The Lighting Angle

My 'studio' for this exercise consisted of a cardboard box with a sheet of white card on top, with a light coloured wall in the background. I used an adjustable work lamp with the hood removed as my light source, and a homemade diffuser which I held in front of the lamp. My camera was on a tripod in a fixed position in front of my subject, and after I'd autofocused on the subject I switched the camera to manual focus to ensure the camera didn't accidentally alter focus for any reason - I wanted it to be exactly the same in each image. I used the Nikon ML-L3 infrared remote to trigger the camera as I could do this while holding the lamp and diffuser in place. For my subject I chose a maneki-neko, a Japanese 'lucky' figurine due to its rounded shape and elements of relief.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/4s, ISO 200

Front Lit

In the first image the light is situated next to the camera. The soft, diffused light is striking the front of the subject, and there is a barely discernible shadow. The strongest highlights are right in the middle of the subject; you can clearly see the gold colour is brightest here.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/8s, ISO 200

Side Lit

  
The light source is now at a 90 degree angle to the subject. This is a very attractive type of lighting, and with one area brightest and the other side dark, it is great at portraying form; the sense of the subject being a 3D object. A long shadow is cast on the opposite side to the light source, which would be darker and more distinct with an undiffused light source. 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/25s, ISO 200

Back Lit

This is the most dramatic and 'different' of all the images. The camera's light sensor has told the camera of the immense amount of light in the scene, and the camera which always wants to try to expose for 18% grey has dialed down the exposure, rendering the subject a silhouette. This is a desirable type of lighting when you want to concentrate on the shape of a subject, as it removes the colour detail and form. This image is how it came out of the camera (apart from a white balance adjustment), but in Lightroom I could increase the shadows further and completely remove all detail.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 200

Behind and to the Side

 
In this image the light source is still level with the subject, but is now at a north-easterly position. This is clear to see by the long shadow being cast in the opposite direction. This is one of my favourite images from the shoot, as I think edge lighting is a very attractive and dramatic effect.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 200

Front at a 45 degree angle

I now photograph the subject from the same directions again, but this time with the light source at a 45 degree angle above the subject.The shadow is a little more pronounced from this angle, and the whole scene is slightly under exposed compared to the first image where the light was level with the subject. The 'hot spots' on the front of the subject are now mostly eliminated, something desirable especially if we were taking a portrait.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 200

Side at a 45 degree angle

We've again lost the strongest of the highlights, although in this image I am still getting a pleasing combination of light and dark, which shows the form of the subject well. The shadow is very slightly darker here, and certainly more compact.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/8s, ISO 200

Behind at a 45 degree angle

The light source is now behind the subject but out of the frame. The background itself is now not bright, so the subject is not massively underexposed this time. As such, this particular angle is not as effective at showing shape as when the light is directly behind the subject. There is some pleasing highlights on the upper surfaces of the subject and there is a nice compact shadow forming a type of 'base' for the subject to sit on.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 200

Behind and to the Side at a 45 degree angle

This image seems very similar to the previous one (Behind at a 45 degree angle), except the shadow is now pointing southwest, and the highlights are moved more to the upper right of the subject. In comparison to the same angle when the light was level with the subject, there is a much bigger difference. The shadow is much more compact, the attractive edge lighting has gone, and there is altogether less contrast on the subject than there was the first time around.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/8s, ISO 200

Directly Above

Like the image 'Behind at a 45 Degree Angle', the shadow creates a 'base' for the subject to sit on, but from this directly overhead angle it's even more tidy and compact. The highlights are all strongest on the surfaces that are more or less parallel to the light source, as expected. The lighting seems pretty undramatic, but shows the subject simply. This lighting would probably be unsuitable for portraiture, as it would create dark shadows under the eyes and nose. This could probably be alleviated with a reflector positioned below the subject.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 200

Above and Slightly Infront

The adjustment here brings the highlights to the front of the subject, mostly nullifying the 'shadows under eyes' problem talked about in the last image. I'm not sure whether these highlights would be too strong on the forehead and nose of an actual person. All in all, this lighting angle brightens up the subject nicely, but is undramatic.

 

85mm, f/4.5, 1/8s, ISO 200

Above and Slightly Behind

As soon as I saw this image I envisioned this lighting being utilised (via the sun) in an image of a large looming building, where the top edge would be lit, and a dark shadow is cast in front of it. Out of all the images, the shadow here is giving the strongest 3D effect to my eyes. I like the highlights on the top edge, but most of the subject is underexposed. I think this lighting setup would suit some subjects better than others.

Conclusion

The length and angle of the shadow instantly tells you the positioning of the light, and how sharp and dark it is tells you whether the light source is diffused or not. All of these images were taken without moving the subject or the camera, and the great variety in them suggests that lighting is extremely important in getting the particular result you want.

This exercise also shows that lighting for the most part is predictable and results are repeatable. By becoming familiar with the results above, a lot of information can be gleamed which can be used for more consistent images.

The lighting angle can be chosen depending on which aspect of the subject you most want to bring out. I've already found for example that light directly behind the subject causes a silhouette, which makes for a very strong representation of shape. In terms of the form of the subject, as far as I can see in this exercise a sense of 3D can be shown in two ways; firstly, the shadow being in front of the subject, as in the last image. This doesn't make the subject appear 3D per se, but it does give depth to the scene. Side lighting is the best at portraying the form of the subject itself. The play between light and shadow gives the impression of a solid 3D object. The colour of the subject was best shown in the first image, with front lighting. The gold is at its most vivid, in the other images it is much more dull by comparison.

My favourite image overall is 'Behind and to the Side'. I really enjoy the edge lighting effect, and the angle of the shadow. I would prefer to lighten up the front of the subject a little more though, while still retaining the edge lighting effect.