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This is one of my two final light and shadow photos. In this one I increased the blackness of the lower interior of the building to give the photo some good contrast. It was a bit tricky trying to find the perfect blend of gray, black and white but in the end I found this combination to be the best and most expressive.
I am really happy with how this photo turned out.

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This is one of my two final light and shadow photos. In this photo I wanted to try something that I haven't really done before in the past and thats a picture that continues on like a corridor. I darkened certain areas of the to give a good contrast , the roof of the corridor can be seen and gives a nice short pattern that follows into the corridor, and I like the small light on the other side in the middle that grabs the initial attention of the viewer. I am really happy with how this photo turned out.

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How to get Amaising Light and Shadow photos

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How to get Amaising Light and Shadow photos

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Photographing shadows is often overlooked as a creative subject for our photography, and we can understand why. Any photographer, or photographic professional, will tell you that photography is all about light. That's true. But we see beauty in that little ugly duckling called shadows.

We've been involved in photography for almost half a century, and one thing has always amazed us; many folks don't truly understand what a shadow is when viewed in a photograph. We're not saying that people don't know what a shadow is "period". There probably isn't a single one of us who didn't stand on a playground when we were children and marvel at the late afternoon sun casting our long shadow across the pavement.

But as it relates to the photographic image, a lot of folks seem confused about what a shadow really is.
Let's Point Out What a Shadow Isn't This is not a shadow. This is a silhouette. So What is the Difference?

the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, esp. in dim light

a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.

We're sure that many old pros from the photography world are scoffing at us right now. They're probably thinking that everyone knows the difference between a shadow and a silhouette. But, believe it or not, many beginners in photography don't know the difference.

So, let's talk about the difference.

Silhouettes have a fixed shape that mimics the object blocking the light. Shadows are not fixed in shape. A shadow will change in shape, definition, and color based on the positioning, quality, and color of the light creating it. It will also change characteristics based on the object that it falls upon. This opens up room for a lot of creativity.
The Characteristics of Shadows
Every beginning photographer is taught about the qualities of light: soft light, hard light, broad light, spot light, etc. Shadows also exhibit similar characteristics.

A shadow can be deep in tone and have a hard defined edge.
Harsh direct light creates deep shadows with hard defined edges.
A shadow can also be broad, soft, and with a feathered almost imperceptible edge.
Not only does the quality of light affect shadows, the distance of the light source to the object casting the shadow will change it's characteristics, as well as the distance of the object casting the shadow to the object the shadow falls upon. As you can see, working with shadows opens up an almost infinite window of opportunity.
A shadow can be twisted and manipulated by changing the shape of the object casting the shadow. A shadow can be almost translucent. A shadow can be colored! You can do a lot of cool things with a shadow.
The Common Use of Shadows
When photographers, (or all artists for that matter), think of modeling a three dimensional object onto a two dimensional medium, they think of highlights and shadows. It's these two elements, which are created by light, that help us to see in three dimensions.
This photograph is a perfect example of how highlights and shadows emphasize three dimensions. Picture this in your mind, if the photograph had been taken at noon, with the sun directly overhead, the sand dune would lose all of it's three dimensional qualities. What if We Use Shadows in an Uncommon Way?
How do we do that? We make the shadows- the subject of our photograph!
This is a perfect example of the shadow becoming the subject. Sure, this is a picture of a cat, but it's the distorted shadow of the cat that brings interest to what could have been an ordinary photograph! This is a somewhat abstract, but very interesting, use of a shadow as subject matter. Shadows Will Be Our Subject- Now What?
Let's look at some ways that you can put shadows to work in expressing yourself.
This photographer took the idea of using shadows, as subjects, to a whole new level. He actually created his shadows by making the objects that were going to cast the shadows. What a creative statement! Does that spark some ideas?
Photography is about expressing yourself in an artistic medium. Applying that to shadows could mean hunting down interesting shadows that already exist. It could mean creating shadows that weren't there. It could even mean you manipulating existing shadows to satisfy your creative vision!
Did you know that Shadows can be Colored?
When light is directed at a translucent object some light is blocked and some of the color spectrum passes through; this creates colored multi-tone shadows. An example of this would be a stained glass window. Here's a cool idea. Collect different types of colored glass and use them to create colored shadows in a scene that you select. Here's another cool point. If you create shadows of several different colors and intersect them, a new color will be formed where they overlap.
Colored shadows are created by passing light through colored translucent objects, or by putting colored gels on the light sources that create the shadows. Just remember, if any white (full spectrum) light hits your colored shadow it will erase the color. Shadows can Accentuate Details
Perhaps, you have a subject that you're looking for a way to direct the viewer's eye to a certain detail. Why not create a shadow?
This photographer used some carefully placed shadows to direct the eye, AND, create a mood. Shadows can Convey Emotion The dense black shadows, and their placement around the eyes, emphasizes the feeling of sadness, or depression. Shadows and the Abstract
The ability to stretch and distort shadows lends itself to interesting and beautiful abstract images.
This curved shadow between two walls is a beautiful abstract form. A New Perspective
Even when there are recognizable objects within a photograph, the use of strong shadows can provide a creative element that strengthens the composition.
The repeated form of the bicycle- strengthens- what would have been a rather ordinary photograph.
We hope that you feel inspired to seek out shadows, create shadows, alter shadows, and highlight them in your future photographs!

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How to Get Amazing Images from Shadows (15 Awesome Examples)

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Photographing shadows is often overlooked as a creative subject for our photography, and we can understand why. Any photographer, or photographic professional, will tell you that photography is all about light. That's true. But we see beauty in that little ugly duckling called shadows.

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Website about light and shadow techniques

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Website about light and shadow techniques

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The narrower the source, the harder the light. A broad light source lessens shadows, reduces contrast, suppresses texture.

A narrow light source does the opposite. This is because, with a broad source, light rays hit your subject from more directions, which tends to fill in shadows and give more even illumination to the scene.
2. The closer the light source, the softer the light.
The farther the source, the harder the light. This stands to reason: Move a light closer, and you make it bigger-that is, broader-in relation to your subject. Move it farther away, and you make it relatively smaller, and therefore more narrow.

Think about the sun, which is something like 109 times the diameter of the earth-pretty broad! But, at 93 million miles away, it takes up a very small portion of the sky and hence casts very hard light when falling directly on a subject.
3. Diffusion scatters light, essentially making the light source broader and therefore softer.
When clouds drift in front of the sun, shadows get less distinct. Add fog, and the shadows disappear. Clouds, overcast skies, and fog act as diffusion-something that scatters the light in many directions. On overcast or foggy days, the entire sky, in effect, becomes a single very broad light source-nature's softbox.
4. Bouncing light acts as diffusion.
Aim a narrow light source at a broad, matte surface-such as a wall, ceiling, or matte refiector-and it not only refiects the light but also diffuses it by scattering it over a wider area.

Use a shiny refiector, though, and the light will stay fairly narrow on the bounce. The most extreme type of shiny refiector-a mirror-will keep the light focused pretty much as narrowly in the refiection.

5. The farther the light source, the more it falls off- gets dimmer on your subject.

The rule says that light falls off as the square of the distance. That sounds complicated, but isn't really. If you move a light twice as far from your subject, you end up with only one-quarter of the light on the subject.

In other words, light gets dim fast when you move it away- something to keep in mind if you're moving your lights or your subject to change the quality of the light.

Also remember that bouncing light-even into a shiny reflector that keeps light directional- adds to the distance it travels.
6. Light falloff can be used to vary the relationship between the light on your subject and your background.
If you place a light close to your subject, the falloff from the subject to the background will be more pronounced. Move the light farther from your subject, and the background will be relatively brighter.

The same holds true for sidelighting: With a light close to the side of your subject, the falloff of light across the frame will be more pronounced than if the light is farther away.
7. Frontlighting de-emphasizes texture; lighting from the side, above, or below emphasizes it.
A portraitist may want to keep the light source close to the axis of the lens to suppress skin wrinkles, while a landscapist may want sidelighting to emphasize the texture of rocks, sand, and foliage. Generally, the greater the angle at which the light is positioned to the subject, the more texture is revealed.
8. Shadows create volume.
That's how photographers describe threedimensionality, the sense of seeing an image as an object in space, not projected on a flat surface.

Again, lighting from the side, above, or below, by casting deeper and longer shadows, creates the sense of volume. Still-life, product, and landscape photographers use angular lighting for this reason.
9. Backlight can be used as highly diffused lighting.
Very few subjects are totally backlit, that is, in pure silhouette, with no light at all falling from the front. A person with his back to a bright window will have light reflected from an opposite wall falling on him. Someone standing outside with her back to bright sunlight will have light falling on her from the open sky in front of her. In either case, you'll need to increase exposure to record the light falling on the subject-and this light will deemphasize facial texture and dimensionality.
10. Light has color, even when it looks "white."
This is called color temperature, and our eye/brain computer is very adept at adjusting our perception so that we hardly notice it. Digital sensors and film, though, may record color casts where our eyes didn't see them.

The color of early morning and late afternoon sunlight is warm in tone, while open shade at midday can be quite bluish. Tungsten light bulbs cast very yellow light. And any surface that light bounces off can add its color.

With digital cameras, you can use the white-balance control to neutralize color casts or to emphasize them-for example, to add a warmer tone to a landscape or portrait. With slide film, you had to choose the right film for the light you'd be shooting in, or compensate with filters.

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The Top 10 Photography Lighting Facts You Should Know

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The narrower the source, the harder the light. A broad light source lessens shadows, reduces contrast, suppresses texture. A narrow light source does the opposite. This is because, with a broad source, light rays hit your subject from more directions, which tends to fill in shadows and give more even illumination to the scene.

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Inspiration

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ideasxrecycler:    Ricardo Domínguez Alcaraz

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I love this picture, its contrast and overall unity 

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I love this picture, its contrast and overall unity 

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Inspiration

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These Gorgeous Photos Of Hong Kong In The Fifties Will Make You Nostalgic For An Era Long Gone

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I like the image's rule of thirds and its simplicity . 

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I like the image's rule of thirds and its simplicity . 

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Inspiration

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Like the use of shadow as the design element - want to do something like this for an exhibition installation

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Inspiration

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Inspiration

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Inspiration

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juanguevaraphoto:    Aftermath        Juan Guevara

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I like how the lighting makes the image eerie

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I like how the lighting makes the image eerie

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Inspiration

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Architectural works are considered as works of art. This post consists of 26 Amazing Architectural Photography, taken at different spots around the world.

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I wish to take a picture like this, there is a good contrast between light and the dark

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I wish to take a picture like this, there is a good contrast between light and the dark

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Inspiration

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#FabulousInteriors #ArchitecturalLighting When light is allowed to become an architectural element. Stunning!

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I like hoe the shadow and light separate her face

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I like hoe the shadow and light separate her face

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Inspiration

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Facing the Shadow Self. Incredible lighting and shadows! LO

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Inspiration

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{Jack} I take a deep breath, the uncertainty of Eleanor's reaction to my return tearing me apart from the inside out. I slowly open the front door, it's 8:30, after the kids' bedtime. Two months. Two whole months. And now I'm finally seeing her again. "E-Ellie?" I call raspily.