Portrait lighting

Firstly, Butterfly lighting is another common lighting plan and has been very popular over the past decade or so. In this case, only two lights are commonly used. Normally the Key light is placed directly in front of the subject, often above the camera or slightly to one side, and a bit higher than is common for a three-point lighting plan which is often used. Now, the second light is a rim light lamp. A reflector is placed below the subject's face to provide fill light and soften shadows around the model.

The use of this lighting can be recognised by the strong light falling on the forehead, the bridge of the nose and the upper cheeks, and by the distinct shadow below the nose which often looks rather like a butterfly and thus provides the name for this lighting. The use of Butterfly lighting was a favourite of Hollywood portraitist George Hurrell which is why this style of lighting is often called Paramount lighting, after the movie studio. Lights can be added to basic lighting plans to provide additional highlights or add background definition highlights.

The kicker is a small light, often made directional through the use of a snoot, umbrella, or softbox lamp. A kicker is designed to add highlights to the off-side of the subject's face, usually just enough to establish the jaw line or edge of an ear or nose. A kicker should be a bit brighter than the fill light, but not so bright it over fills the off side of the head. Photographers choose not to use a kicker and settle for the three main lights of the standard lighting.

Background lights are not so much a part of the portrait lighting plan, but rather designed to provide illumination for the background behind the subject. Background lights can pick out details in the background, provide a halo effect by illuminating a portion of a backdrop behind the subject's head, or turn the background pure white.

Most lights used in modern photography are a flash of some sort or other. Lighting for portraiture is typically diffused by bouncing it from the inside of an umbrella, or by using a soft box arrangement. Soft boxes are a fabric box, encasing a photo strobe head, one side of which is made of translucent fabric material. Soft boxes provide a softer lighting for portrait work and is often considered more appealing than the harsh light often cast by open strobe lights.

Most hair and background lights are usually not diffused at all. Normally it's more important to control light spillage to other areas of the subject matter. Use snoots, barn doors and flags or gobos help focus the lights exactly where the photographer wants them to be. Some background lights are sometimes used with colour gels placed in front of the light to create coloured background effects.

Photographic composition

Photographic composition is the foundation upon which we build our photo images by the correct selection, arranging, organising and combining the visual elements within the picture area to produce a harmonious and pleasing image. These rules of photo-composition are for guidance only, not for absolute and complete obedience. Pictures are never made by rules alone, since Photo-Composition involves your personal tastes. Instincts are worth more in photography than many rigid regulations.

You must know the rules before you can break them and only break them when you have a good reason for improving the photograph. Normally, Photo-Composition is based on artistic composition. Photographers always used composition in all their works and of course broke the rules when they thought it was necessary for the improvement of the image.

Now, artists have the advantage over photographers. Artists can move objects around in their picture frame to suit their own artistic decisions. If a tree is not in the right place in nature, the artist will move it to another place on his canvas to make a better view. When a fence or house is not situated correctly in the natural scene the artist moves them around to suit his own artistic desires.

But photographers are limited to the use of objects in the scene.  That does not mean they have to photograph them like a tourist, head on, without looking around for the best angle and lighting conditions in which to take the pic. 

The photographer's job is much harder than that of an artist who can take artistic liberties by moving objects around. Photographers must find a scene that has the best composition by finding the right angle, choosing the right lenses, being there at the right time of day for the best lighting condition.

The Basic Elements Of Photo-Composition. There are objects the photographer is stuck with and has to do the best with what is in front of the camera. Formal Balance and Informal Balance are very important.

Formal balance is sometimes called Equal Balance or Classical Balance. Formal balance illicits feelings of dignity and repose but makes static, unimaginative photo images as the objects in the picture area are of equal size, one balancing the other. A seesaw will not move up or down, it stays horizontal with each child balancing the other.

Formal balance has been used in large public buildings where each side of the building matches each other with wings and the entrance is in the centr. This makes the building uninteresting and boring. This type of photo balance will also be boring and very un-interesting so be sure to avoid it whenever possible, unless you have a definite reason for it.

Holiday photography

We all like to bring home pictures to remember from our holidays. Turn so-so snapshots to fabulous photos, by taking a moment to review these tips and advice.

Preparations before you leave home - make sure you're familiar with how your camera works and take the manual - if you haven't read the manual, do so. Your camera may have capabilities you didn't know about, or you may find answers to questions that have been bothering you for some time. Decide if you have enough gear to warrant a camera bag, and try to find one that doesn't scream "Steal me now". Consider a backpack-like style because they're easy to carry around all day, leave your hands free, and appear relatively inconspicuous to the thief.

As you pack for your trip, bring your manual, extra camera batteries or a battery charger, and digital storage cards or film for your camera equipment. Now, if you plan on taking lots of digital photos and you have a laptop, it may be a wise idea to bring it so you can download your images and reuse your cards as needed.

With air travel, pack your camera in a carry-on bag, especially if you're fortunate enough to own sophisticated cameras. Note that even when locked, checked luggage can be broken into, and if your equipment is stolen, most airlines will not reimburse you at all. Do not put your camera in a jacket pocket, too, since it's easy to leave a jacket on the plane or in the airport lounge. As you exit the plane, double-check to make sure you have all your equipment.

Make sure you fully understand your camera's settings. Your camera's automatic settings control the f-stop and shutter speed. A camera's f-stop determines how blurry the background is. Now, the smaller the number (like 5.6), the more the background blurs out. And the larger the number (like 16), the sharper everything in the picture will be. Note that neither one is inherently better than the other; it all depends on what you're photographing and what effect you want to achieve.

The shutter speed refers to how quickly the camera's shutter opens and closes in real time. Now, the higher the shutter speed, the faster it takes the shot. In order to freeze action, you need to shoot at a minimum of 125th. Below a 60th, you need a tripod to keep the image sharp because your hand will move enough to affect the image.

Note that point-and-shoot cameras may not allow you to manually adjust both settings. But understanding your camera's automatic settings can help you control how your photos end up. As an example, portrait settings are designed to keep the main subject sharp and blur the background, while landscape settings keep everything in sharp focus. Try shooting a variety of subjects on each of your camera's settings to see what they do and what you like best.

Note that some cameras have semi-automatic settings which allow you to set either the f-stop or the shutter speed yourself, while the camera sets the other adjustment. Semi-auto settings are often ideal: you still have a good amount of control over how your image looks, but you don't have to worry about meter-reading or quickly changing lighting.