Lighting

Lighting is one of those things that I always knew was a part of film and photography, but I never knew just how much it can do for a shot until I had to think about it for this class. Lighting can make or break a shot. It can set mood and tone or tell the audience where to look, and therefore must be gone about very carefully.

When lighting a people in a scene, side key lighting is interesting to me. The shadows that are cast on the face when this happens give a much different meaning than lighting from the front. Without any words, a character can say so much.

Like shadows, the color of light can do a lot for the mood of a shot also. I really love when lighting is warm with an orange tint to it. For example, the type of light a flame would give off. Whether this is natural or staged light, it still emits an inviting image that I enjoy.

Natural lighting is always beautiful to me because it is just that, natural. It looks realistic because it is and it can make even simple images beautiful because of this reality. Light from sunrises and sunsets are one of my favorite types of natural light.

Silhouettes can also be very beautiful if done right. Like other forms of lighting, they can serve as a great contributor of tone and mood in a shot. The detail of the subject is completely gone, but the focus is now on the subject as a whole, its outline.