Getting a good picture is dependent on having good lighting.Pictures with different amounts of light have greatly different looks, and even the emotional appeal is different.When a picture is brightly lit, it has a more cheerful feel to it than a picture that is darker and may seem gloomy at worst, or mysterious at best.
Traditional photography captured the light by impressions on chemicals, while digital photography uses pixels to capture light.The best light is natural, but sometimes there's not enough available for a good picture.Artifical lighting provides illumination when there's not enough natural lighting.
How Much Light Is There?
While you can see for yourself to some extent how much light is available, to get precise measurements you need a light meter.A light meter doesn't do the same job a flash does.Light meters are made to tell how much light is being reflected off a subject, not to provide lighting.
A handheld light meter will measure the light and was once a standard part of any serious photographer’s equipment.Since most digital cameras now have built-in light meters, you can tell how bright the picture will be just by looking through the eyepiece. The camera’s light meter will set off the automatic flash when it’s too dark.
Histograms Instead of Light Meters
Also, with digital cameras, it’s not so important to have a light meter because most have a histogram.Histograms can be used in a similar fashion since a histogram shows how light or dark a picture is.
If you don’t have a histogram on your camera, or just don’t want to fuss with it, the simplest method is to take a picture and review it to see how it looks, and if it’s too dark or light, adjust by adding more light or lowering the amount of light.
A lot of practice and a lot of patience will help you get the best lighting for your photographs.
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