LIGHTING PRINCIPLE THREE: THE COLOR OF LIGHT
We see light usually as a white source, or at least a neutral source.
It isn’t. neutral, it has a color to it and that color can influence all the parts of your image, from shadows to highlights. We don’t see the color of light because our brain changes it to a neutral “white” color as we see it.
Here is a wonderful article that explains the way that the color of light affects your image. Read it now.
When we look at the color of the scene in front of us we can change it globally by changing our color balance in the camera, or using a filter. What “globally’ means is that everything in the photo is changed to the same setting. All the colors are altered by this global change to the color of the light.
On the left is a photograph taken near Mable Canyon. The sun was quite bright, and there was a bit of warmth to the image because of all the warm browns and oranges of the topography all around us.
This image is as shot. I have applied global changes to the color of the light source so you can see what that does to the image.
Below from left to right:
Daylight / Shade / Tungsten / Flourescent
DAYLIGHT
Changing from As Shot to Daylight shows very little difference, although the daylight color balance makes it a bit more warm.
SHADE
Since the color of the light in the shade is a bit more blue, we add some warmth to the overall image to compensate for it. In this shot you can see the global warmth is not going to work because the image was not shot in the shade.
TUNGSTEN
Tungsten light is very orange, so when we apply a tungsten color balance to a shot that is not too orange, we get this very blue looking shot. This is a good reminder of just how ‘warm’ tungsten light is if it takes this much blue to make it correct.
FLUORESCENT
Fluorescent light is blue/green so it makes it difficult to compensate for. In this application of the fluorescent color balance, we can see the sky going a deep blue, while the desert mountains behind become more magenta.
LOCAL LIGHT SOURCE MATCHED TO AMBIENT
Working with a secondary light source that may be a different color presents us with a challenge. We cannot change the image globally because adding a correction to the image to correct for the different light source will affect the entire image.
We must then change the different light source to the ambient (or overwhelming light) in order to ‘balance’ the subject in the ambient setting.
The ambient setting is the overwhelming light that we usually cannot change: the sun, a large warehouse, a home. Bringing in our own lights means we must know how to match what we bring to what is there.
ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS CLASS:
- Using the color settings on your camera, take the same image with each of them. Shoot with Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Flourescent at least and do this in places where those colors exist. In other words, shoot some images outside, inside with regular household lamps, and some place that has Flourescent. (NOTE: Many big box stores use a light source known as Mercury Vapor. Mercury Vapor is blue/green so it is very difficult to adequately address. We can add magenta to offset the green, but that turns the blue part of the light to purple. If we address the blue with something warm, we add that to the green part of the light.For Mercury Vapor correction, try “auto” on your camera setting. It is the best I have found for correcting most of that blue/green color shift.
- Using a strobe (speedlight), take a photograph of someone while the sun is going down behind them. Do not alter the strobe setting, just let it keep making the shot as the light turns warmer and warmer. You will then see how “blue” the light source seems coming from the flash.You may have to change the settings as the light gets dimmer, but I think you will see the changes pretty well.
We will be addressing color balance in all of the upcoming classes.
PLEASE Make This Guy Famous
Ramona, California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97hfxth3aas This guy needs to be sued into oblivion. Full on sued into poverty. UPDATE: "Police were quick to take action and have now identified and arrested 52 year old Mark Gordon as the driver of the vehicle. As...
Sam Breach’s Extemely Cool, Very Fine Fashion Photography Promo
Meet Sam Breach, a Bay Area photographer poised to break into the San Francisco, East Bay fashion scene. Sam is a long time Project 52 member and we are all totally excited about her new promo piece. If you are a fashion designer, editor, or art director, I recommend...
Project 52 2016 Edition is OPEN for Students
PROJECT 52 PRO 2016 EDITION I am so happy and proud to announce this new workshop for 2016. You can find out all of the information here. We have only 25 slots left, and they will fill really fast. We had the class 2/3 filled by early registration from previous...
Meet John Covington, Photographer – Musician
MEET JOHN COVINGTON I had interviewed and had lunch with John early in June of 2016. We met at his studio which is built in his backyard in a wonderful little neighborhood full of trees and greenery. I have been aware of John for a few years, but this was the first...
Let’s Uncheck Boxes That Kill Our Creativity
Let's Uncheck Boxes That Kill Our Creativity I recently listened to a speaker talk about unchecking the boxes he had that put an artificial hold on his career, and how that had helped him in his pursuit of sports excellence. I realized how many boxes we photographers...
2016 P52 Roadtrip Book: FREE PDF
Every year we go on a roadtrip and all of the Project 52 members can come along. It is not a workshop, although we do photography nearly all the time. There is no charge for it, members simply pay their own way and their portion of van rentals. We spend a week in...
The Art of Still Life: June 2016 Edition
Examples from the Still Life Class here at Lighting Essentials. Finished photos and the BTS shots of the lighting used. (cover image by Carla McMahon) A big shout out to the students for such wonderful work. And the BTS shots. Photographer: Doris Rudd...
The Porto Photography Experience
From Anna at the Porto Photography Experience: "As photographers living in Porto, Portugal, we feel privileged: the UNESCO World Heritage area backdrops to shoot in, the kind of sights all photographers dream of; amazing food; great weather for most of the year;...
“A Disturbing Trend” – by Neal Rantoul
PHOTO BY NEAL RANTOUL FROM THE PORTFOLIO "WAVES" "Look, the practice of making pictures used to be hugely craft based. You needed to study photography and the making of pictures hard to be good at it. It used to be difficult to do well. As a professor I seldom saw any...
Digital. Film. Images.
“I don't think using film per se makes someone stand out in a digital world,” he says. “That's never been a motivation to me. It's essentially a photographer’s understanding of his craft and sensibility and way of seeing that makes him stand out... And that certainly...
Is Snapchat a New Story Telling Medium?
“Snapchat brings the reader into the story. Each viewer becomes a part of the assignment. They are my travel companions,” Stanmeyer tells TIME. “When millions of readers pick up the magazine each month, they only see 12 to 15 photographs. But so much more takes place...
Overheard: Keith Taylor, Photographer, Atlanta
Keith Taylor, Photographer, Atlanta: "You must learn to be content with where you are & what you have, yet still push yourself. Otherwise, you will destroy yourself - mentally - by comparing yourself to where somebody else is at. What somebody else is doing...
Project 52 Professionals – 2016 Edition: “Let’s Get Serious”
NEW CLASS STARTS APRIL 2017... More information coming soon. Watch this space for more news coming February, 2017.
Phoenix to Fairbanks on a Motorcycle… coming soon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMyLaR0_mV8&feature=youtu.be You can follow along at www.phoenixtofairbanks.com Special thanks to Jerry O'Connor, joconnor.co
TAINTED LOVE: Why Photographers Fail
TAINTED LOVE: Why Photographers Fail Recently there has been a spate of very sad, and ultimately defeatist articles decrying the “death of photography”. We have no shortage of examples. Seriously. In all their pain and detailed examples of how the art and business of...
Meet David Giral: Architectural Photographer, Montreal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWByphn0dwU
Jay B Sauceda: Ya’ll Need To Meet This Texas Photographer
Jay B Sauceda is an Austin based photographer with a Texas-sized appetite for making killer images. Whether it be piloting a plane through a mountain canyon, or hiking the Utah plateaus, Jay looks for images that spark the imagination. Jay is also behind the zaniness...
A Few Spots Are Open in the Upcoming Workshops
8 WEEK PORTRAIT WORKSHOP ONE One of the most popular workshops we do. This is an intense, shooting workshop where we study the work of 8 top level photographers to learn what they do, how they do it and why. MORE INFORMATION HERE Be sure to watch the video on the...
“Body and Soul” a New Book by Boudoir Sensation, Susan Eckert
Meet Susan Eckert, a photographer in Long Island, NY specializing in intimate portraiture of women. (Blog) Her new book, "Body and Soul" is one of the best photo books I have had the privilege to read. It is a wonderful mixture of artful images, and real down to earth...
An Interview with Photographer LaRae Lobdell, Florida
MEET LARAE LOBDELL For those who may not know, LaRae started her career in the Seattle area, and is now living in the Miami area. She has been a host on CreativeLIVE, shot many musicians and artists, and is now working with Polaroid University on a project to teach...
Webinar Replay: Find Photo Clients Now with Special Guests.
The Webinar last Thursday was really fun. Big shout out to Steve Collins and James Eisele for joining in and letting people know how the system works for them. Here is the replay. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5qro3NZXWU
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP INFORMATION
TWO WORKSHOPS AND A WEBINAR COMING UP 8 WEEK PORTRAIT WORKSHOP ONE One of the most popular workshops we do. This is an intense, shooting workshop where we study the work of 8 top level photographers to learn what they do, how they do it and why. MORE INFO HERE. 8 WEEK...
Find Photo Clients NOW Webinar This Thursday
THE WEBINAR! I want to share a few things about the Find Photo Clients Now System, and why I know it will help emerging photographers in smaller markets develop a real and meaningful approach to business. I will discuss how it came about, how I used it successfully in...
Why I Changed the Approach to Find Photo Clients Now
AUTHENTIC TRAINING STARTS WITH AUTHENTIC PRESENTATION I have wanted to teach this system for quite a while now. It works. I know it works because I have helped dozens of photographers to use it and make it work for them. There is a wave of teaching going on out there,...