David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography

Mastering Light

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The key tool we use to create and shape our images is light itself, in all its many forms and textures. An adept photographer knows how to compensate for too much or too little illumination, how to soften harsh lighting to mask defects, or increase its contrast to evoke shape and detail. Sometimes, we must adjust our cameras for the apparent “color” of light, use a brief burst of it to freeze action, or filter it to reduce glare. In this chapter we’re going to explore both continuous or ambient lighting (such as daylight, incandescent, LED, or fluorescent sources) and the brilliant snippets of light we call electronic flash.

Light That’s Available

You’ll often hear the term available light, meaning the ambient light ...