Take a look at the picture that I posted yesterday. What can you tell about the light?
Can you tell if the light is direct or indirect? Do you notice how yellow the light is?
One reason the photographer must be aware of light being direct or indirect, natural or artificial, is that the source and direction of the light determines the color of the light. The color of the light is very important for the photographer, especially for the color photographer. Look again at the picture of the old bridge. As I asked in the last blog, hw does it make you feel when you look at the picture? Does it appear depressing, bleak, mysterious, cold?
For myself, when I look at this picture, I think more of old castles and the possibility of adventure than of coldness and bleakness. However, the scene is of a crumbling bridge and gaunt, bare trees. Yet the picture does not make me feel depressed or cold because of the color of the light...how about you?
Many studies have been done on how color affects people. In general, the "cooler" colors like green and blue make people feel calmer and more peaceful while "warmer" colors make people feel more excited. Some people find yellow light a bit agitating, while many people find that yellow makes them happy.
Look at this variation of the old bridge picture:
Does the picture make you feel any differently than the previous picture? This version of the old bridge is almost identical to the previous one that I posted, except I used digital manipulation to push the picture into the blue spectrum of light. For me, the picture seems much colder, darker, and far less inviting than before.
We can use filters to control the natural light that we find outdoors. However, we must also be aware of the differences in artificial light that we encounter, especially the artificial light that we find indoors. There the differences in the colors of the light sources that are used can have an incredible affect on our pictures.
When I took my photography course [back in the days of film SLR's], I dutifully learned how the different types of artificial light can affect my pictures and how film developers had manufactured different types of film to deal with the different artificial light sources. However, when I shot a wedding rehearsal for a friend, the lesson on the color of light came home to me in a new way: the church had florescent lights, and my friends all looked green in their pictures! Later, I ran into the same problem when I shot pictures of the small mammal exhibit at the Columbia Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina.
While the back of the exhibit had natural light, the front of the exhibit had florescent lighting. I was using regular Kodak 200 Iso film at the time and ended up with a green monkey.
So when you are shooting, whether an interior or exterior shot, think of the color of the lighting that you are using. An interior picture lit by firelight can be warm and cozy. A night shot lit primarily by the moon can feel mysterious and austere. While a cloudy day is good for avoiding shadows, heavy clouds can give the color a blue tint and can make a scene seemed washed out and a bit depressing.
I personally like bright colors; autumn is one of my favorite times to shoot because of the golds, reds, oranges, and greens. Now that it is winter, I find myself struggling a bit to motivate myself to shoot. Bright days in which the early morning light can pool on the ground or color the washed out leaves of a tree make me smile. What about you?
Till next time, color me...happy!
LL49Wat
]]>