Photography Lighting Basics and Principles

There are three basic principles of relevant to all photographers, these are. Size of Light source, Types of reflection, Family of angles

One of the most important things of a good light source is its size. This determines what type of shadows you are going to have and also affects the type of reflection

Small light sources will produce a hard edged shadow, large light sources will produce a soft edged shadow.

Take as an example the most important light source in our life, the SUN. In a nice bright day with no clouds the sun will act as a small light source. On the other hand when it is a cloudy day the clouds will act as diffuser and the light source will not arrive from a direct single point but will be diffused through the clouds thus becoming a large light source and therefore producing soft edged shadows.

Types of reflection

Diffuse reflection

Direct reflection

Polarized Direct reflection

Diffuse reflection will have the same brightness irillevant from the direction you are observing the object. The light from the sources is reflected equally in all direction.

Direct reflection is the mirror image of a light source. This means that the light ray hits the object and then reflects back at an angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflectance.

Family of angles

A person looking at an object sees each point of that object at a slightly different angle. If we sum up all these angles we would have a family of angles. The family of angles is very important thing to master as a photographer because it determines where we can place or where we cannot place our lights. Ideally before you master the technique you should draw down the lighting diagram of a particular set to see if all the lights are properly set up to avoid unwanted reflections, glare etc.

The author runs Portrait Studio Lighting.com a portrait photography related website which features lots of resources and tips of the art of portrait photography which includes also video tutorial for the absolute beginners.

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Digital Cameras and Camcorders - Digital Zoom Vs Optical Zoom

The zoom lens of digital cameras and camcorders is the ability to vary focal length and, thus the angle of view. Both digital cameras and camcorders have zoom capability. For the consumer this can be confusing because there are two different types, known as digital zoom and optical zoom that is a much better function for the best quality and resolution of digital pictures and video.

Digital Zoom vs. Optical Zoom

The digital zoom enlarges images by magnifying the actual pixels. The finished image is thus affected and lacks clear definition. Simply put, this zoom function merely captures pixels and magnifies those and produces inferior photos, always go with optical zoom, which is a much better quality zoom capability.

Optical zoom actually utilizes the movement of the lens. The focal length is changed and the image that passes through the lens is captured with optical zoom. Simply put, it magnifies the size of an image by adjusting the lens. Unlike digital zoom, optical zoom enlarges the subject without sacrificing resolution.

Higher optical zoom ratings give better image quality. The ratings vary from 3PX to 20PX and the higher ratings give the best image quality. It gives you all the benefits of the cameras and camcorders maximum resolution, combined with the cameras ability to focus in tight on faraway action.

Often times an optical zoom is more important than resolution because it means you won't have to magnify your subject and then use software to crop the image and discard some of the resolution as a result.

Digital zoom has its place. It can be used if the only destination for your photos is to view them on your computer, and send them via email. Photos online can be a much lower quality in the camera and still appear acceptable when sent through e-mail or posted on a web gallery. But, if your goal is to print any of your photos you need a camera that has a high optical zoom rating and if your camcorder or camera also has a digital zoom function you should turn it off when taking those pictures. Your digital pictures will be much better in the end, even if they are not as close up.

Another important camcorder or digital camera shopping tip is to ignore digital zoom ratings within optical zoom. Some vendors tout a high total zoom that includes digital zoom, and it is not the true optical zoom rating.

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