{"id":4493,"date":"2010-08-20T14:59:10","date_gmt":"2010-08-20T18:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=4493"},"modified":"2021-12-19T00:27:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T04:27:10","slug":"photography-direction-of-light-choice-of-background","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photography-direction-of-light-choice-of-background\/","title":{"rendered":"photography: direction of light & choice of background"},"content":{"rendered":"

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posing your subject – direction of light & choice of background<\/h1>\n

Reinforcing the ideas from a few previous posts,
\nwe’re going to look at that intersect where everything comes together<\/a>:
\n– direction of light,
\n– choice of background,
\n–\u00a0posing your subject,
\n– positioning yourself.<\/p>\n

When we work with our subject – whether a family member or a model or anyone we’re photographing – then we have the opportunity to control at least a few aspects to make the final photograph more successful.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Direction<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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Direction & Quality of Light<\/h2>\n

I wanted to distill the essence of what we, as photographers, work with – light! Before we can truly grasp on-camera flash and off-camera flash, and really, any kind of photography, we have to be aware of the direction and quality of light. We need to observe the light that we have, and then decide how best to use it, or enhance it.<\/p>\n

With this book, I try my best to share those \u201caha!\u201d moments with you, and I do believe this book can make a difference to your photography.<\/p>\n

The book is available on\u00a0Amazon USA<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a><\/strong>, or can be ordered through Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. The book\u00a0is also available on the Apple iBook Store, as well as Amazon Kindle.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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I usually take care to position myself and my subject such that the background is complementary<\/a>, or at least neutral. I normally try to avoid a background that is cluttered and will distract.<\/p>\n

Even when working in an urban environment and doing street photography, the various elements in the frame need to work together to make the image successful. A photographer like Matt Stuart<\/a> has a genius for pulling disparate elements in the frame together to make images that are incongruous, fresh and striking. \u00a0There is a balance there, even if the frame is busy. \u00a0The point is that even with street photography like that, the photographer relies on deliberate<\/strong> framing for success.<\/p>\n

Back to the portrait above of our model, Catherine, taken during a recent personal workshop<\/a> – the choice of background is deliberate<\/strong>. \u00a0Here is what the wider street scene looked like …<\/p>\n

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From all that clutter, I recognized that with a longer focal length, I could use the defocused repetitive pattern of the shop-fronts. I then composed tightly with a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom.<\/p>\n

The lighting in that photograph at the top is all available light. \u00a0No flash. \u00a0But I also noticed that the awning we were working under would block the light from above. \u00a0This meant the light wouldn’t be top heavy, but would mostly be coming in from an angle. \u00a0This deliberate placement of our model meant we had great light falling on her. \u00a0Now we just needed to pose her so that her back was somewhat to the light, but that she was facing outwards to the light.<\/p>\n

The way that we worked with the light here, is exactly as described in a previous article about an available light portrait<\/a> of Anelisa. We can work towards recognizing these light patterns and using them.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, we’ll come back to the same topic with another examples from the same photo shoot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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camera settings & camera gear (or equivalents) used in this photo session<\/h2>\n