Lesson 7 – Hard/Soft Light

[Frederick]

Here is my second attempt at Lesson 7. Again, I had fun doing this assignment. I hope I got it right this time.

Fred.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Fred!!

How are you doing?

I think you can see that these are superior in quality to your previous images for this assignment.

Now how can we improve these and learn from this submission?

First I wanted to say that I enjoyed your image of the wall.

It reminded me of a very similar image I shot a few years ago:

[attachment=0:21l9zz61]lomo-fence.jpg[/attachment:21l9zz61]

That photo was taken with a Fisheye Lomo. This camera to be exact. Fun eh?!

Now your images are good but I want you to remember lesson one. Remember to keep it in your mind that even the mundane can be extraordinary depending on how you create the image. You’ve created some interesting images here. In particular your photograph of that wall which features a shadow of yourself.

Be aware of how dominant surfaces and really any type of plane can be in your work. Tables, roads, walls, or really any surface can either dominate your frame or add another level of dimension.

Also don’t forget about color.

In terms of the goals of the assignment you’ve certainly achieved a differentiation between harsh/hard light and soft light.

To improve your overall photography learning the types of light you’re shooting in is entirely critical.

A quick way to ascertain the ‘harshness’ of the light is to look at how sharp the shadows are. Notice in your photograph of the wall that your shadow is quite sharp and well defined.

In softer light or more diffuse light environments the shadows will be less defined.

Over time you will become keenly aware of lighting environments and thinking about light will just happen automatically. You might even find yourself getting gitty or excited during certain lighting situations!

For example I was bouncing off the walls when I got to photograph this light in Boracay:

Boracay Sunset 1 and Boracay Sunset 2

I hope you found this lesson useful and that you’re enjoying the journey toward better photography.

See you on the next lesson.

Also, did we figure out what the login problems we’re about?

Thanks Fred.

[Frederick]

Thank you for your critique. I have to admit, I was so excited to know you liked the picture of the wall.
Regarding the login problems, they seem to be resolved.

Thanks again, and onto the the next lesson!

Fred.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Excellent.

See you on lesson 8!

😎

[Author]

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