Becoming a Student of Light and Color
Part 1, Quality of Light

“I changed, from a photographer that photographs what he finds, to one that starts with a vision and then goes out to produce an image that matches the vision.”

Introduction

Over the years I have instructed many in the art of photography and have myself been a student of several great photographers. In all that time, little was made of light and color. There was the old saying that “Light is Everything”, but not much about the how to recognize it, how to use it, and how to manipulate it. My photo classes in college could have been categorized into printmaking and journalism. Discussions on light centered around exposure. My color printing skills were good enough only to get prints of good density and color.

With the advent of the digital darkroom the rules changed. I now had choices, I could change the colors and alter the light. The dilemma became there were too many choices, I needed a vision. I changed, from a photographer that photographs what he finds, to one that starts with a vision and then goes out to produce an image that matches the vision. By vision I mean an image interacting with the light and color to produce the desired emotional response from the viewer. Simply put, using light and color to portray a mood.

In landscape photography the mood is often established by the light. To be successful at producing an image to match our vision, we must be able to capture it with the right light. Indeed many photographers are willing to return to the same location several times hoping for the perfect light. Often times we don’t have the luxury to return again. Then we must make the best out of what we have, by adapting the composition of the scene to match the mood of the light. Dealing with natures light and color moods will be discussed in the “Quality of Light” section.

If you hired an interior decorator to redo one of your rooms, you would expect color to be a major influence on the design. You might be surprised to find you can influence the composition of a scene just as strongly by following a few simple rules of color theory. The section “Light, Color and Composition will show you how to compose a scene in color.

The “Examples” section contains some not to be missed image make-overs. Sometimes our vision doesn’t exist in nature, so we take what we can from the original capture and add to it in the digital darkroom. As I like to say, knowing what is possible in the digital darkroom aids in the decision making process in the field taking pictures.

Quick Links

“Quality of Light”, about recognizing, predicting, and utilizing the natural light of outdoors. Natures ability to produce moods from light and color is unprecedented.

“Light Color and Composition”, about applying color theory to the art of composition.

“Examples”, images that have had their light and color enhanced in the digital darkroom.

Having spent many years in a studio photographing under the controlled environment of studio lights I have very high expectations for the quality of light needed for a scene. In the studio I have complete control of the lighting, but outdoors is a different matter. Outdoors the light and color are constantly changing, the best I can do is understand the changes and use them to my advantage.

The first step in understanding quality of light is to be able to recognize good quality from bad quality of light for any given scene. The best quality of light is the one that produces the greatest visual impact.

The next step is to separate in your mind the scene (the area to be photographed), from the quality of light interacting with that scene. A great scene compositionally needs the right quality of light if the image as a whole is to come to life.

Indeed, I consider the quality of light to be equal to if not more important than the physical composition of the elements. I will always try to photograph a particular location at the time when I feel the quality of light is best. Conversely, I will make decisions on what subjects to photograph based on the quality of light prevailing at that time. The “Partly Cloudy” image of Bryce Canyon is a good example of how the right quality of light enhances the visual appeal of a scene. The “Completely Overcast” and the “Clear Sky” image of Bryce are equally vivid examples of how the wrong quality of light can destroy the visual appeal of a scene.

Quality of light has three basic components: size of the light, direction of the light, and color of the light. The size, direction, and color of light are all dynamic yet somewhat predictable, allowing photographers to maximize the quality of light by scheduling shooting times appropriately. To be successful at this a greater understanding of the size, direction, and color of light is in order.

Size of the Light Source

The larger the size of the light source relative to the size of the subject, the softer the light will be. For this discussion the light source for landscape photography is of course the sun. The size of the sun in a clear cloudless sky is very small relative to the landscape, resulting in hard, harsh light. The range of brightness from the shadows to the highlights is too great for your camera to record. Shadows will be black with no detail and the highlights or whites will be blown out with no detail. On an overcast day the clouds become the source of light. Because the expanse of clouds is very large, the resulting light is soft and diffused. The soft light of overcast skies compresses the contrast range of the light rendering details both in the shadows and highlights.

To illustrate this hard/soft concept, observe the quality of light on someone sitting next to a lamp with a fairly large translucent lamp shade. Remove the shade and notice how the quality of light changes on that person. The light bulb is a much smaller size light than the lamp shade, and has a much harsher quality of light. Think about the last time you were in a portrait studio, the lights were either being reflected off large umbrellas or being shot thru large areas of white cloth. Both light modifiers were effectively increasing the size of the light to produce soft diffuse light. When outdoors a simple check to determine whether the light is hard or soft is to look at your shadow on the ground. If your shadow is black with a very sharp defined border the light is hard. If the border of your shadow is wide and undefined, it is soft light.

So cloudless skies have very hard light, and completely overcast skies have very soft light. Neither extreme of hard or soft light is usually optimal. Notice the clear sky image of Bryce with its stark colors and black empty shadows. Notice also the overcast picture of Bryce with its muted colors and its flat lifeless look. The partially cloudy picture of Bryce works because of its combination of clear sky (hard light) and clouds (soft light). Partially cloudy skis are my preference for shooting landscapes; as the light is somewhat diffused and the clouds add visual appeal to the sky.

Direction

of the Light Source

The position of the sun in the sky also affects the hard/soft quality of the light. When the sun is high in the sky the light is most hard, and when the sun is low in the sky the light is most soft. When the sun is near the horizon the light is traveling through a greater amount of atmosphere resulting in a greater scattering of light rays, resulting in the softer light.

The direction of light also has the ability to show or hide relief, or texture in an object. To show texture the light needs to skim across the subject. With the sun as our light source we have control over the direction and or the angle of the light by choosing the time of the day to take the picture. As the sun rises in the morning it is low in the sky skimming across the landscape, its right angle direction of light casting shadows that accentuate surface textures. As time moves towards midday, the light is directly overhead masking or hiding surface textures. As the time of day progress towards sunset the sun is again low in the sky accentuating surface textures. The image of Death Valley was taken late afternoon. The sun low in the sky accentuated the waves in the sand. Had the image been taken midday the waves in the sand would have gone unnoticed.

Color of the Light

The color chart shows the colors of day-light that we typically experience. If the chart surprises you keep in mind that our brain interprets the colors our eyes see. The color of light that we perceive is not necessarily the color of light our camera will record. Notice how the time of day dramatically affects the color of the light. Sunrise and sunset have a warm color of light tending towards the yellows, reds, and oranges. As the day progresses towards mid-day the color of the light changes towards the blues, called cool light.

The warm light of sunrise and sunset is sometimes referred to as the golden light. The golden light can last for as little as a few minutes to more than a couple of hours. More often than not there is a very small window of opportunity to catch the golden light and other times, the golden light never shows.

To briefly summarize, early morning and late afternoon light exhibit warm colors, a somewhat diffuse quality of light, and accentuate surface textures. Midday light exhibits cool colors, a hard quality of light, and masks surface textures. These rules are assuming a clear, cloudless sky. As clouds are added the light becomes increasing more diffuse.

Given a choice, most photographers would choose to take pictures early morning and late afternoon. It is our choice as well. We typically spend the midday scouting locations and determining whether morning or afternoon light is best, then returning the next day to take the shots.

Matching the Light with the Scene, Field Studies

The goal is to match the scene with the quality of light that has the greatest visual impact.

This image is from Acadia National Park in Maine. Sunrise was around 6:00 am. We were staying in a motel about an hours drive away. We got up at 4:00 am to make sure we were there for the pre-sunrise light, which sometimes is more spectacular than the after sunrise light. The weather was very cold as it was February in New England. After a quick stop for hot coffee outside the park we found our location and parked. My wife and I both went off to the locations we had spotted the day before. My spot was the little cove with the big round rocks, as you can see not an easy walk in the dark of the night. As I’m walking trying not to fall over the rocks, thinking I probably should have stayed in bed, I heard “you must be a photographer”. Sure enough another photographer was already there waiting patiently for the light. Well we waited together. This image was captured approximately 10 minutes after the sun came up over the horizon. I composed the scene to keep the sun just outside of the frame. The light softly covered the rocks in warm yellow color that contrasted nicely with the cool colored sky and clouds. A Nikon N90s with a 20mm Nikkor lens, and Provia 100F was used. The camera was tripod mounted approximately 18” above the ground.

The sunrise and the sun itself is the subject in the second example shot from Cadillac mountain. This image was shot the following day, same time, from a different location. Notice the intensity of the color of the sky near the horizon and how it cast its light and color on the water and the clouds.

The light and color show lasted only 15 minutes, dissolving into a blue-hazed lifeless scene.

Stormy Weather

Even greater visual impact can be gained by capturing a scene in unusual weather conditions and their associated qualities of light.

The Swirls of Time photo was definitely a gift from the weather gods. As usual we were on the scene, cameras bolted to the tripods, waiting for the light at sunrise. Sunrise came but the sky was completely overcast and the sky was a dirty gray, not unlike the look of smog over Los Angeles. The light was bad so we left.

We spent the next five hours driving around scouting for future locations to shoot. Shortly after noon the gray clouds turned to black and a heavy downpour ensued. We drove back to where we were staying. About 2:30 the down pour changed to a sprinkle. Encouraged, we again drove to the location. No luck, both the rain and the bad light remained. After about a half hour of waiting in the car we decided to call it a day. Again we drove back to our motel, and checked in for dinner in the restaurant. Just as we were finishing our after dinner coffee we saw the sun peaking through the storm clouds. After thirty minutes of driving we arrived at the scene for the third time that day. The sun was visible in the west sky just above the horizon, the east sky filled with storm clouds.

“The goal is to match the scene with the quality of light that has the greatest visual impact.”

Back to Top
Changing the weather

“ the nik Color Efex Sunshine filter was used to convert the scene from a dull overcast day to a bright sunny one”
Converting a Color Image to Black and White

“The magic in this technique is the use of two separate black and white conversions, one for the sky, and one for the trees.”
Creative Controls F-stops & Depth of Field

Another factor that affects depth of field is distance from the camera to the subject. Depth of field decreases as the camera moves closer to the subject.
Digital Film Tools 55mm; Photoshop plug-in review

“The bragging rights for Digital Film Tools is that the means of producing the masks is more intuitive, flexible, and powerful than Photoshop CS.”
Grain Surgery for Photoshop - Review

“the noise is removed, yet the details remain”
How to Improve the Image Quality of your Camera

By using a tripod, slower shutter speeds can be utilized allowing the aperture of the lens to be stopped down increasing depth of field
Lens choices for landscape photography

“The wide-angle perspective ... gives the viewer the impression they could walk into the photo”
Becoming a student of Light and Color- Part 1 - Quaility of Light

“I changed, from a photographer that photographs what he finds, to one that starts with a vision and then goes out to produce an image that matches the vision.”
Becoming a student of Light and Color- Part 2- Light , Color, and Composition

“a color only takes on importance when considered relative to the other colors surrounding it."
Long Lens Landscapes

“I am always willing to try for that image with the “wow factor”, and long lenses are definitely an unordinary if not extraordinary way to capture grand landscapes.”

Canadian North Atlantic Coast

“Stories were told of quaint fishing villages virtually untouched since the turn of the 19th century, surrounded by landscapes from seemingly lost worlds.”

Nik Color efect Pro - Photoshop Plug-in Review

“Unlike so many other plug-ins for Photoshop, the nik Multimedia Color Efex Pro filters are truly useful.”
Nikon Capture nx-first look

"What is needed is a raw converter with an extensive enough set of imaging tools that a second program like Photoshop is not required."
Photoshop tips and techniques -An introduction to 5 great plug-ins

“It’s all about color...What caught her eye was the contrast between the yellow tree, the glowing red rocks, and the cool blue base.”
Photoshop tips and techniques -A watercolor effect from the unlikely pairing of two third party plug-ins

“I look for subjects that move me emotionally...When I got the slides back however, the magic was missing”

Painting with Light -A Photoshop tutorial

“most images need at least one of their elements to be pure black, meaning black with no detail, and need at least one of their elements to be pure white meaning white with no detail”
Basic Photoshop for photographers - Part 1

"Today we are making images that we could not even have dreamed of making before"
Basic Photoshop for photographers -Part 2

"Always use a separate layer this allows mistakes to be erased at any time"
Segmentis Fo2PiX buZZ review

"The user has control over how much detail is removed. One can choose to remove detail in the highlights, shadows, or both"
The Filters we use and why

"The question I often hear is “do you still use lens filters”. The answer is yes, because there still is no substitute for capturing the image properly."
The Gas Station- The story behind a picture

“I wanted the picture to interact with the viewer, to encourage the viewer to explore”
Waiting for the right light

"Planning for the light means selecting the time of year and the time of day"
Tutorials and Reviews Index

Partly Cloudy

“I will always try to photograph a particular location at the time when I feel the quality of light is best. Conversely, I will make decisions on what subjects to photograph based on the quality of light prevailing at that time.”

Death Valley

“keep in mind that our brain interprets the colors our eyes see. The color of light that we perceive is not necessarily the color of light our camera will record”.

Partially cloudy skis are my preference for shooting landscapes; as the light is somewhat diffused and the clouds add visual appeal to the sky.

“Even greater visual impact can be gained by capturing a scene in unusual weather conditions and their associated qualities of light.”

Clear Sky

Completely Overcast

The light and the color were incredible. The sun near the horizon skimmed across the surface of the rock formations accentuating the delicate textural swirls. The warm color of the light made the rock formations appear orange, strongly contrasting with the dark blue clouds. We moved fast to capture the images before we lost the light, 20 minutes later the light was gone. A Nikon N90s, 20mm Nikkor lens, and Fuji Velvia was used.

Clear Skies, Mid-day Light

My least favorite type of light is from cloudless skies during the middle part of the day.

Shadow areas usually render very dark with little detail. As a photographer one must visualize the scene as the camera records it, not as the eye sees it. The trick is to anticipate the dark shadows and use them as compositional elements. My wife Tammy likes to consider herself a problem solver and I have to agree. The picture of Yellowstone waterfalls is a good example of problem solving by making the best of what you have. Notice the large shadow area in the lower left part of the picture. Notice also the sunlit tree in front of the shadow. The tree and the shadow combined make a perfect foreground element to contrast with the waterfall in the background. The tree was not visible from the normal vantage point, only the big dark shadow area. Tammy strayed about seventy-five yards away until she found the viewpoint where the tree appeared in front of the shadow. When ever we are our taking pictures there is always competition to see who gets the best images. Tammy won this one.

Overcast Light

Completely overcast days are not my preference but when that’s all you have to work with here are a few guidelines. If the sky is plain and boring try to crop it out of the image. Try to include compositional elements that are brighter or darker or somehow contrast or compliment with the rest of the composition. And most important match the mood of the composition with the mood of the light.

With the Spring Storm image from Yosemite National Park I chose my camera position to include the barren tree on the left to add the needed contrast. I think the tree completes the image compositionally and strengthens the atmosphere and mood.

“Given a choice, most photographers would choose to take pictures early morning and late afternoon”

Spring Storm

The Dock

For The Dock the white light resulting form the overcast sky set the mood in the scene. Only as much sky as needed to show space above the top of the mountain was shown. To emphasize the dock a 20mm lens was used with the camera positioned only a foot or so above the dock. The light tones of the dock contrasted nicely with the dark areas of trees across the lake.

Summary

When it comes to nature one can try to predict the light but in the end it really is a matter of making the best of what you have. Learn to see the light as you camera does and compose your scene accordingly.

Acadia NP, Maine

Cadillac Mountain Acadia

Swirls Of Time

Yellowstone

“As a photographer one must visualize the scene as the camera records it, not as the eye sees it.”