The Portrait, 2nd Edition

3 Lighting Sources and Equipment

© Tim Meyer

Creating Light

We need light to make photographs. Like the painters of the Renaissance, we create the lighting environment in a way that allows us to envision and capture the portrait. To do this, we need to understand how to control light. We will deal with this topic in this chapter, discussing light and lighting equipment, and in the next chapter, where we will discuss the modification of lighting.

Discussing light as energy is the most accurate way to approach this subject. Light, regardless of type, is part of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). When there is a release of energy, there is the potential ...