Seeing Light

Many people see without 'Seeing'. It takes time, experience, observation, practice and if you are lucky - someone to show you the quality of light and how to use it for different subjects.
You have to learn to see the angle of light, whether it is bright or contrasty light, soft light, heavy light, bright shade or dead light. Then you need to learn which light shows up your subject to its best or how you want the final picture to look. Also - How does it make you feel!

Some Rules of Thumb

• Simple subjects can look good with high contrast light
• Complex subjects look better with softer or low contrast light- eg cloudy day

The aim is to choose the type of light to allow your subject to be easily seen. If you have to search the picture to find out what the subject is - the light is wrong

Eg. a wide view of a garden with lots of flowers and shrubs.
Full Sun - Wrong Light. The sun creates many shadows and highlights, creating a confusing scene.
Light Cloud - Better Light. Allows the colours and flowers to be easily seen. no strong shadows creating confusion.
Heavy Cloud - OK, but may not be good. Plants can be easily seen, but the image may lack 'life'

Next time you go out to photograph - look closely at the light and see how it effects your subject. Try squinting your eyes to get a better impression. Remember, you see in 3 dimensions, your image will end up as 2 dimensions.