Lighting and Color
Photography Lighting
Photography is all about light. Our photographs are recorded light. How we control the available light and add additional light when needed is basis for all photography. There are numerous controls and methods for controlling light available to today’s photographer.
Understanding Your Camera’s Light Meter
Your camera’s light meter is your link to understanding how your camera sees light. This device takes into account all of the settings on your camera (aperture, shutter speed, film speed, etc) and tells you what type of exposure that combination plus the available light will create on film/sensor. The first step to understanding photography lighting is to understand this tool for measuring light.
What is a Light Meter?
light meter is an instrument inside your camera that tells you if the amount of light reaching the film will be enough or too much to properly expose your image. The light meter takes into account your shutter speed, film speed, and aperture settings.
How To Read the Meter
Your camera’s light meter shows you the amount of light in aperture settings. Each dot on the meter represents a partial “stop”, or aperture increment. The numbers represent whole stops. Even though your F-Stop setting controls the aperture itself, the meter readings will also change if you change your film speed or shutter speed.
When to Overexpose and Underexpose Your Images
Even though most of the time you will want to keep your meter reading in the center, there are times you will need to deliberately overexpose or underexpose your images slightly. Sometimes this is for artistic effect but usually it is because you are shooting in conditions that can confused the meter.
Examples of times to overexpose
Subject is very dark in comparison to background
Snow
On a bright day if your subject is in shadow
Examples of times to underexpose
Subject is very light in comparison to background
To achieve a silhouette effect
On a overcast day to increase color saturation
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