Lesson 3

The light and the exposure

The light for a Photographer

Source : Type, Position, Color, enumeration

Quality : Soft, Hard, Diffused, dimension

Direction : Direct, Reflected, Main, Key, Background....

Quantity : Measuring and Metering - Light Meters

Capture : Exposure - Lens, Shutter, and Aperture

Rendering : Printing, Illuminant, ColorManagement

Photographer should MASTER the light

- White Balance- Quality of light- Quantity: ISO - Exposure

Lesson 2 The Light

and exercises with the camera in P mode

So let's start with White Balance

ILLUMINANT daylight 5500K

Camera SettingsWhite Balance 5500 K

Camera WB 3000K Camera WB 9000 K

Just to remember what light is...

... for a photographer : electromagnetic waves

700 nm 400 nm

Monochromatic790 Thz430 Thz

555 nm

540 Thz

IR UV

"white"or colour light spectrums

sun

candle

flouresc

%

700 nm 555 nm 400 nm

The Sun Light - Daylight

Position: Infinite distance = parallel rays! Atmosphere change white balance and also diffuse the light

White Balance daylight: ~5500-6500 Kelvin rise/set : ~3000 Kelvin

6000 Kelvinatmosphere filter

3000 K

5500 K

Sunlight in a cloudy day

Cloud filter

sun rays 6000

diffused filtered light 7000K

Color : 7000-9000 Kelvin

Position: Large sky area or full sky Completely Diffuses light

Completely different light conditions!

In the shadow ?

Objects and area in the shadows... are not black, as they get light from secondary source... like the lights reflected from our sky... like during twilight

Color of the sky / shadow? : 10.000 Kelvin

5000 Kelvin

10000 KELVIN

White balance values....

Monocromatic Lights: Lasers, Color Filtered, Sodium lamps...

1000 - 2000 K Candle light, Fire

1500 - 3500 K Tungsten lamps, Sunrise, Sunset

5000 - 6500 K Daylight, Xenon lamps, Flourescence for videoWhite led for video, Flash, Carbon Ark....

6500 - 9000 K Cloudy sky

9000-10000 K Twilight

All Continuos spectrum light sources are good for photography !

Flourescent tubes, and discharge lamps (mercury, highpressure sodium, HID, led..) have not a continuos spectrum,non uniform freq green/magenta, and change in time!

????

very bad for photography, only scientific applications

Digital Camera White Balance

AWB modes, some camera also shows Kelvin values

AUTO White Balance, is really advanced today, (avarage) Perfect when light conditions changes fast

White object

Unknownilluminant

Manualsettingof whitebalance

White objectreflects the illuminant.

Camera balancesthat illuminant asreference white

daylight cloud flash tungsten flours shadow auto set

~5000K ~7000K ~5000K 2500K 6500?? 8000K AUTO custom

PRE

PRESET: YOU SET WB! Exercise!!

I had never set WB in the film era...

Each color film was balanced only for a specific Wpoint few options:Daylight or Tungsten

For 50 years... cloudy day were bluish Sunrise/set and indoor were yellowish...

You can keep your camera to Daylight WB!

WB recalibration was also possibile during printing, it was done automatically for cheap printing...

On my camera

Change the white balance in 5 seconds...

Set a specific white point in 15 seconds...

Think!

- White Balance- Quality of light- Quantity: ISO and Metering- Exposure Compensation

Lesson 2 The Light

and exercises with the camera in P mode

Visual perception of light

Sunset / Sunrise Sun at Zenith balanced, warm light 3000K short shadow / hard

Relaxing confortable Oppressive and stressful

Light quality and direction on details

Accentuation of fine details Masking of fine defects

hard light soft light

Hard and soft light

Hard

Soft

& shadows

relative small & far source

relative big and close source or multidirectional

Diffused & ambient light are soft

Light comes from all directionsat same intensity

(Cloudy sky on sand)

or so many sourcesthat we can approximate themas completely diffused light

(but shadows...)

Making light softer

Diffuser: the tent Reflect on the wall/cealing

Make it bigger...

Get closer

Making light harder

Making smaller / masking Going far away

Parabola, Ellipse, lenses to concentrate Masking reflections

Simple light setup for portrait (1 light)

softboxmain light

reflector

camera

shadows

model

background

SOFTLIGHT

Simple light setup for still life, objects

black background

bright spot

spotlight hard light focused on background

black masks

1 lighthard lighthigh contrast

Simple light setup for still life, glass

white background bright spot

shadow shadow

spotlight hard light focused on background

camera

glass

black edges comes by light contrast

liquid & glassretro-illuminated

no reflection here... NO LIGHT!

4 lights setup classical portrait (advanced)

softboxkey light

reflector fill

camera

shadows

model

background

SOFTLIGHT

masks for background

Hair Fillspot light

back ground lightsnoot

2:1

1:1omniambience

color gel

Keep it simple!Do not use more 1light until you masterit completely

- White Balance- Quality of light- Quantity: ISO and Metering- Exposure Compensation

Lesson 2 The Light

and exercises with the camera in P mode

Quantity: Under and over exposed

Too dark OK Too brightlost in the shadows details burned outUNDER EXPOSED OVER EXPOSED

GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF LIGHT (EXPOSURE) IN THE PICTURE IS A CRITICAL PROBLEM

(That's why automatic exposure cameras exists)

Exposure water example

Light is like rain

SENSOR or FILM are like water TANKS

Underexposed Not enought water (to float the duck)

Overexposed Too much water, overflow the tank

Good Exposure Level

Good Exposure Level

Good Exposure Level

We can select different tanks (ISO)

Rain

100 400

level good exposure

On sensor and films this value is called ISO settings

100 ISO 400 ISO large tank small tank

need lot of need 4time water less water

ISO Sensitivity and Photography

Lot of light (day) = Lot of rain = low ISO

Few light (night/indoor) = Few drops = High ISO

100 ISO

800 ISO

100

High ISO = Less precision = low quality

LOW / HIGH and "Auto ISO"

LOWHIGH These two errors, indicate

there is not sufficient or too much light to take a picture

LOW = Increase ISOHIGH = Dec

AUTO ISO

Some camera have this functionthey select select ISO automaticallyNew feature, impossible with film. Could be useful, but create confusionto the beginners. So please disable.

Modern FILM had ISO from 50 to 1600

HIGH ISO = larger grain = LOW QUALITY

Modern Digital Sensors goes from 100 ISO 128.000 and more...

High ISO = more electric noiseLOW QUALITY

When possibile, it is better to work at low ISO to get more quality... but it is better a good noisy photo than a completely undersposed and missed picture!

ISO: grain&noise considerations

On my camera

Change the ISO in 10 seconds

Think!

Exposure Histograms and highlights

black dark medium light bright white

quantity

Under Exposed OK Over Expo

DIGITAL:PLAY BUTTON

On my camera

See the hystogram in 10 seconds

Think!

How camera meter the light?Whatever is your subject, your camera will tryalways to expose correctly to the "medium gray" value

original camera picture res hystogram

gray

black

white

Exposure Compensation, to getexactly the exposure we want

LOT of lightReflectedwhite objects

FEW LightReflected by dark object

White subjects (snow, paper...)

Compensate+1 or +2

Compensate-1 or -2

Black subject (house, shadow)

white results(right hysto)

black result(left hysto)

On my camera

Compensate the exposure +1 in 10 seconds

Think!

Reflected light meter in the camera

Reflected Light Meter: Instrument that measure the REFLECTED LIGHT

from objects

it is INSIDE modern CAMERA

Field of view ofreflected light meter

incident light

reflected light

measure the light in the "pink: area

The Reflected Light meter in the cameras

Each camera has different systemsbut all based on reflect light from the scene.

Advanced cameras can have multipleoperating mode of the light meter.

Multizone and Matrix have today 2000 color points, with databse scene comparison to get best EV

Central area Spot 5 Mu

but also: faces, average, and....

LIGHT METERING MEASURING AREAS

Under OK Over Exposed Exposed

READ THE MANUAL

Matrix Mode, or automatic mode... full scene analysis

Under Exposed OK Over Exposed

SPOT mode.... measure only one point of the scene... and...

OK OK OK

Camera Metering systems

i need to compensate+2 i need to compensat

On my camera, in 15 seconds

Change metering area, Matrix, spot central

In spot mode, change the spot point (if possible)

Think!

Critical Situation for metering

Wedding :-)Snow

Light and Shadows Birthday / Candles

Theather

a white/black paper (TRY!)

Critical Situations for reflected meter

FireWorks

Flying birdsStudio lights

backlight portrait

Flashdifferent meteringsomtimes combined

Camera Modes today

LOVES YOU FULLY AUTOCamera sets everything in automatic mode: WB, ISO, Exposure

SceneRecogn

Landscape, Portraits, Sports.....Camera sets everything in automatic mode: WB, ISO, Exposure but can do a little bit better

P PROGRAM MODECamera sets only correct exposure if...

you set : White Balance, ISOMetering Modes, Compensation

Cheap camera & Mobiles phones

- WB White Balance (indoor, outdoor)- ISO (or night mode = high iso)- Exposure compensation (or snow / document = +2 compensation)

Think! if you understand framing, composition light and exposure... you can getgreat picture even with a cheap camera.

Think!

Set my camera in P mode

in 10 seconds

I set my camera in P Mode

- Subject, Framing, composition (1)- I set the White Balance - Light quality, soft, hard, direction...- I set the metering mode- I compensate exposure if needed- I check picture and histogram

I REPEAT until I got the result I want

Thinking as a Photographer after lesson 2

Next Lesson ( 3 )

Shutter and mode S

Diaphraghm and mode A

Focus and Autofocus

and of course exercises

Exercises White Balance

Set the proper WB depending on light source different lampsUse a white paper to store white balanceObtain a bluish or yellowish picture

Light Quality: StudioSame studio project/subject lesson 1 but with lights!Try hard and soft light direction and backgroundImprove composition and do not repeat mistakes!

Metering and ISO and critical situationChange ISO and see difference in picture qualityUse the Spot Metering for dark and white subjects

Compensate exposure for a white sceneTake picture of a white piece of paper and a black oneTake a still life picture of a transparent glass overa white background. You need to compensate exposure