Focus On Lighting Photos Focus on the Fundamentals.pdf

We could solve the exposure
problem by simply putting
another light on the opposite
side, and for some subjects, such
as reproductions of paintings,
that’s a good idea. But we want
to emphasize texture here, and
using another light on the opposite
side simply fills in the shadow
we most need to do that.
By moving the light as far from
the subject as possible, we get
more even illumination of the flat
surface. Think about that for a
half-minute. If the subject is two
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<strong>Focus</strong> <strong>On</strong> <strong>Lighting</strong> <strong>Photos</strong>
feet wide and we put our flash
one foot to the right, the near
edge of the subject gets pretty
bright. A good exposure for the
near edge means huge underexposure
for the far edge. Now,
think another half-minute about
what happens when we move the
light, say, 12 feet away. The near
edge of the surface gets pretty
close to the same exposure as the
far edge. In fact, the whole thing
is lit evenly enough that we probably
need no subsequent digital
manipulation to get it right.
Moving the light
farther away
also makes
it a smaller
light! This, too,
emphasizes
texture.
So far, so good. We have a good
picture of the lace. But we’re not
out of trouble yet. Let’s try the
same technique with a different
subject.
The next picture is a blackcovered
book with an embossed
title. Like the lace, there’s no
difference in color between the
book title and the surface it’s
on. So we have to use texture to
make the title visible. Sounds like
we could use the same approach
we used for the lace, right? Let’s
try that.