Light and Lighting

Resources, articles and links

This is the place to find articles about light, the mainstay of our interest. You will also find articles about artificial lighting, equipment and other related topics. We have also included some of our favorite light related websites.

General Resources on Light:

Light; words for light; the vocabulary of light; language of light
What is Ambient Light
Ambient Light (Definition).
Soft Light (Information and use)
Soft Light (Definition)
Hard Light (Information and use)
Hard Light (Definition)
Make soft light work for you
See the quality of the light
What are the properties of light
More About Light Quality
Golden Hour; Magic Hour;
Colour chart of colour temperature examples
Six things to know about light
Three little known facts about shadows
Light, a Little Difference Makes a Big Impact (Hard and soft light example).
Definition: Bokeh
An easy lesson in beautiful bokeh
Be Obsessive About Light
Five easy ways to learn about the light-shadow relationship
How to capture great texture in your photographs
The nature of shadows – ideas and inspiration
A simple introduction to backlight

Reflection, diffusion, absorption resources

The nature of reflection, diffusion and absorption
Definition: Gel; Diffusion Gel; Filter Gel; Colour Gel; Lighting Gel
Definition: Specular Reflection
Definition: Diffuse Reflection
Definition: Specular Highlights
Definition: Highlight; Highlights
Definition: Absorption of light; Absorb; Absorbing surface; Black card
Simple ideas about distractions in photographs

Flash, Lighting Equipment, Studio Strobes, Studio Lights, Continuous Lights, Always-on Lights:

Flash (on camera); On-board Flash; Pop-up Flash; “Cobra” Flash; Flip-up Flash;
Fill-in Flash; Fill-in Light (Definition)
Off camera flash
What is a Softbox?
Softbox (photographic glossary)

Light – how to…

ISO: get control of your sensitive camera!
Shooting in low light without a flash
Does pop-up flash ruin your shots?
Portraiture Lighting
Natural Light Portraiture – with natural fill-in light
Controlling depth of field for great bokeh

Light Modifiers

Filters – Some Reasons To Love Them
Getting started with filters
Definition: Gel; Diffusion Gel; Filter Gel; Color Gel; Lighting Gel;
Neutral Density Filters; Graduated Neutral Density Filters
Easy introduction to light modifiers – don’t miss out (pt 1)
Easy introduction to light modifiers – don’t miss out (pt 2)

Resources on the web:

Virtual lighting studio by zvork (interactive) 
The importance of eggs 
Strobist Blogspot – Learn how to light 
The Golden Hour Calculator