Nicola's learning log: Variety with a low sun

12th January 2013

Frontal Lighting

With frontal lighting, the sun is directly behind the camera which illuminates the front of the subject. “Frontal lighting has the least depth” (of the 4 types of directional light) “because the visible part of the subject is entirely highlighted”. (P88, Hunter, Biver, Fuqua 2007) This is illustrated by the gargoyle below because there is not much tonal variation as the sun casts the shadow behind the subject. The subject stands out because of the contrast with the background (orange/blue) rather than the shadows and highlights – i.e if the picture was taken against the wall, the subject would be lost. In the other 3 pictures, the inclusion of shadow detail and perspective gives some depth to the pictures.
These 4 pictures were taken at Rufford Abbey with low winter sun.

13/12/10 14:00 13/12/10 14:45

1/180 F9.5 ISO100 47mm     1/8 F13 ISO 100 24mm
–1Exposure Compensation

9/1/13 12:55                       9/1/13 13:28

1/180 F13 ISO400 85mm 1/180 F8 ISO 100 28mm

Side Lighting

All these pictures show side lighting. This lighting adds interest to the picture in the form of shadows and depth. I underexposed the statue of the lady because the sun was bright and the camera exposed for the light. However, I have lost the detail in the shadows. On reflection, I should have used partial (spot) metering and taken a reading in the light and dark sides of the picture and worked out a compromise between the two.

9/1/13 13:53 13/12/12 14:10

F13 1/60 ISO400 Focal Length 105mm      F13 1/125 ISO100 Focal Length 40mm
                                                                -1 exposure compensation

13/12/12 13:27                            9/1/13 14:00

F11 1/45 ISO100 Focal Length 55mm F8 1/180 ISO400 Focal Length 105mm

Back lighting

With the sun behind the abbey, a silhouette is produced. Backlighting can be used to add drama to landscape photos There is some depth to the abbey picture provided by the shadows on the grass. However, the subject (abbey) is mostly black and appears to look quite flat (the only tones are those on the roof). In the twilight picture, there is again little depth. Interest is added from the clouds and lines.

13/12/12 14:40 11/12/12 15:18

F13 1/125 ISO100 Focal Length 28mm F13 1/125 ISO100 Focal Length 35mm

Edge Lighting

Rim lighting is used to separate the subject from the background and edge lighting highlights the edge of a subject such as in the rhododendron leaves and bench. Rim lighting works well for subjects such as people, leaves and plants. Edge lighting occurs when the subject is in front of a darker subject – for example the zebra and stone ornament were in front of dark trees. All are taken into sun.

30/12/12 11:14 9/1/13 14:21