Light plays a fundamental role across career professions, extending beyond levels of Photography. In architecture and interior design fields, light denotes ambiance, partial perception, and functionality in medical imaging and treatment planning. Light accentuates architectural characteristics, guides practices, and enhances visual appeals in interior space. Medical imaging technologies like X-rays, MRI, and ultrasound rely on light or waves to capture substantial amounts of anatomical and functional information vital in healthcare. Hence, light acts as a pillar because it plays a role that extends beyond Photography, impacting aesthetics, functionality, and critical processes in various fields. According to (Wood et al., 2023), a surface light platform is so crucial that it assigns features like color to each ray reflecting from the surface. Thus, there are platforms to ensure the development of virtual images of shiny objects with detailed lighting options.
Light denotes very crucial functions in many professions beyond Photography; the two most highlighted professions are as follows below: In interior design and architecture, light is essential for making ambiance, defying partial perceptions, denoting characteristics, and ensuring proper work is done and enough room and space within for working. In medicine, imaging technologies like X-rays, MRI, and ultrasound rely on the interaction of light or waves with biological tissues to produce the best anatomical and crucial information used in diagnosis, treatment, research, and planning.
Natural Lighting Setup
According to (Kelby, 2020), taking sharp photos is very important to photographers, and the only way to achieve this is by controlling the amount of light and making good lighting. Below are the procedures for setting up a natural lighting studio.
Location selection
Choose an area with natural light illuminating through huge windows or skylights. Ensure the direction of the sunlight and the time of the day are at high levels.
Time of the day
Ensure the photo shoot is done in the best moments, either in the morning, mid-morning, or afternoon hours when the sunlight is excellent and reflecting, thus capturing shadows in warning tones. Reflectors or bounce cards are applied to fill in shadows and enhance the natural light effect on the objects.
Studio lighting setup
Lighting equipment: set up studio lights, such as softboxes or continuous lighting, depending on the desired effect and control over the intensity and direction of light. Light modifiers include using umbrellas and diffusers to control the light’s softness, ensuring flattering illumination on the subjects’ faces. According to (Adnan et al., 2021), a well-lit room is crucial for the comfort of the clients visiting the studio and provides an illuminated level of studios.
Studio setup
If the light source is in front of you or an object, it will illuminate your face without casting strong shadows. This type of lighting is often flattering and helps to highlight facial features without harsh contrasts. In a backlight image, the primary light source is positioned behind the subject, creating the effect of a glowing outline around the subject’s edges. The subject appears darker when compared to the brighter background. For example, you might find an image of a person standing against a sunset, with the sunlight illuminating the edges of their figure while obscuring facial features.
Natural lighting refers to illumination provided by sunlight or ambient light sources present in the environment. Images showcasing natural lighting often capture soft, diffused light, particularly during daytime. For example, a photograph taken outdoors on a sunny day might feature even illumination across the scene, with gentle shadows and highlights created by the sunlight. One example of a movie that showcases exceptional Use of lighting to enhance its scenes is “Blade Runner 2049,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, and cinematography by Roger Deakins. This science fiction film, serving as a sequel to the iconic “Blade Runner,” utilizes lighting in various forms to set the tone, evoke mood, and create visually stunning cinematography.
In nut-shell, lighting plays a vital role in Photography, influencing an image’s mood and overall quality. It should be considered how to use natural, artificial, and studio lighting to ensure the photographs are good quality and sharp.
References
Adnan, N. A., Sujali, N. S., & Amin, N. D. M. (2021). Case Study on the Impact of Artificial Light on Lighting Performance Quality for Architecture Studios. International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 13(3), 184–191. https://penerbit.uthm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/ijie/article/view/8922
Kelby, S. (2020). The Digital Photography Book. In Google Books. Rocky Nook, Inc. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=APHqDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT21&dq=Natural+light+set+up+in+photography&ots=BSwTl26rFH&sig=SgnFIGbwT8ERAouhMQxLpwTwJWc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Natural%20light%20set%20up%20in%20photography&f=false
Wood, D. N., Azuma, D. I., Aldinger, K., Curless, B., Duchamp, T., Salesin, D. H., & Stuetzle, W. (2023). Surface Light Fields for 3D Photography. ACM EBooks, 2(4), 487–496. https://doi.org/10.1145/3596711.3596763
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