Photo Lighting (Basic)

If you've ever taken dark photos where you can't make out the faces, or photos where everything seems dim or blurry, then you need to learn about photo lighting! You probably have some idea about having too much or too little light (shooting into the sun, or in a dark closet), and may think flash is the way to solve this. But this isn't true, we're going to learn a couple different lighting techniques in this hub to help with our light.

How many times have you heard the phrase, "I need more light!" Seems like an artsy-photographer type stereotype to me. Believe it or not, you probably don't need more light. You just need to change how you use it. Shutter speeds (slower ones) and aperture can help with this, but let's real quick talk about the sun. 

If you have the sun, then there's no chance of controlling quantity! You can only control how you use it. Sunlight is an example of "main light". It creates highlights and shadow. Most amateurs stand with their back to the sun so that they can see the subject and the picture their taking, and avoid glare. Unless you have a good amount of experience, you shouldn't stand facing the sun, as this will probably cause unwanted shadows. A good camera with fill-in flash could help fix that. That way a subject doesn't have to squint in the picture (tip: this would work great when photographing portraits at outdoor events!)

The best sun lighting technique however, is side lighting. If you stand with the sun to your and the subject's sides, then you'll have optimal photo lighting. This will allow a higher quality photo because it emphasizes lines. For that same reason, it's optimal when taking black and white photos. 

When you are working with photo lighting indoors, try turning on all the lights in an area. This should help with making an even light across the room, and will allow the camera plenty of room.

While I don't recommend using built-in flash as your only light source, here's some more details about what's going on with your built-in flash:

• Night Mode, Night Scene, or other settings for taking pictures at night will adjust the shutter speed, keeping it open for longer so that more light can get in. 
• When you use a red-eye prevention or reduction feature, it's flashing/lighting/firing other bulbs or flashes before the picture is taken to prevent the reflection of the flash from the red retina in an eye to the lens. 
• Autoflash features will use the flash when the camera detects that it is too dim to take a picture (not enough light)
• When flash is always on, it'll flash every time you take a picture (obviously!). Some advanced cameras can use this to identify subjects that are backlit and help light them up.