Let There Be Light
By Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP CEnv CSci MCIWEM Light is an amazing medium to work with. Essential to all photography, its quality is critical to successful landscape images. There are many different types of light and they suit different subjects. When planning a shoot, it pays to think about what light will work best.
Front Lighting Front lighting refers to light coming from behind the photographer, illuminating the subject faceon. This usually works best around the golden hour early and late in the day, when the sun is low in the sky, giving the most attractive light on the landscape. This image were taken around 30 minutes before sunset. It shows the warm tones and well-saturated colours associated with golden hour lighting. On Cherhill Down, the dry grass of summer and downland contours create texture in the scene. Front lighting is usually even across the subject and contrast is easily handled. This, however, leads to the principal disadvantage, which is that the light may appear rather flat. Front lighting gives little modelling or sense of depth to the landscape. It can make the subject appear almost as if it were two-dimensional, particularly if there is a plain blue sky devoid of clouds. A further disadvantage is that the photographer’s shadow may be in the foreground of the picture. When this happens I usually duck down, or set a 10-second timer and run out of the way.
Cherhill Down, Wiltshire. Canon 5Diii, 24-70mm f/4 at 35mm. ISO 100, 1/25s at f/16. Tripod. July. October 2021 Volume 6 Number 7
20
