Shadow in photography

In photography, mastering light is an important premise to get a beautiful picture and one of the beauty that light creates is shadow.

Balls can be divided into several types: shadows, symmetrical balls, black shadows . Each one has its own unique and unique artistic images.

Shadows

The sun just grows or is about to set . the longer the ball is. Photo: Going to school. Author: Lam Phuc.

Shadow is understood as the shadow of an object. It is the black shadow according to the shape and size of the object, which is illuminated by the main light source in the direction of projection. In mathematics, people call it projection. Usually only perpendicular projection (angle of projection is 90 degrees), but the actual angle of projection is completely unknown. Shadows are also sometimes called reclining balls.

The beauty of shadows is their shape depending on the surface where the ball appears. For simplicity, temporarily called a shadow face. The more flat the face is, like a wall, the darker the shadow becomes. But if the rugged, convex, for example, desert, sandy beach, the ball will become a meandering, curved road. It should be noted that the shader face is not only fixed but can be changed as the water surface ripples. Sometimes, you have to deliberately create this ripple to make the scene more beautiful and soulful.

In brick kilns. Photo: Haikeu (Hai Thinh).

Shading depends on a number of factors.

Light intensity and distance of the main light source. The stronger the intensity, the closer the distance is to the shadow, the sharper but the details are less clear. However, the higher the black-and-white contrast, the bigger the feeling of dazzling. On the contrary, the fainter the shadow gives the cool feeling.

Lighting direction. The direction of the light is more horizontal - if the light source is the sun itself, the closer it is to the sunrise and sunset - the longer the shadow will fall. The ball will be lost when the subject is projected perpendicular to the face of the shadow, and it is understood that it is correct to the top of the head.

The shadow adds to the beauty and meaning of the subject with its shape and contrast. Maybe the ball is also the object of shooting, at this time, the subject becomes an indirect subject.

Many photographers like to cast shadows as indirect topics, but in reality, removing shadows is equally important. For example, when shooting flowers quỳnh blooming at night, you have to use lights, but the lights are the main light source to create shadows behind. Therefore, in addition to the main light source, you must use auxiliary light sources to shine on the shadow to remove the shadow.

The way to remove shadows is: Use a strong light source to shine on the shadow to erase it. Choose a location to repel the background into the dark. Post-scene subjects also make the shadow unclear.

Ball symmetry

The symmetrical shadow of the boat in the Autumn morning photo in Eastern Sierra.
Photo: Claratvt (Tran Tran).

Making salt. Photo: Viet Hung.

This is the result of the reflection of light that occurs in nature - also known as shadow or water balloons.

The condition for the object to have the shadow completely symmetrical is that the water surface must be very flat, quiet and reflect a lot of light. Although mirrors and spectacles meet the above conditions, objects such as water surface, floor surface, road surface, etc., even though the reflections are weaker, are sufficient to ensure symmetry of the image and not reflect properly. degree and clarity of objects. Not to mention the case of the water surface is disturbed . by the wind blowing or falling objects, or boats passing by.

Want to capture symmetrical balls for beautiful and vivid, you need to pay attention to the observation position and place the machine always higher than the water. In addition, the details you can see in the object but not in the image, but on the contrary, through the picture, you will see the hidden parts of the balloon. Besides, attention should also be paid to using polarize filter.

Black shadow

First-class rice plant. Photo: Jonhook (Duc Tho).

Photographers can also capture the shadow type, also known as block ball, or shadow itself.

When the main light source hits the subject, it divides the subject into two distinct areas. The area facing the light source is called the bright area, the part that is not illuminated is the shadow or the shadow. This is most understandable when observing the moon, when the moon is full, you will see both areas: bright and dark.

Photographs of black shadows often have the background of dawn or sunset and most use reverse light - light from the back of the subject to the lens. This kind of light needs more experience on aperture and speed. If the subject is a portrait, the light on the face is very soft, the hair is bright and the face is not wrinkled like when taken with flat light.

In order to capture good shadows, you need to have the subject shoot back and forth or light a source (sun, light bulb). Measure light into the background of the sky and then switch to M mode. You can set the color temperature in K to give the desired color, or shoot RAW to make it easier to adjust the Photoshop software. Also, depending on the intention of composing, you should focus on the subject.

Shine

Actively capture the students' balls and turn back the image 180 degrees. Image name: Exercise time. Author: Minh Quan.

An example of shooting a symmetrical ball and flipping a picture, taking the ball as the dominant. Photo: Before practice. Author: Anhcobra (Tung Anh) .

Many photographers like to cast shadows as indirect subjects and in many cases, the ball becomes the center of the picture. At this time, the image becomes very attractive.