Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

One of a photographer′s most essential skills is the ability to accurately and creatively observe light. Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques explains the impact of light whether you are using natural light when photographing landscapes, or using strobes and soft boxes in the studio.

From observation comes the ability to manipulate. You′ll learn how to use exposure settings that have the most impact on lighting, and the best ways to take advantage of and enhance existing light in the field. You′ll also find out how to plan photography around natural lighting from the cycle of days and seasons, and discover the best techniques for rendering light in motion from car headlights and other moving objects.

Moving indoors, Creative Lighting shows you how to take advantage of ambient light, and use continuous lighting and strobes to make the most powerful images possible.

Richly illustrated with Harold Davis′s beautiful images, Creative Lighting explores exposure and how to effectively use many kinds of lighting, as well as creating and using shadows and reflectivity. Then it takes you into the digital darkroom where you′ll find out how to enhance lighting effects with Adobe Photoshop.

The technical details are here, too: for each photo in this book you′ll find the focal length of the lens used, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and the back story behind the image.

Learn to "see" light and its impact on photos

Use natural light to make spectacular images

Plan your photos around light and lighting

Use exposure controls to enhance lighting

Explore chiaroscuro, shadow, high–key and low–key lighting

Enhance lighting with multi–RAW and HDR processing

8 Introduction

10 Seeing the Light

12 Quality of Light

12 Understanding Light

16 Characteristics of Light

18 The Golden Hour

22 Intensity of Light

28 Direction of Light

34 Color of Light

40 Diffusion

44 Backlighting

46 High–Key and Low–Key Lighting

50 Chiaroscuro

52 Understanding Reflectivity

56 Transparency versus Opacity

60 Lure of Shadows

64 Light and the Monochromatic Vision

68 Exposure and Lighting

70 Understanding Exposure

74 Overexposure and Underexposure

78 Using a Histogram 82 Aperture

84 Aperture, Depth–of–Field, and Focus

86 Working with Shutter Speed

92 ISO

94 Causes of Noise

98 Using Exposure Controls with Lighting

102 White Balance and Color

108 Pre–Visualizing the Impact of Lighting

112 Working with Ambient Light

114 Understanding Ambient Light

120 Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

122 Landscapes

126 City Light

132 Close–Ups and Macros

136 Using a Fill Lighting

142 Using Flash as Supplemental Lighting

146 Using Window Light

150 Night Photography

158 Light Painting

162 Lighting in the Studio

164 Continuous Lighting

170 Setting the Stage

174 Using Natural Light

176 Integrating Natural Light with your Still Life

178 Creating Transparent Effects

182 Working with Shadows

186 Reflections

190 Refractions

192 Metal

196 Strobe Lighting Equipment

200 Lighting People in the Studio

206 Studio High–Key and Low–Key Lighting

210 Lighting in the Digital Darkroom

212 Multi–RAW Processing

215 Controlling Exposure with Multi–RAW

220 Creative Effects using Multi–RAW

224 HDR and Lighting

234 Enhancing Lighting with Adjustment Layers

238 Light Quality and Blending Modes

242 Using the Lighting Effects Filter

246 Third–Party Plugins that Enhance Lighting

250 Notes and Resources

252 Glossary

254 Index

Harold Davis is an award–winning professional photographer. He is the author of more than 30 books, including Creative Portraits: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques, Creative Black & White: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques, and Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques. Harold writes the popular Photoblog 2.0, www.photoblog2.com.