CHAPTER 1
Light: the Beginning
Light—Science & Magic is a discussion, not a lecture. You bring to this dis-
cussion your own opinions about art, beauty, and aesthetics. We do not
intend to change those opinions and may not even inuence them very
much. We will be more annoyed than attered if reading this book causes
you to make pictures that do nothing but mirror ours. For better or worse,
you have to build your own pictures on your own vision.
Most beginning photographers nd lighting mysterious, incredibly
tedious, and frustrating. e good news is light follows rules, and, when we
understand these rules, it all gets easier! We can create mysterious pictures,
as seen here at the beginning of the chapter, but lighting doesn’t have to be ...