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Lighting Your Shots to Improve Photograph Composition-Add Mood and Impact to your Photographic Images-SLR Camera Filters and other Camera Accessories

There are a number of hints, tips, techniques and tricks that you can master to enhance photograph composition, to add mood or impact to your pictures and with some easily understood camera skills turn the mundane into the spectacular.

Timing is a critical element of lighting and can work to your advantage. The best time of the day for shooting landscapes for example is either approaching dusk or just before and after dawn.

At these times the sun can be your friend times and you can use shadow and light to assist with contrast.  You can use the sun to light areas with low angled light that would lose light as the sun rises towards its zenith. This is also the time for interesting changes in colour and spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

When the sun is high, shadows are shorter and clearly defined. Shooting from shadow to light will over-expose naturally lit objects.  There are different ways to handle this problem. Can the object being photographed be moved into shade and dappled light, say through a tree be used to light the object?

Sometimes we have to choose between which elements we want to include in the photograph and compose our photo around those shot elements that work best.Can the camera settings be adjusted to compensate?

Stopping down the exposure settings may produce the desired effect to optimize the image but remember that shaded areas within the photo composition will also appear darkened so it is a matter of striking the right balance.

Adding light to your composition can be achieved in many interesting ways. Look for natural light filtering through trees to light your object. Light reflecting from a shiny surface such as a puddle, pond, stream  or still body of water not only introduces more light but adds a new dimension. Street lamps or other novel light sources reflected off a shop window or car bonnet are similarly effective.

Architectural features can often be enhanced when lit by the sun. If shooting pictures of buildings, select the aspects of the building that are highlighted by the contrasting effect of sunlight (and shade) falling on the building façade.

Another tool that can be used to remove shadows and still use natural light to light your objects is a white umbrella. The umbrella is angled in such a way as to bounce light onto the object dispelling the shadow.

If the light produced is still insufficient, forced fire-flash light might be required to augment the photo. Optional flash settings are available for digital camera users.

The key here is to not use too much light so check that your object is not washed out (over exposed). If you can’t reduce the amount of light then step back from your object and frame your shot with zoom. The flash impact is reduced accordingly.

Bracket the shot with other images that offer greater or lesser exposure and choose your preference later. With modern digital cameras, memory need not be an issue.

Storage is cheap and lots of differently composed image options giving a range of settings will enable choice of the most interesting pictures.    

Clouds lit from below can often appear more dramatic and threatening. You might also consider shooting into the sun to create silhouettes and add drama to your images.

Areas where you want to shoot may be crowded with people or activity during the middle of the day and shot making during the early mornings or evenings may give you interesting photo opportunities that didn’t exist during the middle of the day. 

Conversely, depending on the elements being captured, the opposite may be true so it is important to introduce planning into photograph shoots to optimize potential effects.

Another aspect of timing that is often overlooked is the influence that weather might have on a potential image. Bad weather produces grey and dull conditions.

The light may be softer and colours will be muted, creating different moods. Angry seas and stormy skies, wind-blown birds, bunting, flags, full sails, open umbrellas all add drama and serve to build atmosphere in a composition. 

Polarizing filters are another useful tool for boosting contrast and reducing reflections and have the effect of enriching colours of compositions for sometimes spectacular effect.

These filters also increase detail that might otherwise be washed out and can make for sensationally different photographs. A polarizing filter would be a great asset if you are using an SLR (single lens reflex camera). Learn how to use polarizing filters for great impact.

If you enjoy working with SLRs then it can be very useful to employ UV filters. Not only do they help to protect your lenses but they have the ability to remove some ultra violet light, reducing the appearance of atmospheric haze that is sometimes seen as a bluish tinting.  

Additional Resources:

Some sources that you might like to check out for techniques, tips, tricks,  and more can be found in photography books and magazines at my website portal www.photographyglobal.com where you can follow links to the best deals and discounts that that the web has to offer.  

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About the Author

I've walked this earth for the last 56 years and started taking pics as a kid on a "Box Brownie" before migrating to a Kodak Instamatic 110. I moved up to 35mm with a Minolta 7 Series II in 1976 and eventually made it to SLR via the Canon T70 and some decent Tamron Telephoto and wide angle lenses in 1983. I recently moved into digital photography and just love the instant immediacy and myriad options that the new technology brings.

I specialize in landscape photography. Living in New Zealand (Godzone), I am blessed with many spectacular photo opportunities. These days my camera is almost always close at hand and I have been rewarded with some awesome results.

I have twice been the recipient of the Editor's Choice Bronze Award from the International Library of Photography and have been involved for the last 10 years in my church video team where my responsibilities include cameraman, director, team manager.

A foray onto the Internet a couple of years ago led to the establishment of my first photography website (since sold) and I have a string of similar projects in train including a photography store-front,

www.photographyglobal.com

1973 Wood Memorial - Angle Light