Light... Your Subject
While I know many of you shoot a particular genre of photography, like kids, sports, or weddings, it's easy to forget that ultimately your only real subject is light. If you can get light to work for you instead of working against the light you will be able to better capture those things that our client wants to see in our images like color, contrast, expressions, emotions, and interaction between people.
"Without light you can't take a photo." I wise man I know once said this. While this all seem like an elementary subject to be writing to a bunch of photographers about, it's an easy thing to forget. Each variable of your camera is dependent upon the other as they perform a balancing act around the master variable, which is light. These variables include aperture, shutter, ISO, and focal length. They are the basic tools that the camera has to offer us when building the images that we know our clients will love. We rely on these tools to create effects like shallow, depth of field, silhouettes, and high key images.
Yes, we must pay attention to our clients and build a report and relationship with them in order to make the interaction with them more comfortable, but let's not forget about the toughest client of all... light! If you're an available light shooter then you may be subject to whether or not the right amount of light shows up to a shoot. You have to know how to prepare for this with reflectors and scrims. If you use flash then you must master the controls on your flash and completely understand how light modifiers and light ratios affect the way your image turns out.
By better understanding light you can better visualize the images you want to capture long before you have your finger on the button. You can create that perfect image in your head with the confidence of knowing that you understand light well enough to get the shot you want.
As you begin to understand the dance that light shares with your camera those creative images you desire to capture will come naturally. You begin to see the world as the camera sees it, with highlights and shadows that will play hide and seek with your camera's sensor.
I know this is an over romanticized illustration of the simple effect of photons on light receptors but lets face it, photography is a beautiful thing.
So, I thought I would include an assignment with today's article. Take a day to yourself and go shoot some photos for fun. You know... the way you used to shoot before someone agreed to pay you for your services. Go shoot those things that sparked your love for photography. For me it was nature. Maybe for you it was architecture, equestrians, or people on the street. While you're shooting pay attention to what the light is saying. It will teach you if you just listen and watch. Compare the highlights and shadows you are seeing with your eyes to the images you capture. Try and get the light to stream across your image or create a flare as you shoot into it. Let light be your subject and you are sure to capture some amazing images!
I would love to see the images you capture on this assignment. Feel free to join me at the Landing. I'll start a thread with this assignment and hopefully we can share each other's experience shooting light as a subject.
Keep your finger on the button!
Jason | 
