When Artificial Light Is Needed For Digital Photos
Light is needed for a good picture in both traditional and digital photography. The amount of light greatly effects the looks and even the emotional feel of your picture. Bright lighting tends to lend a happier feel to your pictures, while shadows promote more of an air of mystery to the subject.
Traditional photography captured the light by impressions on chemicals, while digital photography uses pixels to capture light.When natural lighting is available, that’s great. But sometimes you don’t have enough natural light for a good picture. When the available light isn’t enough, it’s time to resort to artificial lighting.
How Much Light Is There?
While you can see for yourself to some extent how much light is available, to get precise measurements you need a light meter.A light meter doesn’t do the same job a flash does.Light meters just tell you how much light is being reflected off the subject. They don’t actually illuminate the subject.
A handheld light meter will measure the light and was once a standard part of any serious photographer’s equipment.These days most digital cameras have a built-in light meter, so you can look through the eyepiece and see how bright the picture will be.If it’s too dark, the camera’s built-in light meter will set off the automatic flash.
Histograms Instead of Light Meters
Also, with digital cameras, it’s not so important to have a light meter because most have a histogram.Histograms can be used in a similar fashion since a histogram shows how light or dark a picture is.
If you don’t have a histogram on your camera, or just don’t want to fuss with it, the simplest method is to take a picture and review it to see how it looks, and if it’s too dark or light, adjust by adding more light or lowering the amount of light.
A lot of practice and a lot of patience will help you get the best lighting for your photographs.
