24 LIGHT: THE RAW MATERIAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY
e key point to grasp here is that photographic lighting is more than just
light. Lighting is a relationship between the light, the subject, and the viewer.
us, if we want to say any more about lighting, we must now talk about the
subject.
HOW THE SUBJECT AFFECTS LIGHTING
Photons move. Photographic subjects oen sit still. is is why we tend to
consider light to be the “active” player in the photographic event. But this
attitude can handicap our ability to “see” a scene.
Two identical photons striking two dierent surfaces can appear dramat-
ically dierent to the eye and to the camera. e subject changes the light,
and dierent subjects change the light in dierent ways. e subject plays ...