The document discusses lighting techniques for photography. It explains that lighting can be broken into 9 tones of gray and different types of lighting like hard, soft, natural, and artificial lighting are used to achieve different effects. Various lighting techniques like directional lighting, backlighting, and using multiple light sources are covered. The concept of lighting ratios and different keys like high, middle, and low are also explained along with how f-stops can be used to manipulate lighting and tones in photographs.

1. rules of lighting
the use of tone

2. tones of gray
• The world can be broken into 9 tones of gray
– represents the 256 million colors the human eye registers
• Decide up front what type of tone photo you are making
–
–
–
–
2 tone: High Contrast
3 tone: Medium Contrast
5 tone: Dramatic Lighting
Or 9 tone: Natural Lights

3. types of light
• Hard light
– High contrast
– Pure black and pure white
• Soft Light
–
–
–
–
Low contrast
Overcast filter
Levels 2-8 (no 1 or 9)
The more lights you add the
more grays you will add to
your photo

4. hard light

5. soft light

6. types of light
• Natural light
– Sunlight & Moonlight
– Reflected sunlight & moonlight
– Overcast and Soft
• Artificial Light
–
–
–
–
Fluorescent
Flash
Incandescent
Hard and Enhances Contrast

7. natural light

8. fluorescent light

9. incandescent light

10. lighting techniques
• Floodlighting & Spotlighting
– Dramatic
– High contrast
• Directional Lighting
– Control of shadows
– Creates strong sense of mood
– Under & Over
• Multiple Light Sources
– Enhances center of interest
– Washes out background

11. floodlights &
spotlights

12. floodlights &
spotlights

13. under lighting

14. over lighting

15. over lighting

16. over lighting

17. multi-lighting

18. multi-lighting

19. lighting techniques
• Backlighting
– Light source is behind the
subject matter
– Creates deep shadow
against a bright background
• Silhouettes
– Developed in the 1700’s
– Solid black shapes

20. backlighting

21. silhouette

22. • 1:1 Flat Lighting – High Key
lighting ratios
– Equal amounts of light for the highlight and shadows
• 2:1 General Color Photography – Middle Key
– 2 times more light in the highlight areas over the shadowed
portions of the subject matter
• 3:1 General B&W Photography – Middle Key
– 3 times more light in the highlight areas over the shadowed
portions of the subject matter
• 4:1 Dramatic Lighting – Low Key
– 4 times more light
– Common for traditional portraiture
• 8:1 Very Dramatic Lighting – Low Key
– 8 times more light
– Shadows become black abstract shapes

23. examples of lighting ratios

24. keys: overall tone
• High Key
– White/off-white background & brighter subject matter
– Low lighting ratio near 2:1
– Eliminate shadows
• Middle Key
– Use skin tone to set the mood
– The “Goldilocks” photo
• Low Key
– Dark background and dark subject matter
– Higher lighting ratios 3:1 or 4:1
– Shadows emphasized

25. examples of keys

26. • F-stop
darker
lighter
– how MUCH light is allowed by SIZE of aperture
• Shutter Speed
– how LONG film is exposed to light coming through the lens
• Work together
– Both work together as in the bucket analogy:
• Large, dumping of water into a bucket quickly (f-stop)
• Thin stream of water over a long time (shutter speed)

27. in photoshop
• Levels & Curves
• Lighting Effects Filter
• Darken Image using Mimicked F-stops:
– Duplicate your background layer and put the duplicate
layer in Multiply mode
– This will create the effect of lowering your f stop by 1
• Lighten Image using Mimicked F-stops:
– Duplicate your background layer and put the duplicate
layer in Screen mode
– This will create the effect of raising your f stop by 1

28. f-stops in photoshop

29. Tones
Lightning Techniques
Keys & Ratios
F-Stops
Measure of Grays
Manipulation of Highlights &
Shadows
Used During
the Shoot
Aperture
setting on
Camera
1 – White
Artificial – Hard (Over/Under &
Backlighting)
1:1 High Key
F/8
2 – High Gray
Artificial – Hard
(Over/Under & Backlighting)
1:1 High Key
F/5.6
3 – High Gray
Artificial – Hard
(Over/Under & Backlighting)
1:1 High Key
F/5.6
4 – Mid Gray
Natural – Soft (Overcast)
2:1 Mid Key
F/5.6
5 – Mid Gray
Natural – Soft (Overcast)
2:1 Mid Key
F/4
6 – Mid Gray
Natural – Soft (Overcast)
2:1 Mid Key
F/4
7 – Low Gray
Artificial – Hard
(Over/Under & Backlighting)
3:1 Low Key
F/2.8
8 – Low Gray
Artificial – Hard
(Over/Under & Backlighting)
4:1 Low Key
Portraits
F/2
9 – Black
Artificial – Hard
(Over/Under & Backlighting)
8:1 Low Key
Extreme Contrast
F/1.4