creating shadows and silhouettes. Shoot into bright light to silhouette your subject against it, or let the light fall directly on your subject to cast a shadow.
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If it is true that light is the key to photography, surely it is especially the case that it is key to drama in photography. The most dramatic photos are often those with the most interesting light, and with strong contrasts between light and dark.
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Nothing says Christmas quite like an abundance of colourful lights. Whether on your tree at home, adorning the exterior of houses or an official display, they lift the spirits and set the mood for a joyful festival. For those of many religions, or none, such displays symbolise the triumph of light over darkness, bringing warmth and hope during the winter season.
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Lighting is everything in photography. It can make an ordinary subject look intriguing, while the lack of it can make an interesting one look dull. Light that falls on your subject from the front will make it look flat and two dimensional. Side lighting is more interesting, creating shadows and bringing out textures. The last option is backlighting, which can be beautiful and dramatic.
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Silhouettes are a great way to create drama in an image. By eliminating details they evoke mystery and can be enigmatic. They take to extreme the balances in contrast that we all work with in our photography.
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Who hasn’t explored a building, maybe an impressive fortress or palace, and had one of those ‘wow’ moments as you emerge from the darkness of the building to an arch or window revealing the lightness outside?
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I always enjoy photographing beautiful street lamps, so for Thursday Trios this week I had a trawl through my archives to find some in groups of three. While I was about it I discovered some other lighting threesomes too. So here’s small gallery of lamp trios, indoors and out.
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Studio photographers can spend a lot of time getting the light just right, changing the angles, adjusting the brightness and colour. Landscape photographers don’t have that luxury; we have to work with the light we have, or wait until it changes naturally.
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Our cameras rely on light to create an image. When that light is diminished, as Leonardo da Vinci reminds us, shadows emerge, creating interesting and illusive patterns.
