Lighting. In this issue No.8 of the Art of Photography, the focus is on the final fundamental of photography - lighting. In issue No.7, EOS users and other photo enthusiasts alike were introduced to the types of film available for use in various lighting and photographic situations. While film is required in order to record the images you have visualised permanently, lighting is needed to enable the visualised images to be recorded. After all, photography is also known as "painting with light" and therefore, lighting is compulsory in this medium. For without lighting, there is no way we can record our pre-visualised images on film, whether by using daylight, artificial or available light, and flash or studio strobes. These types of photographic light sources are therefore, essential to photography. For many photographers, the sun is the main source of illumination. There is nothing wrong with relying solely on sunlight, but you do have to appreciate the different qualities of light available. Time of day and angle of light are the two essential considerations to be described about using sunlight as the main source of lighting. Any Malaysian photographer will agree with me when I say waiting for the right time of natural sunlight to emerge can be a nightmare. Since the country is located just above the Equator, an all-year round rainfall is the norm rather than an exception here. As such, waiting for blue skies and white clouds to appear can be quite frustrating for most Malaysian photo enthusiasts. Heavy thunderstorms will mean that most types of photography you have in mind are virtually impossible. And shooting when the atmosphere is heavily overcast with gray clouds with no sunlight may result in your pictures having a bluish (or greenish) tinge if you are shooting with daylight-type of colour slide film with neutral colour balance. More often than not, one will get thunderstorms or cloudy skies rather than the 5500°K daylight-quality of sunlight for that natural look in portraiture, landscapes or travel photography. Also, light changes throughout the day, it can be natural daylight (5500 °K) in the morning up until late afternoon but will be down to yellow or deep orange (3800 °K or less) in the evening. Photographers talk about late afternoon light. Things do seem to photograph more beautifully when the sun is low on the horizon, that is, at dusk. You can get a similar feeling early in the morning although morning light tends to be more pink while afternoon light is more golden. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 .