Half Shade and Timing
When I started using my large format camera, one of the early tests I made was on the effect of shade on the look of pictures. I had taken a few pictures with my digital camera where the foreground was in partial shade and was intrigued by the how it gave a depth and colour that was surprisingly vivid. When I was taking one of my first large format shots I decided to try a couple of extra shots just to see how much difference getting that critical moment made.
My instinct told my that the best momet to take the picture was just as the shade was opening up and with a sunlit background. Well you can see the results for yourself. The picture taken just before this critical moment is dull and lifeless; the picture taken just afterward is starting to become burnt out and has lost colour and depth; the critical moment gives a picture that has soft, open colour.
The reason for this, as far as my understanding of lighting is concerned, is that when you you have light transitioning from behind the cloud you have a combination of diffuse light and direct light. During this time you have the opportunity to balance those two sources of light, just like you would do manually in a lighting studio. Typically, the background will benefit from direct or only slightly diffuse sunlight because the harsh lighting doesn’t have as great a negative impact at a distance.
Two of my favourite photographers have said that experience in a photography studio gave them an insight into how lighting works and this knowledge was particularly useful in the field. We don’t have control over lighting sources in nature but learning to predict the different effects the atmosphere can have on our primary spotlight can help us make the most out of our subject matter.
I’d be interested in hearing any other observations about how the to use the atmosphere to create stronger pictures.
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