COP3 Lighting Techniques Research: Light Direction

Context of Practice 3 Lighting Techniques Research: Light Direction
Front Lighting

‘Front lighting does little to reveal form or texture since the shadows are mostly hidden from view, and as a result it can make things look flat.’

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

Front lighting is very easy to create and it uses one, or more, lights that are set up in front of the subject which will be coming either from behind the camera, in front, or from the camera itself via flash, or built in lighting. Front lighting is very helpful when your want to illuminate the entire subject front on, however this does tend to flatten the subject and get rid of most shadows on them, meaning that the subject does loose a lot of shape and you can't always tell what the subject, if a person, facial structure is. This can create some really interesting looks and can also be good if you want to flood the shot with light. 

Side Lighting

‘You can use side lighting to throw dramatic shadows onto surfaces such as walls to create atmosphere.’

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

Side lighting is fairly simple to create as well as the light is hitting the subject from the side, usually straight from the side on a 90 degree angle. This creates a really nice effect where half of the subject is in shadow and the other half gets this really nice light going across it. Out of the main lighting, side, front and back, this definitely gives the most detail to a subject, especially if it is an environment or an object as you get to see all of the dimensions instead of just seeing the front or the outline from the back. This kind of lighting creates a really nice contrast as you can easily see the difference from the light and shadows and it will be really nice to experiment with.

Back Lighting
‘It is usually a high contrast situation and can ften look very atmospheric and dramatic. If the light course is at a slight angle relative to your point of view, objects will have a rim of light defining one or more of their edges. The harder the light the more pronounced this rim will be.’
Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design 

Back lighting is a technique that I really like as you can get some really beautiful shots where all of the subject is completely in the dark and the only light source is from behind. The result that comes from this kind of lighting creates more of a silhouette, and again like from lighting, it makes the subject appear very flat and you get a small amount of light showing you the shape of the subject. This creates a really nice effect if you want the scene to look very moody and mysterious as there is only a small amount of light that can be scene, as apposed to the full scene being lit.

Lighting from Above ‘For overcast daylight it is the most realistic set-up, with the whole sky acting as a large diffused light source.’
Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

Lighting a subject from above can create a very moody and mysterious look to a subject as the eyes are mostly blacked out and in facial expressions they are obscured so that you cannot read the subject as well as if they were fully lit. This technique is very easy to create as you have one light above them, like in most rooms if you are creating an environment, as you will have ceiling lights that will create this same kind of technique.

Lighting from Below

‘Lighting a figure from below creates a spooky look – even the highlights in the eyes look strange because of their placement. Note how the angle of the light also emphasizes the texture of the skin.’

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

Lighting from below is very similar to lighting from above and creates a similar look in which parts of the subject cannot be seen, especially if it is a living subject. It again creates a very spooky look on features, but can also create a nice emphasis on other features and depending on facial expressions can be interpreted in different ways, and in some cases does not create this strange, spooky look at all.