Thank you to everyone that participated in the "Soft Light" assignment. There were some very, very good images submitted for this assignment, and I'm sure for those of you that voted it was a challenge to choose your favorite image.
As we talked about during the introduction to this assignment, one skill that separates a great photographer from a mediocre one is the ability to "read" and effectively use the "light" in a scene to enhance their subject. A prerequisite for being able to "read" the light is the recognition that when we take a photograph, we're not really recording an image of an object (or objects), but are recording the
Light reflecting from or emanating from the objects in the scene. The quality and characteristics of the light will have more impact on the resulting image than any other compositional element.
As I mentioned during the intro to the "Linear Perspective" assignment, the "soft light" assignment was a natural lead-in to a discussion on perspective, since the gradual transition of shadows from dark to light as they “wrap” around an object are one of our primary visual cues as to the shape and thickness or “depth” of nearby objects in a scene.
I'd like you to look at the following two images and notice how the visual cues contribute toward the perception of "depth" in the image. The first image, "Evan's Take," illustrates how soft light "wrapping" around the vase can help us percieve that this is a 3-dimensional object; however, there are few other "depth" cues in the image, and so the image still has a 2-dimensional feel.
Evan's Take
The next image, "Rebecca's Desk," adds several more depth cues, including the reflection of the wedding picture in the desk, and the size/distance cue of the writing paper and pen on the desk. In addition, some of the "fill" light in the shadow of the vase was removed, providing a more defined shadow which "wraps" around the vase and enhances our perception of depth. This image definitely has more "depth" than the first.
Rebecca's Desk
I felt that several of the images would benefit from cropping in order to remove distracting elements and focus the viewers attention on the primary subject.
From this:
To this:
From this:
To this:
From this:
To this:
Remember, many respected photographers believe that "an uncropped image is an unfinished image."
The guidelines for "Soft Light" were: "You should use soft light with gradual shadow transitions to enhance the perception of dimension and set the tone or mood for your chosen subject (so chose your subject accordingly)."
The image selected for this week's
People's Choice was Tom's (Kermit's) "Gothic Valley Sunrise on Mt Crested Butte."
Gothic Valley Sunrise on Mt Crested Butte
The soft, pre-dawn light in this image definitely set the mood for the image, and enhanced the rounded shapes of the hills and contours of the mountain in a way that wouldn't have been possible with harder light. This image also illustrates very effective use of both linear perspective (the diminishing size of the river) and atmospheric perspective (the distant hills become softer, with much less contrast) to convey the depth of the scene. This image is a great example of atmospheric perspective, so you may want to look at it again when you start working on the "atmospheric perspective" assignment.
Editor's Choice for Technical Merit and
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit are awarded to Naomi's "The Light Within."
The Light Within
Naomi explained how she modified the light to
create this image. Naomi had her model sit inside a huge cardboard box with holes punched in it and placed the box in front of the setting sun. She also used a smoke machine to diffuse the light even more. The warm, soft light set the mood for the image, and provided effective "modeling" for the subject's features. In addition, the diagonal streams of light added an interesting compositional element to what would have otherwise been "dead space" in the image, and served as "leading lines" to direct the viewer's attention to the model's face. Excellent job reading and
controlling the light to achieve the desired effect. Also notice how she placed the model's left eye at a "strong" point in the frame (using the rule of thirds). This image was definitely
created by the artist.
Thank you again for everyone that participated in this week's assignment. Hopefully, by participating in this assignment and reviewing the images that were submitted, you have strengthened your ability to "read" and understand the impact of different characteristics of light, and to compose a scene with light that enhances your subject.
Keith
