Light and Lighting

Resources, articles and links

This is the place to find links about articles on photographic lighting. You will also find articles about artificial lighting, equipment and other light related topics and resources. We have also included some of our favourite light-related websites. Light and lighting is all about understanding the nature of photography. The links on these pages provide you with a guide to learning about light and understanding its very nature.

General Resources on photographic lighting:

Light; words for light; the vocabulary of light; language of light
What is Ambient Light
Make soft light work for you
See the quality of the light
More About Light Quality
Golden Hour; Magic Hour;
Six things to know about light
Light, a Little Difference Makes a Big Impact (Hard and soft light example).
Glossary entry: Bokeh
An easy lesson in beautiful bokeh
Be Obsessive About Light
A simple introduction to backlight
Sidelight – How to capture great texture in your photographs
Simple ideas about distractions in photographs

Light, shadow and form

Glossary entry: Shadow
Three little known facts about shadows
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
The power of light and shadow

The properties of light

Ambient Light (Definition).
Soft Light (Information and use)
Soft Light (Definition)
Hard Light (Information and use)
Hard Light (Definition)
What are the properties of light
Colour chart of colour temperature examples
Glossary entry: Colour temperature
Glossary entry: Inverse square law

Reflection, diffusion, absorption resources

The nature of reflection, diffusion and absorption
Glossary entry: Gel; Diffusion Gel; Filter Gel; Colour Gel; Lighting Gel
Glossary entry: Specular Reflection
Glossary entry: Diffusion; Diffuse Reflection
Glossary entry: Specular Highlights
Glossary entry: Highlight; Highlights
Glossary entry: Absorption of light; Absorb; Absorbing surface; Black card

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

On-camera flash… advice for taming the beast
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)

Photographic lighting – 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

Photographic lighting for table-top studio setups

Two simple but essential elements of a table-top studio
A simple lighting technique with lovely light

Photographic lighting – light Modifiers

Filters – Some Reasons To Love Them
Getting started with filters
Glossary entry: 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)
Two simple but essential elements of a table-top studio
Thinking about different types of diffusion and reflection
Glossary entry: Polariser; Polarizer, Polarizing filter; Polarising filter;

Photographic lighting resources on the web:

Virtual lighting studio by zvork (interactive) Photographic lighting - Virtual lighting studio | External link - opens new tab/page
The importance of eggs Photographic lighting - the power of eggs | External link - opens new tab/page
Vacation and travel photography (interesting starter points on light). [Dedicated to Emma]. Vacation and travel photography (interesting starter points on light). | External link - opens new tab/page
Strobist Blogspot – Learn how to light Photographic lighting - Strobist Blogspot | External link - opens new tab/page