What is it that separates a good picture from a great photograph? What separates a good photographer from a master artist? It’s not the subject of the image. It’s not the gear used. It’s not even the exposure itself. Though, all of those things do indeed have an impact on the final image.
The one most important aspect of photography is the light.
An understanding of the nature of light and how to use it to our advantage is vital to mastering the art of photography. We won’t become masters by reading one or two articles online, but we can start on our journey of improvement by taking note of some of the different types of lighting in photography.
10 Different Types of Lighting in Photography
1. Direct Sunlight
Direct sunlight is one of the most basic forms of light we can think of. The vast majority of photographs ever taken are likely to have the Sun as the major, if not sole, light source.
Sunlight is good, but direct sunlight on the front of our subject isn’t always the best choice for a pleasing image, whether a quickly arranged portrait of family and friends, or a documentation of our home or car. Sometimes it is, though, so we look at sunlight with our thoughts on art, seeing how best to use it.
2. Sky Light
Sky light is an interesting form of sunlight. Instead of being lit by the warm rays of direct sun, our subject is illuminated by the cooler looking bright expanse of the sky itself. The color temperature is cooler, and any shadows tend to look less defined.
3. Indirect Light
Indirect light can come from the Sun or an artificial source, but it is bounced at least once. No direct rays from the source. Indirect light is often bounced from multiple surfaces and has even less defined shadows than skylight, sometimes to the point of being virtually shadowless. An overcast day is an example of indirect light.
4. Side Light
Side light can enhance texture and detail, or it can hide it. It depends on what angle we are using. The source can be direct, though it may be diffused. Great for certain portrait techniques and for creating dramatic images of nature or architecture.
5. Back Light
Back light is where we put the subject matter between the main light source and our camera position. With back light, we can create a silhouette with the dark subject outlined against the background.
We can also create a halo of bright luminescence around our subject, animate or inanimate, by exposing for detail in the subject itself. A pleasing effect when done well.
6. Artificial lighting
Artificial lightcomes in various forms. We can use it when the Sun is not shining or to help fill in with some form of sunlight. Artificial light can be a continuous light, such as LED lights, or a high intensity photo flood. Street lights and house lamps also count as usable artificial light sources.
7. Flash and strobes
Flash/speedlites and strobes lights are other artificial light sources. They provide a brief, but intense, burst of illumination. Useful for conditions and situations that do not allow for a continuous light, strobes are a mainstay in many photographic studios. For studio portraits or product photography, it’s hard to beat these cool running light sources for control and repeatability.
8. Diffusers and light modifiers
Diffusers are as numerous in type as in uses. We can use a reflector when direct sun light, side light, or back light are our main source. We can mount diffusers on our artificial lights, whether a bank of studio strobes or an LED light bar, to soften the light quality. We can bounce lights off of umbrellas or shine them through a softbox. We can even modify our lights with color filters on the light itself.
9. Moonlight
Moonlight is on this list to open our minds to out of the box thinking with regards to photographic lighting. We could open this up to any light that may not seem, at first, to be a standard for photography. Lasers, flashlights, even firelight can be used to good effect if we think about it hard enough.
As for the Moon itself, a rural landscape can have an almost ethereal appearance when imaged by moonlight. A cityscape can become full of wonder with this light as a source. Any image of the Moon itself is lit by direct sunlight (think about it).
10. Mixed lighting
Mixed lighting opens us up to all sorts of possibilities. We can mix LED artificial lights with diffused indirect window light. We can use our on camera flash in direct sunlight, either to be a fill or for a special effect. We can shoot in sunlight and use a reflector to modify it, essentially giving us the Sun as two light sources.
We can mix side light with backlight or direct frontal light to model our subject in 3 dimensions. We can use artificial light, either strobe or continuous, with various light modifiers. We can filter an LED light with a color and add it to a multi light set up to enhance an aspect of our subject.
Thinking about the light itself, how it will affect the final image we have in mind, gets us away from the crutch of relying on our equipment to do the job for us. In some cases, the equipment itself is indeed important. But the one most important aspect of photographic art is understanding light.
If you want to learn more about the different types of lighting for photography, check out these helpful guides below.
- 8 types of creative lights for photography
- 6 tips for lighting a portrait
- Guide to different types of light and outdoor lighting conditions