MSC 258
Multimedia Presentations
Lighting
With Excerpts and examples from:
Photography
8th. Ed., London, Upton, Stone, Kobré, Brill, Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005
“Light is the very substance of photography,
and it’s knowledgeable use is the basis of the
photographer’s craft.”*
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Changes in lighting will change your picture.
– Outdoors: Natural lighting (daylight, starlight, sunlight)
– Indoors: Artificial lighting (existing, continuous, flash)
– Existing: Natural and/or Artificial already present in a scene.
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Most photographers prefer natural light. However:
– Natural light is usually uncontrollable.
– Can’t be moved and it is subject to the whims of weather.
– Natural light is not always available – indoors, night, etc.
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Sometimes, you must choose between adding an artificial light
source, or not taking the desired picture at all.
*Alfred A. Blaker
Handbook for Scientific Photography
Photography: Art and Technique
The Direction of Light:
Consider Your Alternatives
Back Lighting
Front Lighting
Side Lighting
The light comes toward
the camera from behind
the subject.
The light comes from
behind the camera toward
the subject.
The light comes toward
the side of the subject and
the camera.
Lighting Contrasts:
Consider the Results
Direct/Hard Light
Fully Diffused/Soft Light
Creates hard-edged, dark shadows.
Provides an even, soft illumination.
Shows little or no directionality.
Shadow edges are light and indistinct.
Directional-Diffused Light
Combines qualities of direct and diffused light.
Light appears to come from a definite direction
and creates distinct soft edged shadows.
Available or Existing Light - Outdoors
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Evaluate the lighting situation and how it affects the
subject.
You can’t change light outdoors, you can work with it.
Direct light can produce prominent
and pleasing shadows.
Diffused light, such as in
shade, is soft and revealing.
Available or Existing Light - Indoors
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Can be contrasty or flat, depending on the source of light.
Expose for the most important parts of the picture.
The light is often relatively dim, be prepared.
Artificial Light
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The same properties are present in artificial light as in
available light.
– Directionality of lighting.
– Lighting Contrasts.
» Hard light: Light that is directional and not diffused.
» Soft light: Light that is diffused and without clear
direction.

Use the type of light and its distance to control the light
on your subject.
– Three basic functions of the lighting set-up.
» Modeling.
» Texturing.
» Highlights and shadows.
Lights and Other Lighting Equipment
Types of Artificial Light
Photofloods & Quartz-halogen
bulbs are for use with indoor
color films.
Diffusers and Filters
Diffusion screens
Tents
Softbox
Filter holders
Supports for Lights
and Other Devices
Flash equipment is used with
daylight-balanced color films.
Reflectors and Light-Control Devices
Bowl-shaped reflectors
Snoots
Umbrella reflectors
Reflector Flats
Flags
Barn doors/Baffles
Light stands
Cross arm or Boom
Umbrella mount
Background or
seamless paper and
support stand
The Main Light: The Dominant Source
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The most natural-looking light imitates light from the sun.
Lighting can influence the mood and/or character of an
image.
Most photographs made with artificial light use more than
one light source.
The Fill Light: Lightens Shadows
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Fill light makes shadows less dark – particularly useful
with color transparencies.
Artificial lighting often requires fill light.
– Natural daylight scenes can often benefit from fill light.
– Reflectors can be effective for adding fill light.
– Flash can also be used for fill lighting.
1:1 Ratio
2:1 Ratio
No difference between
The lit side is twice
the lit side and the shadow as light as the shadow.
side of the subject.
(one-stop difference)
4:1 Ratio
8:1 Ratio
(two-stop difference)
(three-stop difference)
Lighting With Flash

The most practical artificial light source available.
– Can be used indoors or outdoors.
– The light is portable and predictable.

The burst of light from electronic flash is very brief.
– Advantages:
» Stops motion.
» Delivers measured and repeatable quantity of light.
– Disadvantages:
» Can’t “see” how light affects the subject.
» Must be synchronized with the camera’s shutter.
Studio Flash Units
Handle-mount Flash
Hot-shoe Flash
Built-in Flash
Basic Flash Techniques
Direct Flash On Camera
•Simplest method.
•Move around and
shoot quickly.
•Light tends to be
flat.
Direct Flash Off Camera
•Softer and more
natural than direct.
•Flash can be left
on the camera.
Flash Bounced From Above
Flash Bounced From Side
•More texture and
volume than on camera.
•Easy to let aim wander.
•Works best relatively
close to subject.
•Soft lighting, with good
modeling and features.
•On auto-exposure, the
sensor must be pointed
toward the subject.
Flash Exposure Variables
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Flash-to-subject distance.
– Most critical factor in determining exposure.
– Inverse square law.
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Flash unit output (Flash Power).
– Watt-seconds can describe a unit’s power.
– Beam-Candle-Power-Seconds (BCPS) can describe a unit’s power.
– The Guide number is the easiest and most commonly used.
» The higher the guide number the more powerful the flash.
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Reflector.
– Orientation: Vertical or Horizontal
– Adjustable: Wide, Normal or Telephoto.
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Guide Number
= f /number
Flash to Subject Distance
Reflectance and/or ambient light.
– High or Low.
– Color.
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Film speed.
Shutter speed.
– Synchronization
Flash Manuals
Flash Metering
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Three basic types of flash units.
1.
Manual flash.
•
•
•
•
Exposure is controlled by the photographer.
Exposure can be determined by a flash meter.
Exposure can be calculated based on the film speed and power of the
unit.
Exposure commonly found by using a flash unit’s calculator dial.
2. Automatic flash.
•
Determines duration of flash by measuring light reflected back from the
subject during the exposure.
o
o
•
3.
Has light-sensitive cell.
Has electronic thyristor circuitry.
Some units can also be operated manually.
Dedicated flash.
•
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Units are matched to a specific camera. Do not use with other cameras.
Can utilize through-the-lens metering or automatic functions.
Flash Exposures:
Using a Flash Unit’s Calculator Dial
An automatic flash
can control exposure
with a sensor on the
flash unit.
Actual Flash Calculator
Vivitar 285HV Flash
Set the camera’s shutter to a
speed that will synchronize
with the flash.
“Generic” Flash Calculator
Fill Flash: To Lighten Shadows
•Shadows can be very dark in a sunlit scene.
•Flash used as an addition to the basic
exposure can open up dark shadows so they
show detail.
•Without flash, a photographer can get a
good exposure for the brighter part of a scene
or for the shaded part, but not for both.
•Color slide film and digital photographs
particularly benefit from using flash for fill
light.
Exposed for shaded
foreground, no flash.
Exposed for sunlit
background, no flash.
Exposed for sunlit background,
flash lightens shaded foreground.
Flash Plus Available Light
Shaded subject against
bright background, no fill.
Shaded subject with flash fill
2 stops less than background.
Follow steps outlined in your
textbook:
Page 247 - (9th Edition)
Page 241 - (10th Edition)
Shaded subject with flash
fill 1 stop less than the
background.
Shaded subject with flash
fill equal to the background.
Controlling Background Brightness
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You can use flash plus existing light to make the
background lighter or darker.
Creative use of exposure can be a valuable tool for
scientific photography.
Bull Thistles, by natural lighting. Strong
side lighting and distracting background
effects combine to make a visually
confusing picture.
The same plants, with a flash providing frontal lighting
with the exposure balanced so that the natural lighting
was two stops underexposed.
Flash and Available Light:
Additional Considerations
Natural sunlight.
Diffused light, such as in shade,
can be soft and revealing.
However, at the slower shutter
speeds that would be needed for
greater depth-of-field, camera
movement can limit sharpness.
The same subject by close-up
flash can yield colors that look
brighter. The speed of the flash
combined with the use of smaller
apertures can also produce a
greater depth-of-field.
Electronic flash
Lighting Textured Objects
• Lighting for a textured object depends on whether you want to
emphasize texture.
• Shadows must be seen if the texture is to be prominent.
Front lighting minimizes texture.
Side lighting emphasizes texture
Lighting Reflective Objects
 Photographing objects with glossy
surfaces can be like photographing a mirror.
 Reflections can be controlled in various
ways.
• Polarizing filters if object is nonmetallic.
• Tenting an object (shown below).
Lighting Translucent Objects
 Generally presents the same problems
as lighting reflective objects.
 Can be from behind or by bouncing
light off the background.
 Use a seamless background if possible
Lighting and Photographing
Aquariums and Glass Display Cases
Flash on camera usually
results in a reflection that
obscures the subject.
Flash off camera, and on the
acute side of the lens-axis/glass
angle results in a reflection that
is directed away from the lens –
light loss is about one stop.
Good photographers often break as many
rules as they observe.
Follow your text and try to understand the logic
behind the techniques, but don’t be afraid to
take a chance now and then and do things
differently.
Use your references:

Photography
9th. Ed., London, Upton, Stone, Kobré, Brill,
Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005
– Chapter 13 / Lighting
- Pages 221 – 253 (10th Edition)
» http://www.prenhall.com/london
» Pages 227 – 258 (9th Edition)
– Appendix: Troubleshooting
(Pages 388 - 398 (9th Edition) *Pg. 397
(Pages 380 - 390 (10th Edition) *Pg. 389
Flash unit checked out
to Marine Technology
students.
Guide Number 15/49 Speedlight (ISO 200,
m/ft; Guide Number at ISO 100 is 11/36).
Flash Problems
Too fast a shutter speed with a
camera that has a focal-plane
shutter. Synchronize the
shutter with the flash – 1/60
sec. is safe.
One side of the film is dark.
When photographing scenes that
include reflective surfaces,
move the camera and/or flash to
one side so that you shoot or
illuminate the scene at an angle
to the reflecting surface.
Unwanted reflections.
Flash Problems
Unwanted shadows.
Move the subject away from
a wall so shadows fall on the
ground and out of the film
frame. Sighting along a line
from the flash to the subject
will help predict how the
shadows will be cast.
Parts of the original scene are at different
distances from the flash. Try to group
important parts of the subject at about the
same distance from the flash.
Part of scene exposed correctly,
part too light or too dark.
Flash Problems
Most likely to occur when existing light is bright
and the camera’s shutter speed is relatively slow.
Make sure your shutter is set to the fastest speed
usable with the flash. You may also be able to
dim the existing light, shoot when the subject
isn’t moving so much, or shoot with the existing
light alone. Consider deliberately combining the
Moving subject partially sharpness and blur.
blurred – “ghosting”.
Light reflecting from the blood-rich retina inside
the eye. Have the person look away from the
camera or move the flash away from the camera.
Some flash units have a red-eye reduction mode:
the flash lights up briefly before the main
exposure so that the subject’s iris contracts,
reducing the amount of visible red.
Red appearance to a person’s
or an animals eyes – “red eye”.
Flash Problems
Subject appears too
dark or too light.
If the subject appears too dark, the scene
was underexposed. In manual operation,
increase the exposure about a stop for
scenes shot outdoors at night or in a large
room like a gym. If your flash pictures are
frequently too dark, try setting the flash
unit’s film-speed dial to half the speed you
are using.
If the subject appears too light, the scene
was overexposed. In manual operation,
close down the aperture about a stop
when shooting in small, light-colored
rooms to compensate for excess light
bouncing back from walls and ceiling. If
your flash pictures are usually
overexposed, try setting the flash unit’s
film-speed dial to twice the speed you are
using.