Photographic Lighting Quiz

Photographic Lighting: How It Works

• Photographic lighting manipulates the quality and positioning of a light source to create visual effects, changing aspects of a photograph such as clarity, tone and saturation.
• Lighting determines exposure and can be used to create effects such as low-key and high-key in a scene.
• Lighting creates the pattern of contrast that the brain interprets to recognize 3D objects in photographs.
• A skilled photographer can manipulate how a viewer is likely to react to the content of a photo by manipulating the lighting.
• The sun hitting the front of objects facing the camera acts as "key" light creating highlights and casting shadows.
• Artificial lighting strategies that seem most "natural" duplicate the same contrast pattern clues seen on 3D objects in various lighting conditions.
• There are two significant differences between natural lighting and artificial sources: the character of the fill and a more rapid fall-off in intensity.
• The Inverse-Square Law describes the predictable way a point light source radiates and changes in intensity with distance.
• The three light setup is a common method used in photography, which uses three separate positions that help the photographer illuminate the subject.
• Reflected light is when a flash is directed upwards or sidewards, and the light is reflected from the wall or the ceiling to give more nuances to the subject.
• In practical terms, understanding what makes lighting seem natural makes it easier to create other desired reactions.
• Lighting a scene with a tonal range or color cast that is out of context with what would typically be expected will cause the viewer to notice the environment and make other than normal assumptions about it.