REVEALING SHAPE AND CONTOUR 85
THE DIRECTION OF THE LIGHT
e direction of the light relative to the subject determines what part of the
subject is highlighted and where the shadows fall. Light from any direction
may be good in any particular case, but only a few of them are good for
emphasizing dimension.
Light coming from the direction of the camera is called front lighting,
because primarily the front of the subject is illuminated. Front lighting
shows the least possible depth because the visible part of the subject is
entirely highlighted. e shadow falls behind the subject where the camera
cannot see it. e camera sees no tonal variation and, therefore, no depth.
For this reason, front lighting is oen called at lighting.
However