In part 1 of this blog we talked about why the quality of the light is more important than the amount of light. In todays post the topic is the color of light and the contrast.
The color of the light
Daylight is not just white. The color of the light can vary over the day from yellowish to bluish. As with the other properties of light, the same applies to the color of light: there is no such thing as the right or wrong color. It always depends on what you want to emphasize. While the classical architecture of Chambord Castle on the Loire is advantageously illuminated by the warm evening light, the colorless midday light suits the metal facade of the European Court of Human Rights very well. The bluish reflections of the sky on the side facing away from the sun support the effect.
When taking photos indoors with windows, you often have to deal with a mixture of warm incandescent light and daylight. This then leads to a color tilt from yellowish to bluish. Depending on the subject, this can be interesting or very disturbing.
Contrast
Contrast is defined as the difference in brightness between the darkest and brightest areas in a scene. Most people like high contrast scenes. However, photographs of high contrast scenes are often disappointing. A digital camera perceives the light differently from our eye/brain. The following picture is a typical example:
The bright sunshine resulted in patchy light with blown-out highlights and very dark shadows. The fact that the scene has lots of small details doesn’t help either. An overcast day would have provided much better lighting conditions for this motif.
On the other hand a simple, rather graphic motif, like the lantern below, can benefit from high contrasts:
Conclusion
There is neither good nor bad light. There is only suitable or unsuitable light.
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