Learning to See Creatively - Light Chapter

Another Bryan Peterson book I have access to is called 'Learning to See Creatively'. There's several pages on the subject of light, which I've made brief notes on for my research for this part of the course.

Available Light

The time of day and your own position relative to the sun affect how the subject appears in the image; hard or soft-edged, in warm or cool tones, and displaying vivid details or glaring contrasts.

Light has three important characteristics: brightness, colour, and direction. All three undergo varying degrees of intensity depending on the time of day and each affects the mood created by the available light in any given scene.

It's useful to get your bearings at a location, N E S W, in order to best utilise the direction of the available light.

Midday hours with bright, overhead sun can be used for planning and scouting locations to be used later in better light.

Use postcards and souvenir picture books for location ideas, then explore fresh viewpoints of those subjects.

The Colour of Light

The midday sun is often a harsh, white light. Due to its colourless quality and overhead position, you are unlikely to get emotion-filled and dramatic lighting.

Just before dawn and just after sunset, in good weather and with a clear sky, the light produces cool blue and magenta hues or rosy pinks and vivid reds.

At sunrise this is replaced by warm, orange light that bathes front and sidelit subjects in orange and gold. Beginning about one hour before sunset, this colour change happens in reverse. This time is referred to as the 'golden hour'.

Overcast and Rainy Days

Overcast clouds diffuse the sunlight, making it very soft and even. This makes colours 'pop' and is excellent for portraits.