I've just been flicking through the galleries and a thought occurred to me... how much do you as a photographer think about light or plan the lighting in a shot, before clicking the shutter? There are shots in the gallery where the location may be perfect, the model may look great, the pose or emotion maybe spot on.. but the lighting lets it down SO badly.

What's your thought process on lighting when taking a shot, if indeed you have one? I guess to keep things simple, let's assume location based shots as these seem to be the majority of the ones posted.

I was thinking exactly the same thing when I had a look at the gallery a while ago. Many of the images are completely ruined simply because no thought was given to the lighting.

I don't think it'some most people think enough about. I know I didn't in the past, but that has changed and for this year, I're resolved to put good light above finding a good location and this has paid dividends. In fact, I was about to start a similar thread but with the title of "What's your favourite location?"

One of my favourite locations has become the outside of Pairc Ui Caoimh here in Cork because it's like having my own all-weather studio. Approaching it, you would be forgiven for thinking I must be mad to consider shooting a model there, but the light quality here is something special. It's the best open shade I've found to date because it's north facing.

Here's what the location looks like:

Not exactly inspiring, as it's just concrete and gravel, but I've taken some of my better images there. Shoot wide open, particularly with something like a 135mm f/2.0 and that grubby background becomes totally irrelevant. I'm now constantly on the lookout for similar locations like this that provide such nice light.

So, my motto now is "Light first, Location second!"

Good thread by the way.

- Thorsten.

Ciaran

I break my lighting down into smaller parts:

• Contrast:
  

• It is so important that the contrast in the scene is within the capabilities of the medium you're shooting with. As Thorsten once said, you can add contrast later on, but you can never take it away. To a large extent this is true.
  
• So you need to understand the dynamic range of your camera/film and how much range there is in the scene. If the scene has more, you're going to get into trouble!
• If direct sun light is the main source of light, then you're going to be battling contrast at any times other than VERY early in the morning or late in the evening as the sun is setting
• Fill flash or additional lighting (strobe and/or continuous) can be used to reduce contrast in a scene, but don't forget you'll need lots of it to battle against the strength of the sun
• Seeking shade is a good approach..open shade even better. Avoid dappled light as this has huge dynamic range
• You want shots with some contrast/pop, just make sure you stay wihin the capabilities of your camera. On flat/grey days, use flash to add contrast rather than reduce it.
  

• Soft Vs. Harsh light

• The smaller the apparent size of the light, the harsher it is. The bigger the apparent size, the softer it is.
• Harsh light is a very quick transition between light and shadow where soft light has very smooth gradual transitions. Usually harsh light is considered bad light, but that's not necessarily true. Generally though, for portraiture etc. I would always try and soften the light where possible.
• If the sun is your only light source, it's going to be harsh light, which means harsh shadows. Diffusers/large white sheets can be used to soften the light. An alternative is to use open shade

• Direction of light

• Where the light is coming from can have a huge impact on the shot
• I'm always concious where the model has to look vs where the light is coming from (avoid squinting)
• Using open shade, you can have directional lighting, which can be used to create different effects (short lighting, broad lighting etc)
• Shooting into the sun can give nice rim lighting effects but cast large shadows, so flash will be used
• Lighting from the side, will create shadows, which can also be softened using flash and/or reflectors

• Colour of light

• Light has different colours, depending on what time of day it is and whether you are in shade or direct sun light. It can also be effected if you're mixing ambient light with flash. You need to adjust your WB accordingly.
• North facing open shade is very nice as the colour of light does not change during the day
  

I'm sure there are more, but thought I'd list these off for now.

LOL good point Ross.

P.S. I don't think that was aimed at you KO

P.S. I don't think that was aimed at you KO

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Light has different colours, depending on what time of day it is and whether you are in shade or direct sun light. It can also be effected if you're mixing ambient light with flash. You need to adjust your WB accordingly.

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There are colour temperature meters which give you a reading on the colour of light. A grey card is a really easy way of setting it quick and easy or something like an Expodisc (not so great on cloudy days where it can be sunny one moment and in shad the next).  As long as you are shooting RAW then WB is a secondary issue. Generally you only ever really have to worry about accurate WB when you have a set of images of the same person(s) displayed together, i.e. in an album. In this case skin tones have to match from image to image. If it's a one off shot, it's only important that the skin tones don't look unnatural because of WB