Without light, there is no photography — perhaps not much else as well, but that is not the subject at hand. The subject at hand is light, and how light affects what we see, and what the camera sees. It is also the subject of the Photo Workshop release Photo Workshop: Lighting by Chris Bucher.
The goal of Lighting is to show how it is possible to create better photographs by using the available light no matter if it is great light, or not. This takes time, and testing, and practice, but the effort is worth the rewards. Once you are able to "see" better, you will better be able to work with light, and your photography will become second nature.
Lighting is 285 pages divided into 10 chapters.
Chapter 1, "Elements of Light," begins with just that, the elements of light, and how they are captured by the camera. This includes the elements of exposure, color temperature, white balance, contrast, and quality of light.
Chapter 2, "Understanding your Equipment's Role in Lighting," explores your camera, the metering system, the flash attachment, studio lighting, as well as other equipment such as tripods, cable releases, and lens hoods.
Chapter 3, "Working with Outdoor Natural Light," explains how to use a light meter to measure the different types of light — front, side, backlight. It talks about sunrise, and sunset light, and what the golden hour is. It even discusses how to use overcast light to get great images.
Chapter 4, "Working with Interior Light," now takes you indoors, and shows you how to set your exposures inside, and how to work with interior contrasts. You will learn how to work with the varieties of window light; direct and diffuse. You will see how to mix daylight with both strobes and interior lights; incandescent and florescent.
Chapter 5, "Lighting for Portraits and People," shows you how to work both outdoors and indoors by finding the best light, as well as taking the best light, and making it better. It also explains how to shoot candid shots, kids shots, environmental shots, and how to work with groups.
Chapter 6, "Action, Sports, Motion, Blur," brings out the speed. When shooting action, it is all about the shutter. Here you will learn how to stop motion, as well as how to slow down to show motion. You will also learn how to bring out the best in nature.
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