Subject Centric Lighting: The Five Areas of Light Presentation
Cover image by Project 52 student, Gabriel Alvarez.
When the lighting choices we have made are used, the light is ‘presented’ back to the camera in expected, and controlled ways. There are five parts of the light presentation, and we use them in every image we make.
True Subject Value:
What the subject looks like when not in specular or shadow, this is the area that shows us the color of the subject as well.
Specular:
The exact or absolute reflection of the light source.
Specular Transition:
The point where the specular reflection transitions to the true subject value
Shadow Transition:
The transition between True Subject Value and Shadow
Shadow:
The places on the image that are not lit, the opposite side of the light source.
These areas of light are found in nearly every subject. By understanding what they do, and how they are controlled, we can understand much more about the light that is used to present these areas in the ways we want to show them.
In other words, knowing what causes a shadow transition, how to present true value, and how to control a specular highlight means we have control over our lighting and we can create the looks we want. Whenever we want.
Photographers and artists use these representations of light to show texture, shape, dimension, color, clarity and mood. Illustrators use highlight and shadow in their work to create their own light. And they use the same tools to light their drawings, although quite imaginary, as photographers do.
We can see all the presentations of light in this image of Inaudia.
Lit with two strip lights (one on each side), the one on camera left is behind Inaudia and aimed forward just bit. The one on the right is slightly in front of him, and angled at an oblique angle.
This renders two different kinds of specular presentations, the absolute one on his neck and left side, and the softer one on the right side.
All of the transitions are there, and these transitions are what we see when we are determining soft light from hard light. A fast transition is a hard light, where a softer transition – as in the picture below – is a softer light. We would call this image a hard light image because of the fast fall off in the transitions between highlight and true value, and true value and shadow.
This image shows a lot of true value skin tone. One of the reasons is that the model is not shiny (wet) or perspiring to cause a shinier surface. Powder is used to intensify the diffuse skin (true value) so the speculars (in red) are presented softly. The blue speculars, however, are presented with very sharp transitions. Note that the specular on the shiny lips is absolute, with no soft transition. The gold jewelry on the dress shows as highlight/black because the reflection of the light source from the shiny metal is absolute.
Lighting: Very large softbox directly in front of the model, and back 5 feet. White cards are positioned on either side of her, but pulled back to a point where they will not reflect in her eyes.
Photographer Anne Stephenson shows how to control the specular, true value, shadow and transitions in this seemingly simple table top product shot. As you can see, nothing done well is simple. Every kind of surface is in this shot.
Let’s start to put all of this together now.
What Makes a Photograph “Great?”
A reader left this rather innocuous comment on the post about gear, 'What We Mean When We Say “It’s Not About The Gear'". I read it a few times then decided that it was one terribly difficult question followed by one that may be even more thorny. Just the kind we...
Photoshop Can Increase the Power of Your Strobe! (Sortof)
Increasing Strobe Power with Photoshop. Yeah... that's right. We can actually create an impression of more power with our speedlights by carefully thinking about the images we make. Photoshop gives us the edge. But it takes careful planning and attention to detail to...
What We Mean When We Say “It’s Not About The Gear”
This post was instigated by a post a friend of mine made. Brian Matiash's blog post, "It's not about the gear?" takes a well written hit at many of us who state that being a good photographer is not about the gear. I think he has some valid points, but I also think he...
Four Photographers on the Trek to the Top
Guys... I got so tired of hearing how it is so horrible out there, and how there's no this and no that. I just got over it. So I decided to put out a tweet for some emerging photographers to chat with. No formal questions, just some chatting. I was so happy when I got...
My Turn: DPP’s Article on FREE Images Examined
I am a voracious reader. I love it. I read all sorts of stuff, and love to learn something new. I also suffer fools badly, so if someone thinks they are gonna say stuff and I will just take it, well... sometimes they get an earful. It is something that makes me who I...
Our First Big Contest: Shooting to a Layout
UPDATE: OUR WINNER IS Rasheid Scarlett! Congratulations, Rasheid. Well, here we launch into our first big contest. Shooting to layout is a very important part of shooting commercially. And there are some tricky issues if you are not familiar with doing it. It isn't...
Be Visible to Everyone When They Need You. Mobile Sites
A guest post by Daron Shade, Photographer and Web Designer. I never really thought that a mobile site was important for photographers until recently. My studio has a great address, 302 S. Park Ave. Unfortunately, the streets of Tucson were not so much designed as just...
Ten Things That Can Help You Get a Photographers Assisting Gig
Getting an assistant gig is top of mind for a lot of commercial shooters starting out. It can mean exciting photo shoots, learning the ropes they didn't learn in photo school (and them's a lot of ropes), and an opportunity to work in their chosen industry while...
27 From 27: Recent Photographs from the LE FLickr Pool
Well, we have another set of images from the pool. I wanted to make it hard to pick so I went back 27 pages and took the image from each page that seemed to command the top spot. Damn, it was hard. Lots and lots of talented people shooting out there, and a lot of them...
A Chat with Steve of “Standbagger” Fame. Cool Gear for Photographers.
I made some gear changes recently. One is a well-known, very popular company and the other is a small startup company with one employee. Standbagger is the the small company I refer to, and of course you cn see from the cover shot that I have gone with Profoto Compact...
In Praise of Natural Light: Examples and Discussion.
I guess I missed International Available Light Portrait Day, but then I am wondering when I get to color eggs and hide them in our miserably small back yard. My bud in Texas, Kirk Tuck, did a nice little post on Available Light, and got me thinking about how much I...
New York, May 2010: Fun in the Big City, a Look Back
Well, that went fast. And not as I expected at all. Faster and crazier than planned, and it left little time for writing and posting. My sincere apologies on that. I am way behind my time on keeping the blog fresh, I am afraid, and will try to correct that this and...
An Evening with Parish Kohanim, Atlanta Photographer
RAVE: Last evening I had an opportunity to listen to Parish Kohanim speak about his photography, philosophy and decades of shooting for the world of advertising. I remember picking up a Black Book oh so many years ago and finding his pages. He was in "South" category,...
You Know That Guy… I Hate That Guy. Am I Somehow More Successful Now?
Well... maybe it is the change of weather. Maybe it is simply a function of the internet allowing a diverse level of interaction. The great democratization of opinion and content. I dunno. But it seems designed to actually create a more divisive institution. And we...
A Few Portraits from the Archives
On the heels of my E-Book on Portraits, "The Heart of Portraiture", I have a few other portraits to share. And I discuss why I like them. Article on the E-Book is here. First some housekeeping: GoingProNOW is our emerging commercial photographer seminar with Selina...
“The Heart of Portraiture” E-Book: 20 Portraits Discussed.
I wanted to do something for this month (May) as it represents the month I started working on the whole Lighting Essentials thing about 4 years ago. The book I am working on I call "The Heart of Portraiture II" and it includes nearly 40 shots with lighting diagrams...
Sure You Gotta Logo, But What Is Your Personal Brand?
It's a RANT today. Recent discussions with photographers and models spurred this short rant today. I have been thinking about this for quite awhile, but events yesterday really set me off. Brand, personal brand, is who you are. And what you do is who you are. It is...
10 Things That are More Fun and Useful to Photographers Than Playing Farmville
Seriously. I read about how some photographers are having challenging times. How there isn't as much work coming their way as before. Whining and kvetching about the "state of the industry" and a bunch of other stuff that does no good at all. Then I see the Farmville...
Rave Wednesday: Avedon Show at Norton Gallery (West Palm Beach)
I was able to see the Avedon show at the Norton last Friday. Avedon Fashion: 1950 - 2000. It was an amazing day for me. I have seen several Avedon shows, but none focused totally on his fashion work. I must say up front that I believe him to be one of the greatest...
Today, You Are a Photographer. Whatcha Gonna Do Now?
OK... today's the day. You left your day job behind as planned, or are now "free to seek new positions" due to situations you had no control over. And now you are a photographer. What does that mean to you? What do you see in your minds eye as you doing what you love....
26 Totally Cool Photographs from the Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool
Photograph of JustFab by Ray Prax You guys are still the best damn forum pool around. And I have a set of 26 photos that really impressed me. Getting harder to narrow them down now. Lots of great shots in the pool these days. Thanks. IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVE ATTENDED A...
Getting Over a Creative Block: Some Ideas For Breaking Out
Did you ever have one of those 'blocked' periods? The ones where things you are trying to do just don't resolve? Maybe it's the time of year, or at the end of a creative burst. The batteries start to drain a bit and it gets close to recharge time. When we get in these...
Use Google to Track the Popularity of Your Images
Finding your Creative Center with Google by Daron Shade A few months ago, I recommended that you sign up and implement Google Analytics. By now, I'm sure you are all getting pretty proficient with GA and have been watching your traffic and are beginning to understand...
