No light, no image. It is that simple.
As photographers, we observe and report light, or we learn to use it and manipulate it to paint a scene. It is no trivia that light is one of the first things mentioned in the Bible. If you ever read it, you may have noticed that in the first 4 sentences, although God created the heavens and the earth, it was all void, and without form, until He let there be light, and then saw that it was good! How important is that?
Gen 1:1-4 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Light, and the illusion of depth.
Whatever media is used to show an image, be your computer screen, tv, photographic paper, etc... that is a 2 dimensional representation (height and width) of a 3 dimensional world (height, width, and depth). The illusion of depth is obtained via the perspective lines, and mainly by light. Look at the diagram down below and note the 5 lights of nature, and the difference that they make. Spend some time thinking about them, and pay attention to them around you, and how they form, and paint the 3-dimensional environment that we live in.
Note the illusion of a 3 dimensional object at the egg on the right. Both images are shown on a 2 dimensional surface (your computer screen), but because of the use of light and shadow, the image on the right has depth. That is what we use to make our images pop out of the screen or paper.
Click at the images to enlarge it.
As we go on with our assignments, we will talk much more about that. From now on, look at images with a re-engineering mindset, trying to understand where the light is coming from, which one is the main light, the more intensive source, or which one is reflected. Think about its quality. Is it diffused, or high contrast? How about its temperature, warm, or cool? Are there details in the highlights and shadows?
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