How Photographers Control Light
and Shadow
The world of the studio photographer is as different from the photo journalist’s as a painting by Norman Rockwell is from one by Van
Gogh. Rockwell paid careful attention to every brushstroke in an attempt to capture reality in meticulous detail—a reality that’s warmer,
prettier, funnier, and more perfect than everyday reality. Van Gogh strove to use the materials of the moment to create a reality where
perfect was not a question, but rather a raw look at an inner reality. Anyone who thinks studio photography is “of the
moment” has never spent all afternoon watching a photographer manipulate everything, especially the light, to
capture a single moment. Here are some of the ways studio lighting creates different realities in a portrait.
96 PART 2 HOW DIGITAL CAMERAS CAPTURE IMAGES
A single light shines directly at
the subject of a photograph
evenly and smoothly in straight
lines from the light sources.
Without any material in front of
the light to modify the light, and
no other lights on the subject,
the single light creates a flat,
featureless face and well-
defined shadows.The second technique is to use an attachment that soft-
ens the light coming from the light source. A softbox
takes the sharp edge off the shadows. As light passes
through the translucent front cover of the softbox, the
fibers in the cover diffuse the light, bouncing it first one
way and then another. The result is that light strikes the
subject from many directions so that there is no single
edge to shadows. The bigger the area of the softbox,
the softer the light becomes.3
The photographer can do two simple
things to better reveal the subject’s
face. (Both these can also be
accomplished with a flash
attachment that connects to
the camera with a cord
rather than the hot shoe.)
One technique is to
move the light to the
side so that the light
is striking the subject
from about a
45-degree angle
relative to the camera horizontally, and vertically
from about a foot or two higher than the camera.
The lighting reveals more of the contours of the subject,
but it is still stark.2
1