See the light

Understanding the huge impact that the direction of light has on your portraits will increase your confidence, technique and ultimately your creativity. Kate Hopewell-Smith is your guide

- Kate Hopewell-Smith

Many years ago, I discovered the importance of the direction of light and its relationship to photography. Understanding that there are essentially three directions, each requiring a different approach to exposure, immediately had a fundamental and long-lasting impact on my work and my confidence. At its simplest you can categorise light into frontal, side, and backlighting. Each direction of light has a very different effect on the form of the subject - largely due to whether shadows are present and where they fall. I try to deliver all three directions of light on every shoot whether I am working indoors or outdoors. Taking this approach helps me to focus and make decisions with confidence and with speed.

It is important to recognise that when you work on location it can be much harder to control the light than in a blackout studio set-up, which is the equivalent of starting with a blank sheet of paper. I do not get fixated on 'perfect' portrait lighting but still borrow from styles such as Rembrandt or Butterfly. In all cases my approach is to judge the ambient lighting first, how can I use it to my advantage and how does it help to establish mood and atmosphere. Then I decide on whether I need to modify the light or add additional lighting to further enhance the portrait. Choosing how you want to work with light in terms of direction should help you make critical posing and directing decisions too.

Frontal Lighting