The word photography means "drawing with light". Controlling or selecting the light a camera records is essential to all aspects of photographic composition.
32
votes
4answers
7k views
Why do light sources appear as stars sometimes?
See for example this photo:
From my experience, the longer the exposure the stronger can this effect be observed. Is this correct? Are there any other factors that influence the creation of these ...
19
votes
8answers
2k views
What's different about photographing at sunrise vs. sunset?
I usually get better light at sunrise (compared to sunset). I do though hate to wake up early in the morning to use that light ;)
What are the biggest differences between sunrise and sunset?
18
votes
6answers
1k views
How can one deal with midday light in street photography?
Firstly, of course, photography is all about light, but for doco/street style photography (which is what I like), it's really about being in the right place at the right time.
However, I've been ...
15
votes
2answers
416 views
Does a specific f number across all lenses denote same amount of light?
When we say a light source emits 1500 lumens of light, it does not really matter if the light source is incandescent, CFL, diode etc. Similarly, when I say f/1.8 can I assume that all lenses pass the ...
15
votes
2answers
364 views
What makes some natural landscapes saturated?
I know how to saturate in post-processing. But there are times of the day and the year when natural outdoor light is extremely saturated. Towards sunset in spring in southern England, for example. ...
12
votes
4answers
968 views
How to achieve pictures filled with light like these?
I would like to know how to achieve the effect of highly exposed pictures filled with light like the ones presented below:
unknown source
From http://dziecisawazne.pl/iza-faber/
Is this ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the difference between luminance and illuminance?
The more I read about this, the more confused I become. Illuminance, as I understand it, measured in lux, is the perceived brightness of light on a surface. It's what you'd measure with an incident ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
How can correctly measure light using a built-in camera meter?
Many times I shot photos, but the photo is some times too bright or too dark and the colors are incorrect.
Some times the white on the photo is not the white that I have on background but gray and I ...
10
votes
3answers
575 views
Does the zoom head position of a flash matter when shooting through an umbrella?
It seems like a hotshoe flash's zoom head position might factor in to the lighting pattern when shooting through an umbrella. In the wide beam position, I expect more even light that one is ...
10
votes
3answers
315 views
How to engage in photography without a camera?
My digital camera has bit the dust. Now I wonder how to take pictures without a camera.
Photography is an art of making images from the light field present at some particular location at some ...
9
votes
3answers
222 views
How sharp of an image should I expect at night?
I'm a beginner with my first camera (sony nex6 mirrorless). I was trying my first few night shots Using the kit lens but I wasn't able to find a way to take sharp images. I've done the following:
...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
How can I improve my photographs taken on overcast or cloudy days?
I'm interested in filters, flash & lighting options, composition, and post processing.
Is it possible to get really vibrant colors or should I give up on that and focus on dreary, muted, or black ...
9
votes
3answers
672 views
Is the color of the AF assist light important?
What are the differences between white and this darkroom red/orange active autofocus assistance lights?
8
votes
6answers
408 views
How can I improve shots in the dark, when tripod or flash are not available?
About once a year, at my school we have this event called "Humans versus Zombies", whereby there are these "missons" that occur in the dark at night. I've been trying to capture what goes on there:
...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Why are those green spots on my photo?
Took a pic with my 35mm Nikon lens last night, and got this light artifact. Is this something normal? Reflection? Is it dirt on my lens? How do I prevent this from happening? I think it only happened ...
8
votes
1answer
405 views
How do I compare these two lighting systems?
I'm looking into getting a light system.
I have been reviewing the light packages on the Elinchrom website, and mostly looking at the D-Lite 4 vs the Quadra Ranger. Besides the price, I would like
...
7
votes
10answers
4k views
How do you avoid a dim portrait with a bright background and no external flash?
I took a picture once in a beautiful location with an awesome background, and a cool location to get the shot. The problem is, the location of the subject had substantially less light then the ...
7
votes
1answer
386 views
How can I light someone to make him look evil or Machiavellian?
What would be the best way to use light to make someone's face look evil, creepy or Machiavellian?
7
votes
2answers
568 views
Why are sensors less sensitive to blue light?
This is a followup question to Why is the blue channel the noisiest?. The simple answer to that question is that sensors are less sensitive to blue, and therefore require more amplification, which ...
7
votes
3answers
204 views
How do I adjust colour casts between photos taken at different times?
I have several photos of similar subjects on the same background.
As they were taken outside at different times, the lighting conditions are different, and so the colours in the photos aren't ...
6
votes
2answers
851 views
What are some typical angles to place the sun at in outdoor portraiture photography?
I know there are few common light positions for studio photography. For example, a key light positioned 45 degrees horizontal and slightly above the subject. I was wondering if there were any common ...
6
votes
1answer
243 views
What should I consider when designing my physical environment for photo editing?
I am in the process of building a controlled environment in which to edit photos. Other questions have addressed the gamut, the monitor and color calibration, but for the most accurate display of ...
6
votes
1answer
162 views
What is Colour Rendering Index (CRI)?
From this answer on white balancing a LED light I understood there's a thing called Colour Rendering Index (CRI). I understand it has something to do with how well lights reproduce the sun's colour ...
5
votes
5answers
620 views
Does Earth's latitude affect the color of light?
I was talking with a friend about what conditions can affect color, gamma and white balance, and how to get in order these variables into the configuration to set up and get a good shot.
Beside the ...
5
votes
4answers
559 views
Does adding additional strobes cumulatively add to the flash power?
I've been reading articles that talk about using multiple strobes next to each other, all pointing in the same direction: as a means to add more light over what one flash can do.
Does the addition of ...
5
votes
2answers
299 views
Ways in order to achieve warm lighting style?
The photo will be taken from the ceiling above the bed and catch the entire bed in the frame.
I am trying to simulate a feeling of warmth, safety, and comfort in his bed using the light. I have red ...
4
votes
4answers
4k views
What non-studio lights are best for photography?
I don't have a studio, nor I want studio lights.
I am interested in knowing which "kinds" of light "bulbs" should I purchase for my "table lamp" for indoor photography?
Are there some particular ...
4
votes
4answers
338 views
How do I take a photo of people before a bright window?
How would you take a photo of people who are posing in front of a window? Ideally both the people and the background should be visible.
I usually get either the background being overlighted or the ...
4
votes
2answers
942 views
What is a light meter, how do I use one, and for what sort of digital photography do I need one?
What is a light meter?
How do I use one?
What sort of photography will fool a digital camera's meter? Hence for those you do need to meter.
4
votes
4answers
409 views
Lights for a Light Tent
I am looking to purchase a light tent and lights to do some product photography. I need to purchase lights but I am not sure what to look for in lights. A few requirements:
Must be easily ...
4
votes
4answers
491 views
How does one deal with too much light when taking a photo?
How does one cancel out extra light while clicking a photo? Is decreasing the aperture a better option, or using a faster shutter speed? What are other options we could try?
4
votes
5answers
281 views
How to get nice light streaks, or optical flares, in a photo
I've attached a picture I saw on England's Telegraph newspaper website.
In the photo, nice linear streaks protrude from the streetlights.
How is this effect achieved? I'd prefer a technique that ...
4
votes
3answers
187 views
Why does harsh light give darker shadows?
Why does harsh light give darker shadows? I thought a shadow area is where the light is unable to reach, so shouldn't the shadow areas have the same darkness regardless of the strength of the light?
4
votes
2answers
253 views
How does light pollution affect astrophotography?
Light pollution by definition, adds more artificial light to the atmosphere. But how does this affect astrophotography?
Do lights from the ground affect photographs of the sky (At the longer ...
4
votes
4answers
410 views
Is there a fundamental difference between emitted light and reflected light?
In the context of practical implications for photography, is there a general difference in the qualities of emitted vs. reflected light (other than emitted light being brighter in many situations)?
I ...
4
votes
2answers
92 views
Does the diameter of openings on photographic lighting grids affect brightness?
I was kind of thinking about different grid options considering the depth vs diameter of individual openings and get to a interesting point (at least for me :-) ). Let's consider a very simple home ...
4
votes
2answers
155 views
Lights for Illuminating Large areas?
I'm frequently underground in caves and recently while going on a trip to Thailand I experienced some of the most massive caverns I've ever had the opportunity to photograph. Unfortunately, I was ill ...
4
votes
1answer
813 views
How do I compare the output of an LED panel with that of a flash?
How do I compare the output of an LED panel with that of a conventional hotshoe flash?
I haven't been paying attention to the LED panels, but they've been on the market long enough so that I'm ...
4
votes
2answers
489 views
How do I create this soft bright look?
This is probably my favorite look in child portraits. I want to achieve this bright, yet color popping look in my photos. Is there specific lighting, like overexposing? Or is it post processing? Here ...
3
votes
4answers
441 views
Why are these light trails large blobs of light instead of nice thin lines?
I'm trying to shoot a traffic light trails with my point & shoot camera (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8). But the oncoming vehicle headlights are appearing as large blobs of light and not exactly thin ...
3
votes
3answers
506 views
Do full frame sensors gather more light than crop sensors?
Lots of people say that full frame sensors receive more light than cropped sensors. I have never found a proof of this claim so I tried to do the computation by myself, and proved the contrary! Could ...
3
votes
2answers
206 views
Using an umbrella type softbox and light quality
When using an umbrella type softbox (a softbox that opens like an umbrella like this one) used with a cobra flash or a light bulb that is INSIDE the softbox :
does the tripod tube and the light ...
3
votes
1answer
280 views
When is it really necessary to use AF assist light?
I find the AF assist light to be distracting at times when I'm trying to take a candid shot without disturbing the human subjects or taking pictures of pets (they hate getting the AF light in their ...
3
votes
1answer
597 views
Ways in order to achieve dramatic lighting styles?
My question is more specific to the situation I am going to be shooting [with the subject being a person laying down in a hospital bed]
The photo will be taken from the ceiling above the bed and ...
2
votes
4answers
255 views
How to best view test shots on camera LCD in bright, outdoor photo shoot
A couple weeks ago I did a basic outdoor photo shoot for a family. It was mid day, and the sun was out. I took test shots initially and when viewing the shots on my DSLR's LCD screen they appeared to ...
2
votes
3answers
131 views
Is an artificial external source of light required even with a low-noise high ISO range?
Is an artificial external source of light required even if you have a camera with a high range of effectively noiseless ISO?
Are there some special cases which "need" external lights, at all costs?
2
votes
2answers
177 views
How to retouch to correct lights from an amateur photo shoot?
We did an amateur photo shooting for a new clothing brand but had some lack of good lighting.
Some pics can be seen at www.tahara.es
What kind of retouching could be recommended on Lightroom or PS?
...
2
votes
2answers
201 views
For what type of shots are illumination fall-off effects more of problem?
Illumination fall-off effect tends to be most a problem for what type of shots? Indoor where shots involve lots of objects close together, or objects at a distance, or outdoor shots on a sunny or ...
2
votes
4answers
208 views
Does quality of light vary in different studio strobes and speedlites?
I wonder what you think about the quality of light in studio flashes or portable speedlites?
The first time I used speedlites, the light was very good. Then I purchased an Elinchrom D-Lite kit. My ...
2
votes
0answers
41 views
How to photograph sun bursts through tree canopy? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I get photos showing the “shaft of light” effect?
I really like Lars van de Goor photography, especially his shots of sun bursts through trees. I ...
