A Drop of Reflective Light - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

07/13/2007 02:27:23 PM · #1

Most of us have taken images outdoors and indoors. We generally use flash indoors when the available light is such that it is a necessity. Unfortunately, in most cases that light source is on the camera or perched in the hot shoe. When you think about it though, the effect of that massive blast of light kills most of the nuances of the available light and the result is often quite flat or just plain uninteresting.

The play of light is often very subtle. We see the dominant but pay less attention to the subtle play of light as it bounces off of reflective objects to finally land on the most absorptive materials. Move one of those reflective sources and the whole landscape changes. We often look for that dominant light source and feature it as the node or focal point of our images.

What I am suggesting here is perhaps looking at the scene from a different perspective. Studying the nuances will open up different way of viewing your composition. When using available light you may start to play with multiple reflectors to change the ambiance of your image. Moving your reflected source just a few inches can change the final outcome significantly. This can even be more apparent when using flash sources and reflectors, mixing those with ambient light and adjusting them to your taste. Even a half of a stop will have an effect that can prove to be dramatic.

What are your feelings about how you approach light and how do you think you can enhance your vocabulary?

Message edited by author 2007-07-15 11:17:03.

TechnoShroom

Canon EOS-30D

07/13/2007 02:29:20 PM · #2

Originally posted by benjikan:

What are your feeling about how you approach light and how do you think you can enhance your vocabulary?

I feel calm and use a dictionary.

AJSullivan

07/13/2007 03:23:39 PM · #3

What would be the overall difference of using a manual powered flash and bouncing it off of reflectors/whatever thers, v. taking the natural light and using reflectors to control that? I think the moment you adjust the light to suit your subject, as opposed to your subject to suit your light, you lose the natural glow.

07/13/2007 04:06:29 PM · #4

Originally posted by ajdelaware:

Yes, but with flash you can increase the density of the background by lighting the subject a couple of stops more than the background reading. An Example...

//anashcreation.com/thenashgallery/BenjaminKanarek/Canon_350D_Raw_Images_copyretouched?full=1

AJSullivan

07/13/2007 04:42:15 PM · #5

True then, I guess that EXACT image wouldnt have been possible with a flash, just cause you are getting light from so many different angles at different levels. Great shot by the way.

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Nikon

07/13/2007 05:16:09 PM · #6

Originally posted by ajdelaware:

True then, I guess that EXACT image wouldnt have been possible with a flash, just cause you are getting light from so many different angles at different levels. Great shot by the way.

I did use flash...

Another ambient + flash image

//anashcreation.com/thenashgallery/BenjaminKanarek/reload7?full=1

Message edited by author 2007-07-13 17:18:59.

obsidian

Nikon D80

07/13/2007 06:05:08 PM · #7

Intriguing thread.

I have just learnt an interesting "rule" for the use of flash with TTL: 2/3 flash + 1/3 ambient. What I am starting to do is think about how you add in the 2/3 flash while keeping the ambient 1/3 as a "natural" highlight to either the prime or secondary motif in the composition. Not had much time to play with this yet but the idea is an intriguing one, especially when you look at reflecting one or both sources in different ways and maybe with different tones.

And then what about the flash source coming from multiple sources... gets more interesting the more I think about it. Time to set up the ubiquitous bowl of fruit...

Superb photos, by the way: love the atmosphere in each.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/13/2007 09:07:20 PM · #8

Benjamin, I just want to say thanks. Most times I silently read and enjoy your threads without ever saying anything. I thought I owed a least a couple dozen thanks by now, so here's a down payment:

THANKS! :-)

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Nikon

07/14/2007 02:13:20 AM · #9

Originally posted by obsidian:

Just remember this please, that less is often more. By that I mean as a result of using less light, those areas that are lit pop more so than having an evenly lit environment. It is akin to the light at the end of the tunnel.

//anashcreation.com/thenashgallery/BenjaminKanarek/BenjaminKanarek0015

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

07/14/2007 10:48:43 AM · #10

Ambient light should give depth to the image, and your key light weather it is a flash or a china ball should bring out your subject.

You do this well Ben.

The thing is this that people forget. Most flash, not all, but generally the flash that the average consumer uses on their hot shoe, or on a stand is 5500 kelvin, or daylight balanced.

Mixing daylight with tungsten can work well, especially since we do live in an imperfect world these two color are everywhere.

But, the trick to this is to convince the viewer that the daylight balanced light is coming from a natural light source, IE a window, a door.

And the same can be said for tungsten balanced(3200 K) lights when shooting out doors.

Again Ben, you do this well.

If done unconvincingly, mixing the two Kelvin colors, it then turns into an incredibly different art piece, or junk.

obsidian

Nikon D80

07/15/2007 01:24:57 PM · #11

Originally posted by benjamin:

Balance is a little like taste, to my mind: you either have it intuitively or you have to develop it. I struggle to get it right because I have a tendency to over analyse everything - and forget to look for the beauty and soul in a piece. But I am starting to get there.

When I look at your images, Ben, I see balance in abundance. And its helping me develop mine, so my thanks to you.