We expect you to ask this question, so we have a precise and definitive
answer ready. We do not want to leave out any details, so this
will be another two-part answer:
1. No photographer has enough lighting equipment to do
every assignment as well as possible. No matter how much
lighting equipment you have, there will be times when you want
more. Suppose, for example, you can illuminate a large set to
shoot at f/180 in 1/1000 second. (Please call the fire department
before turning on this apparatus.) You will probably then find
that you want still more light in a particular shadow, or you may
find that you need to light a still larger area to fit the required
composition.
2. Most photographers have enough equipment to do almost
every assignment well. Even if you have no lighting equipment
at all, you may be able to get the job done. Can the subject be photographed
outdoors? If not, sunlight through a window may be a
good light source. Inexpensive tools, such as white cloth, black
paper, and aluminum foil, can allow you to control sunlight as
effectively as the best manufactured equipment.
Good lighting equipment is a great convenience. If the sun
moves too far across the sky before you are ready to expose, you may
have to wait until it returns the next day and hope there is no more
and no less cloud cover the second time around. Professional photographers
know that convenience becomes necessity when they
have to photograph what the client wants when the client wants.
This message is not aimed at professionals, however. They
already know how to do whatever is needed with whatever is avail-able. We are more interested in encouraging students now. You
have advantages that professionals do not. Within broad limits,
you can select the size of your subject.
Small scenes require less light. You may not have a 3-× 4-meter
soft box, but a desk lamp with a 60-watt bulb with a tracing paper
diffuser can light a small subject identically. Within broad limits,
you can also select the best time to shoot the picture. Getting an
assignment done sometime before next week’s class at 10:00 on
Thursday is less demanding than having an appointment to do the
job between 9:00 and 10:00 on Thursday.
Lack of equipment is a handicap. You know it and we know
it. But the lack is not an insurmountable obstacle. Creativity
can overcome it. Just remember that creative lighting occurs
primarily in planning the lighting. Part of that creativity means
anticipating the limitations and deciding how to work with them.
by
Light–
Science & Magic
An Introduction to Photographic Lighting
Third Edition
Fil Hunter
Steve Biver
Paul Fuqua