Chapter
1
Lighting
& Exposure
It is always either available, electronic flash, or
a
combination of both lights, that suggest the mood
and reveal
details in any photograph. It is very important not
to
underestimate the power and the role that light plays
in any
subject or scene to be photographed, especially when
it is the
only source of the scene/subject`s illumination.
Available light is a general term for a relatively
dim light,
that exists, or is present at the scene, or your subject`s
location, where a photograph is to be taken. Taking
pictures in
available light is called available light photography,
and is
often used when the mood of a scene/subject needs
to be
emphasized, as in this photo.
Flash light, on the contrary, is a brief illumination
of the
scene/subject by an electronic flash bulb, and is
called flash
photography. Electronic flash is used to illuminate,
reveal
details, and/or halt the motion of the subject (if
a brief enough
duration is used), and is utilized as an electronic
source of r
light, since one cannot always rely on sufficient
available, or
natural light. As I have mentioned, often, a combination
of both,
available and electronic flash lights is used to preserve
the
natural mood in a scene, while revealing the details
of the
subject, which are often hidden by the presence of
shadows cast
over it. Here, both the electronic flash and available
light have
been used to illuminate the details of the subject
and preserve
the natural mood in this picture of the pumpkins.
All of the Polaroid instant cameras have an automatic
built-
in electronic flash. Also, a built-in light sensor,
or in other
words, an electronic eye, which measures the amount
of light
reaching the subject, and in turn sends the received
information
to the light meter/calculator, which in its turn sends
its
readings back to the flash unit so, that according
to them only
so much off of the entire light output is released,
when the unit
is fired. Using the conventional, or non instant cameras,
the
amount or both light sources, the available light
and the
electronic flash light reaching the scene/subject,
can be
controlled by the use of naturally or artificially
designed
reflectors and difussers, bouncing some, or all of
that light
source output back to the point or its departure (the
brighter
the reflecting surface, the more light is bounced
back, and vice-
versa. or difussing it.
Flash
is often used to create special effects. In this photo
of the lifeline helicopter that seems to be struck
by many
thunderbolts, the camera flash bounced off of the
deck showered
by the rain, creating a special effect that brought
interest to
the otherwise average scene, making it look more off-beat.
There
are also other means that exist for other, not less
important
purposes such as light intensity monitoring devices,
and those
that control time over which the flash-light has been
poured over
the scene/subject, as well as the means allowing only
for a
certain controlled value of it to be poured out. It
is much
easier to control volume of your flash-light output
from the
location of your flash unit and the camera`s position,
by either
changing the electronic flash to the subject distance,
or
manipulating its volume, than trying to control it
by using
reflectors and difussers. Since the ability to control
and
manipulate direct light is very important in creating
a certain
type of mood in the photograph, as in this portrait,
it is
crucial that you experiment with your flash light
source, in
order to know in advance the effects that it could
create in
your photo. Always avoid direct and harsh flash reflection
in the
glass behind your subject, as was not done in this
photo, since
you might get unpleasantly white spots often of a
washed out
color, they can spoil your otherwise good photograph.
Here, in
the first photo, the direct electronic flash and its
intence
volume reflecting in the body of the hot-rod destroyed
otherwise
good image. In the second photo it was avoided by
changing the
shooting angle of the camera and thus the direction
of the flash,
as well as altering the distance to the subject.
Making it easier to control your flash light output,
is what
the designers or the instant picture camera had in
mind when they
designed a switch, which controls your built-in electronic
flaSh
by providing you with a darken/lighten control. By
increasing (to
lighten), or decreasing (to darken) the flash light
output`s
volume, you can control how much of the flash light
will reach
the scene/subject, or what is going to be the mood
of your
picture (harsher in appearance, the more flash light
is given in
proportion to the available light in the scene, or
softer, if
more of the available light, than the flash light
is present). In
such Polaroid made instant cameras as Spectra, Spectra
Z and
ProCam this switch is located on their back panel,
in some other
models, and those with the L.C.D.s, they are located
in other
places, where they are a part of the computer, and
supposed to be
programmed by the photographer. Such cameras as: Minolta
Instant
Pro, Captiva and others are equipped with the above
mentioned
feature. An average instant cameras` automatic electro-flash
exposure is balanced with an average available light,
thus by
switching the control to darken or lighten your exposure,
the
balance of the flash exposure equals available light
exposure, is
distorted, and one of the two sources or light becomes
the main
one, while the other one takes upon the secondary
role.
General
rules for using your built-in to your instant camera
automatic electronic flash are:
