Direction of Light

Along with quality of light, direction is another key property that will totally change the look of your images. With most stills photography, what we are essentially always doing is trying to make an object look three-dimensional when it’s shown as flat and two-dimensional on a computer screen or in print.

Our brain instantly recognizes that the object is a real, three-dimensional object by the way it is sculpted by shadow. Without shadows, everything looks flat. So instead of thinking “photograph the light,” as described earlier in this chapter, you can alternatively think, “photograph the shadows,” as it’s often the shadows that make your subject look real. Too many photographers try to get rid of shadows by over-lighting. ...

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