When shooting outside, it’s nearly impossible to control the direction from which the light is coming. Moving the sun is one thing that even the best photographers have not mastered. How the light strikes our subject is critical to how the picture is perceived by the viewer. So we, as photographers, must be aware of the light and how it is striking our subject.
There are three primary directions of light—front light, side light and back light. This may sound intuitively obvious, but it is one thing that is often overlooked. These three shots of the same tree under different light dramatically demonstrates the effect the light direction.
Front light creates a uniform light without harsh shadows. By the same token, it also tends to flatten an image because of the lack of shadows. Shadows create a sense of depth.
Side light is when the light is striking your subject from the side. This creates a brightly lit side and shadowed side. This creates a three-dimensional appearance to the subject. It also emphasizes texture. However, if the light is too bright, it creates too much contrast between the lit side and the shadowed side. When this happens, the lit side is overexposed or the shadows underexposed. When the light is soft and there is a balance between the lit and shadowed sides, side light can create beautiful images.
Back light is in some ways similar to front lighting. It tends to provide a uniform shaded lighting on the subject. It is much softer light than front lighting, which sometimes can be more appealing. Back lighting often provides soft light while still retaining the texture, making back lighting a favorite of many photographers. Back lighting can also be used to create dramatic silhouettes.
Since we can’t move the light to suit our needs, we have to find other ways to achieve the effect we want. If possible, move your subject. If you’re shooting people, it’s simple enough to ask them to move to achieve better lighting. This simple technique allows you to take good photos even at noon when the light is harsh and unflattering. Moving people to a shaded spot eliminates the harsh light with deep shadows that is the most unflattering light. If there isn’t any shade available, ask them to turn their backs to the sun so their faces are in their own shadow and take advantage of back lighting. Step in close to eliminate the brightly lit background.
For nature scenes, we have to work with the light that nature provides. For landscapes, we can choose the time of day to shoot a particular scene, using the angle of the sun to provide front, side or back lighting. The same can be done for wildlife, but wildlife has an incredible ability to not be where we want them when we want them there. This is what makes wildlife photography so challenging—and frustrating. It requires more than normal patience and persistence.
Whatever your subject, always, always be aware of the light. Light is everything.
