EXERCISES
BLACK AND WHITE | TIME OF DAY | ALTERNATE LIGHT | MOVING LIGHT | LARGE LIGHT | MAIN SUBJECT | ADJUSTMENTS
The Camera records light, but of course the Camera operator must meter the given light conditions well, or create the light and know how to expose for it.
Keep notes about your exposure readings in any case where you are experimenting, uncertain, or have the opportunity to work with similar subjects or lighting conditions again. Keep in mind that the Photographic Printing Process alters, or tries to correct, your Negatives. Positives, or Slides, are unaltered and you can determine the accuracy of your metering and see the exact results of your adjustments.
The best way to make progress while learning or experimenting with new concepts is to concentrate on one subject so you will have a base of knowledge and expectations about the subject.
PHOTOGRAPH BLACK AND WHITE
Photographing Black and White is a very basic exercise. All tones or values should fall between Black and White, whether in Color or Black and White Photography. See a value representation of Black and White Zones.
Exercise: Place a White surface and a Black surface under the same light source. Use your Camera Light Meter to measure the light on both surfaces, being careful to meter only the White or Black. Other values will alter the results. Use either the Manual Mode or Shutter Priority Mode so that the Shutter can remain set at a constant and only the Aperture reading will change.
My Aperture readings were 32 on White and 5.6 on Black, a difference of five Stops. Take a Photograph of each surface and make a note with the frame number and the reading.
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f32 |
f5.6 |
Should the exposure be different? Place your Gray Card in the scene and take a reading with your Camera Light Meter on the surface of the Gray Card.
The White, Gray and Black are in the same light, so the exposure should not differ unless you have made a conscious decision to alter it.
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Nearly 100% |
Reflects 18% |
Nearly 0% |
Use the accurate meter reading from the Gray Card to take a photo of both rectangles and make a note with the frame number and the reading.
My reading on the Gray Card is 11.5, half way in between f32 and f5.6.
Can the exposure be different? If you know what you are doing it can. When you see the results of your first two exposures, the White and Black surfaces should appear near Middle Gray. From this, you know that is possible to Underexpose White, making in Middle Gray and Overexpose Black, making it Middle Gray. This is the tendency of the Camera Light Meter, because it expects that you are measuring Middle Gray, or middle values.
Try making a third set of photographs of the White and Black surfaces. This time use the reading you made from the Gray Card and Overexpose the White Surface by about Two Stops (by opening the Aperture more than the Gray card reading) and Underexpose the Black Surface by about Two Stops (by closing the Aperture more than the Gray card reading).
TIME OF DAY
An exercise you might want to try is to photograph in direct sunlight without using your camera meter. If using 100 Speed Film and working with the unobstructed sun, the Basic Daylight Exposure should be 1/125th of a second Shutter Speed with and Aperture Setting of f16, or any equivalent combination. See Exposure, Light Sources.
The angle of the sun is an important consideration when photographing outdoors. Having light and dark areas or surfaces give the photograph depth, shape and definition. Look for a convenient subject, such as a structure or sculpture, and observe it a many different times of the day. Determine the best time of day based of what you see and take photographs. Consider the light and dark surfaces and attempt to make accurate exposures for them, increasing exposure for the highlights to render them as stronger light sources and decreasing exposure for the shadows to render them darker or more dramatic.
The sun will expose as warmer light in the early morning, before and just after sunrise, and in the late afternoon, near sunset. For many subjects, colors will saturate better and render more vividly at these times of day.
ALTERNATE LIGHT SOURCE
There are many other Light Sources beyond Daylight and daylight-balanced Strobes. The effects of different lights are interesting and can be combined with Daylight or combined with other interesting Light Sources. See Combining Light Sources.
Make a series of photographs using different Light Sources and combine them in as many ways as you can imagine. You may light an object from one side with candles and from the other with a television or computer monitor. You may chose to include the light sources in the photograph. Consider the following exercises as you do this.
MOVING LIGHT SOURCE
A Light Source that is moving, such as a Continuous Light like a household lamp, will not produce sharp transition from highlight to shadow. With the Camera mounted on a Tripod and the Shutter Speed set for a long exposure, you will have time to move light over or around the scene. You will want to Bracket, increasing the Exposure by one, two or three Stops, because less light will reflect back at the camera as it moves than when the source is measured as a stationary light. Try this to see if the effect of a Moving Light Source is soft light or blurred shadows, or both.
You can use a flashlight, or other tightly focused light, to "paint" in a dark scene. You may also take a small light source into a dark scene and "write" as long as the Camera Shutter is open.
LARGE LIGHT SOURCE
Take photos using some form of Light Control (Reflector or Umbrella) to see the effect of Large Light Sources. The transition from Highlight to Shadow becomes longer. This produces softer light and reduces noticeable harsh shadows and excessive highlight. It may also reduce definition and shape in the photograph.
Candles are a Moving Light Source, though the movement is subtle. They can produce strong highlights with unclear transitions. Using a Reflector, such as silver foil, can reduce the strong highlights and lessen the effects of the movement, while producing soft warm light.
As you experiment with Light Control Devices and Large Light Sources, take the same photos without the devices and keep notes so you can compare the effects. An overcast sky is ultimately a Large Light Source. Try photographing someone under overcast conditions and then on a sunny day in direct sunlight.
MAIN SUBJECT
Look at photographs in print and on television, and consider the use of light. In many cases you can determine the sources of the light just by looking at the highlights, where the reflection of the light sources is strongest. You can also consider contrast based on the transition from Highlight to Shadow. If edges of Shadows are sharp, the Light Source is relatively small. If the Shadow is wide, the source is away from the Camera. Once you learn the characteristics of various Light Sources, you can identify them in photographs.
You should concentrate on one or two main subjects and try to work with the lighting qualities that interest you or suit the intended connotation of your photographs.
ADJUSTMENTS
Use the following exercise to make conscious decisions about the combination of Aperture and Shutter Speed, as well as Film Speed, that will work best in different situations.
Aperture and Shutter Adjustment Exercises
Use the following link for a printer-friendly page:
Aperture and Shutter Adjustment Practice
HIFC FIELD GUIDE | PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSES | info@houstonculture.org
Updated Oct. 2001