Two Lighting Observations

Two Lighting Observations

by Lily Frame

1. The subject matter below is placed strategically in front of a rising sun with the light source beginning to take its prominent place in the background. The background’s elements are highlighted by the sun’s rising, creating the desirable roseate and aureate ablaze colors within the sky. The foreground elements remain opaque because the subject is standing in front of its source of light, ultimately removing it all together. The juxtaposition of the images warmly lit background and dark foreground create an articulation of the foreground’s lines and exposes the optimal light source. 

   

   Back-lighting of photographer on Bear Tooth Mountain in Yellowstone National Park (2017).
   

   
   

2. The natural lighting for the image below originates from a sunset unseen to the left of the subject. The sunset casts a fairly substantial amount of light onto his face and body, highlighting it. The sunset casts shadows onto the parts of his face, hat, and hand that were not exposed directly to the light, concealing it. Exposing the subject to side-lighting created a juxtaposition between the radiating light and penetrating shadow on the subject. This juxtaposition dramatizes the wrinkly texture on the man’s face and hand, while revealing shallow depth cues of the two-dimensional image.

Side-lighting of cowboy at rodeo in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (2017).