David Busch's Canon EOS 6D Mark II Guide to Digital SLR Photography

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Making Light Work for You

Successful photographers and artists have an intimate understanding of the importance of light in shaping an image. The photographer may have little or no control over the subject (other than posing human subjects) but can often adjust both viewing angle and the nature of the light source to create a compelling image. The direction and intensity of the light sources create the shapes and textures that we see. The distribution and proportions determine the contrast and tonal values: whether the image is stark or high key, or muted and low in contrast. The colors of the light (because even “white” light has a color balance that the sensor can detect), and how much of those colors the subject reflects or absorbs, paint ...