More on light and an excuse to share. dial up warning.

I classify light in two categories: light that fits in two categories and light that doesn’t. ;-) . Okay, now that that’s out of the way let’s try ambient (light that’s in the environment) and available (whatever is handy; flash, windows, floods and whatever else that’s available).

I do a bit of wildlife work and some of it doesn’t lend itself to additional light or reflectors. So, what to do? Know what the light looks like at various time of day and how it relates to the subject. Plan your shooting around the times when light will be flattering.

Deer move early in the morning and sometimes late evening. In both instances the sun is low and a lot of light bounces in off clouds and just the sky. This was shot about 8 AM under partly cloudy sky.

This is a high contrast composition; brilliant white against dark green. Full sun presents a problem, so get up early before the sun clears the treeline.

‘Course sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you have to grab some of that available light in the form of flash fill to get a 3:1 ratio. Use shutter speed to expose for sunlight and flash to fill the shadows. For point & shoot cameras just try turning the flash on, most cameras will try to balance the flash to ambient light.

Having complete control of the light is always to your advantage. This is lighted by off camera electronic flash. I made a lightbox to diffuse the flash so instead of a light source 1x2 inches it’s 18x18 inches and provides the soft wrap-around effect that’s so attractive. Using foam board I made a 4 sided “funnel” that fit the flash on the small end and covered the large end with tracing vellum (translucent pure white).

This is another case of off camera flash. Holding the camera in one hand and the flash in the other (attached with a 3’ coiled cord) I managed to isolate the lotus by overwhelming the ambient light.

Shot in my back yard at night with two flashes, one on camera and one connected by cord. The main light is 45 degrees high and to his left. Rembrandt lighting!

Shot in my house using the light box. Tip for shooting bugs and reptiles; put them in the fridge for 20 minutes to slow them down. Bugs move so slow you can actually pose their legs using a toothpick to place them just where you want.

Shot this at a local pond. When they’re in love they’ll put up with a lot. The built in flash provided fill and an assistant held a flash on a pole triggered by slave to give the main light. Notice the shadow of his nose on his, uh, chin. That’s butterfly lighting! On toad!

This is very informative.......... :)

am stopping short of putting bugs and reptiles in the fridge....... :)

Other than that :thumbsup:

Love that first photo! Yep, time of day makes a huge difference................

and furrowed brow said all that needed to be said.

who put a snake in his refrigerator so it could be "posed?" I remember that and still think about it. Ugh. Right in the crisper, next to the lettuce. :scared:

It ain't like they're slitherin' around in there. It is, however wise to let your SO know about it.

Ya want the picture or not?

I remember the picture, but you can post it again. That's how much of an impression the whole discription made on me!

Woe to the person thinking "leftovers" when reaching for that Gladware. :rofl: