Colouring The Light Fantastic

The caste of 'Maddams' family in 2015. The image was created using the 'one-light wrap around' technique as well as gelled strobes (Magenta, Blue and 1/2 CTO)

Light has colour. It’s part of the reason why we love sunrises and sunsets so much. That golden glow on the skyline is warm and inviting. The colour of candlelight is similarly warm and inviting. On the other hand, I don’t think I have ever heard anyone talk about the intimacy and warmth of fluorescent tube lighting. Then you get the new LED lightbulbs with their cold blue light which manufacturers go to great pains to transform into a warm glow reminiscent of tungsten bulbs and candlelight. So the colour of light is important. As photographers we need to be aware of this colour, and more to the point, how to change it.

Amateur, Professional, Image Maker.

A photograph I created before I started Limephoto and trying to earn a living through my camera 

There is often the conflation that serious photographers are professional photographers. On top of this everywhere you look there are people claiming to be professional photographers. I guarantee you know someone who is a ‘professional photographer’. In fact you probably have one in your family. I get regular calls from individuals wanting to get some basic training under their belts so that they too can “make money out of photography”. So when you look up someone on Facebook and they claim to be a ‘professional photographer’, they probably are, in the simple sense that they earn an income through photography. Professional does not necessarily mean good, and by no means does it mean masterful.

Strobist Approach 2.0 - The Middle Ground

Several years ago I wrote a short article entitled the Pros and Cons of the Strobist Approach. In the intervening years a lot has happened in the world of flash photography. I repeat, a lot! The original article looked at the differences between strobism, which involves the use of small flashes to make big light, and the use of studio lights, or monoblocks. I’d urge you to read the article before continuing, but in nutshell it came down positives of hotshot flashes being cost, durability and flexibility, while their inherent weaknesses were again cost, significant lack of power and modifiers. The most significant change from when I wrote the original article is the advent of affordable battery pack strobes.

The One Light Wrap Around

Picture a scenario where you have to photograph an object. A large object. Think vehicle, or perhaps even a building. Now you have to light this object with strobe light. What do you do? Do you hire a truck load of lighting equipment? There's a trick I use to create a unique lighting effect with the use of one small strobe. Essentially it's the same principle as painting with light; I light the object multiple times and from different directions. The result is a buildup of light around the object, giving the effect of multiple lights being used.