GoPro Cameras For Dummies

Chapter 7

Mastering the Light

In This Chapter

Seeing what makes up light

Knowing the secrets of light sources

Managing white balance

Making the most of light

Light defines how we record the world and communicate ideas through movies. But not just any light will do, so don’t expect it to transform your GoPro movie into anything spectacular unless it’s appropriate for the scene. Have you ever been in an old house that uses dingy fluorescent tubes for bathroom illumination? If so, you know that the light makes you look like an alien — not just any alien, but a sick one. Compare that with your appearance in a mirror adorned with an array of soft tungsten bulbs. Now, that’s better.

It’s important to think of light much in the same way that a painter thinks of paint. She doesn’t throw it on haphazardly (unless her name is Jackson Pollock). Instead, she applies the paint very deliberately, creating both form and detail. Great lighting shares this idea and provides an intoxicating mystique ...