Light

The main factors effecting a photo when using a camera are ISO, the aperture and the shutter speed. ISO is the level of sensitivity to available light. The numbers usually are low if the sensitivity is low compared to available light and high if there is more sensitivity. However the higher the sensitivity, the higher he grain. This can be affective if this is the style you want, however you have to remember the aperture effects the image.

Shutter Speed is the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera. The measurements usually range from fractions of a seconds to actual seconds. Slow shutter speeds allow more light into the camera and are used for low-light and night photography, while fast shutter speeds help to freeze motion so can be used to create action shots.

The aperture is the hole within in the lens hat allows he light to get into the camera. The larger the hole, the more light passes to the camera and vice versa. Aperture also controls the depth of field, which is the section you image that is in focus. If the aperture is very small, the depth of field is large, while if the aperture is large, the depth of field is small. As you take an image and press the shutter button, the subject enters your camera lens in a form of light. If your subject is well-lit, there is plenty of light that travels into the lens, whereas if you are taking a picture in a dim environment, there is not much light that travels into the lens. When the light enters the lens, it goes through the lens aperture. Once the light goes past the lens aperture, it then hits the shutter curtain, which is like a window that is closed at all times, but opens when needed. The shutter then opens in a matter of milliseconds, letting the light hit the camera sensor for a specified amount of time. The sensor then gathers the light, based on the ISO, Then the shutter closes and the light is completely blocked from reaching the sensor.

To get a properly exposed image, so that it is not too bright or too dark, Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO need to correspond with each other. When lots of light enters the lens and you use a small aperture, lots of light gets blocked. This means that the camera sensor would need more time to collect the light therefore you need a longer shutter speed. And with a very large aperture you need a shorter shutter speed so your image isn't over exposed.

Often the key to success with your hard light images is to control the lightings to relative levels of brightness ratio between the lights and shadows. It is harsh and abrupt, but not always a completely black shadow. In the image above you can still see detail in the shadows, such as in the wall and on the shadow side of his face. Generally a lower depth of field would be used here as the image is sharp so all of the image is in focus. A small aperture and a long shutter speed your image would be dark as you are not letting a lot of light into the sensor, this could be used for hard light as the image is sometimes quite dark.

This image by Christopher Tan is successful as it used foreground with the large shadow, mid ground with the figure and then a background smaller shadow. This then makes the image incorporate leading lines as the shadow leads you to the rest of the image. Also the composition is successful as the placement of the figure with his foot so close to the wall seems almost impossible to capture, this makes the composition interesting and quite shocking. I think hard light has been used quite ironically here as the man is fighting the shadow creates his opponent, it is almost like he is fighting his own dark shadow. Therefore the use of hard light is very creative.

My image uses a similar concept of shadow however the detail is lost in my shadow so it lacks that extra texture. The image I took uses the same colour scheme, it is quite dark and mysterious. My image is overall successful as it also uses foreground with the mugs, misfortune with the glass and background with shadow at the back. Several shadows were present in Christopher Tans’ image similar to mine, therefore a hard shadow is present more than once in am image due to the face light travels to the subject at all angles.