Part 4 - Exercise 6

Variety with a low sun

In this exercise 4 shots were taken at low light (evening). One with frontal lighting, one with sidelighting, one (well actually 3), with back lighting and one with edge lighting

The first 3 shots are backlit. In the first it is the background (which is very bright), which is exposed for. So the subject is very dark - silhouetted. This emphasises the shape of the subject. What is also interesting is the halo effect around the edge of the subject.

The second shot is exposed for midway between the background and subject.

And finally I exposed for the subject. So the background is completely burnt out.

Next is frontal lighting where the subject faces the light head on. It was very difficult to keep the shadow of the camera out of the shot. There are limited shadows here, though there is shading - which is actually more flattering than I thought it would be. Unsurprisingly there is no real shadow or variation in tone in the subject because the whole thing is actually in shadow.

In Side Lighting the lightsource is at 90 degrees to the subject, so the face is cut vertically between light and shadow. This creates a dramatic, but somewhat unflattering effect. Clearly form is emphasised here.

In edge lighting, the light is at an acute angle so just the edge of the subject is lit - very starkly. This emphasises the form of the subject in a way which is potentially more interesting than straight forward sidelighting.