Photography Lighting Research

Lighting Research

It's important when creating my magazine front cover that I know how to get the lighting correct in order to make my front cover look professional. The lighting is one of the most important aspects of the creative process, by getting the lighting right you can get the main focus on the feature and on a magazine front cover this is very important. The different lighting and the shadows that go with it creates mood, distracts attention from other things and can create texture to the image. Black shadows are very important as they create a main focus on the subject and balance the scenery. When the lighting is very harsh this creates very dark shadows causing the shadows to distract the eye from the main subject. 

When taking photographs it is important to look in to the direction the light is going to as this will have an effect on the image itself, this is essential as you must take in to account whether or not the shadows that the light is producing will be seen by the audience. There are three different forms of lighting; front,side and back.

Front lighting 

Front lighting is used by beginners and is the 'safe' lighting of the photography set up as it will illuminate the scene evenly but this will produce flat basic images.

Side lighting

Side lighting emphasizes the texture and adds depth to the photograph.


 Back lighting 


Back lighting provides dramatic silhouettes and shadows to a bright background.

Direct Light

Direct light creates harsh, dark shadows striking the subject from one direction. the smaller the light of the more far away it is from the subject the sharper and darker the shadows will be. Spotlights are a good example as the strike the subject in one particular area and this is very bright and the shadows are very harsh edged and dark. The sun is also a good example because when it is at its brightest in the middle of the day it strikes the earth and causes there to be harsh dark shadows.

Overcast Lighting 

Hazy sunlight and overcast skies can produce very good photos as it softens the colours of the photograph while keeping detail in the shadows. Rain and dark skies can create a moody tone to the image. Photographers can create these effects inside by using different flash units on their camera this way the photos are not effected by the weather conditions.

I have found some Youtube tutorials that will help me set up a photoshoot inside and out to ensure that I have the correct lighting to make the most out of my images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNA5-FMhBYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8pcFo6Ex4E


Conclusion

After researching in to the photography I have decided that I will be using mostly natural light. This is due to the fact that the photos I have taken were taken while we were shooting the trailer. If the photos are not up to a professional standard then I will set up a photo shoot using the studio. I will use the side lighting to create depth and texture to the photograph which would be the best lighting for a fantasy genre photo.