Thanks for joining me today here for another episode of The Art Of Seeing. What is your favourite time of year to be photographing outside? I like the early spring as the land is still in it's winter mode, but the lighting can change so quickly (plus it's a bit warmer outside!)
Spring for me as well. I live in the country on 100 acres of land. In the spring the ice and snow melt, water starts flowing, new life emerges from the earth. There’s just so much going on. Every day is something different. And there’s no mosquitos or black flies, which is always a plus!
My favorite time for photography is autumn. Autumn can be a long season in California. It starts in late September in the High Sierras at over 10,000 feet, and works it’s way down to the Central Valley by mid December. As a rule, we get clear blue skies for weeks, so the color of the leaves contrasts nicely with the blue sky. When the sun is shining on leaves they will look like they’re on fire. The sunsets turn the mountains pink and baby blue. There are many little lakes where you can catch a perfectly reflected sunset. If you’re lucky you get freshly fallen snow with the colorful leaves still on trees or on the ground. I can’t wait for fall! (Right now it’s around 40 degrees C, which is making that wish even stronger!). Thank you for this great video!
I found this channel purely by accident and I’m so glad I did. The photography knowledge here is outstanding and so eloquently delivered. A great combination of the technical and the artistic.
I'm not one that has gone to college or university to study as I'm not good at learning in that manner. However your channel feels more educational than any of the other Photography channels on RUclips. Thank you for your time making and allowing us to learn from your experience.
Totally agree Karl, I definitely learn something new every time I watch the channel, a real photography education, I echo your thanks for Alex’s efforts.
When we use"light" in the sense of being able to see an object, we also use black in order to determine the boundaries of the object. Using the word 'light' is such a bold description of it all.
You are quickly becoming my favourite channel both for your teaching and as pure entertainment. "Software gymnastics" ~ such an accurate turn of phrase. I don't have a favourite time of year outside; it is all good. Living in the subarctic, I enjoy fabulous quality of light both night and day.
Thank you for the great content. Your channel is really about photography; far from the camera/lens marketing frenzy that has plagued RUclips. Your videos have made me look more into the works of famous photographers and understand why they excelled at what they did, it also made me more intentional about taking photos.
RUclips recommended your videos and it’s rare for the algorithm to be on point. Thank you for your generosity and kindness in creating conceptional and creatively rich content. As a new photographer I’m grateful.
White balance off auto and on to daylight is my favourite way to capture natural light. It seems to me to best emulate film photography in capturing lighting moods like the weird yellow green as the sun shines under storm clouds, the green shadows in a forest, or the actual golden light that gave golden hour its name. Auto white can be useful but it often also seems auto bland, so too for digital correction off grey card shots.
Photo-graphy simply means the Art of Light. Thus, the second most important skill a photographer need to learn or know is to identify the light to make a photograph. In a studio enviroment, we just have to create the light using strobes. Concepts well explained.
Hi Alex, I've watched quite a few of your videos now and am hooked. You share some amazing knowledge and your style of delivery is just fantastic. I could listen to you talk about photography all day! You would have been a fantastic BBC presenter, back in the day when there were serious shows about art and culture on television!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and your thoughts on photography and light. You mention in this video, ..."once you learn to read and understand and use light to your advantage in camera without resorting to software gymnastics then you are going to be in charge of everything within that image." Your example of taking a picture of sunset with one's camera set on "daylight" acts a good exercise as I find myself wrestling with appropriate settings to get appropriate exposure for foreground, mid, and background in a sunset in a single shot. I apologize for the obvious naivete. What I hear you say is, if you know how to use the camera (and I sooooo want to know how to use my camera), you can get that shot in one shot, in camera, without post-processing "gymnastics." And, not to digress, but what used to only happen in post-processing and "gymnastics", now has crawled right inside these contraptions as they offer intervalometers, exposure bracketing, not to mention all manner of in-camera processing. Thoughts? Two nights ago, I went with the LOML to watch the sunset and try to get a photograph. As I mention above, in manual or even aperture priority mode, I can't seem to get where I want. Either the clouds look gorgeous and all else is way under exposed, or the foreground looks great and the clouds are blown out. My first attempt at HDR post-processing resulted in the only picture that felt like it kinda, sorta, captured the scene. (Sorry, you asked for URLs of photos in one of your videos. I post only to ask the question. So, I guess, roast away, however, please remember I have owned the camera for six weeks and photography is not what I do. Though I would like to do it better, which I guess is why we are all here. Thank you again. :) ) www.photocrowd.com/photos/sunset-at-gully-trail-trailhead-del-mar-ca-5339298.8ad09dcc4/ Methods like high dynamic range compositing seem to solve this problem, but is it cheating. Is that an example of knowing how to use one's camera to harness the light? Or, does this show an example of software gymnastics? So much thanks! Keep up the great work!
Hi JP. The idea about post processing gymnastics is that quite a few photographers perfer to spend more time in PS trying to get the vibe they want. And that's fine, if that's what they want to do. Without getting too into it, what it sounds like in your case is needed is just some basics about exposure and how photography works at it's base level. Don't worry, we've all been there. It's not nearly as scary as it seems at first. The situation you're talking about is a tricky one IRT exposure and photographing what you see. My suggestion would be to spend the next week or so just photographing 'average' scenes (i.e nothing too taxing lighting wise) and getting to know how things like shutter speed, aperture and the like work. Once you have a better grasp of the basics it will be easier for you to interpret the scene in front of you. FWIW, and this is a personal take, I'm not a fan of HDR. I think this sunset would have much more drama if there was just the barest hint of detail in that forest rather than trying to balance them both. Also, the sky is the main player here, not the foliage, give me more sky please :D
I can't appreciate this enough. I've been a photographer since 1998 and recently I've been dwelling on what sort of ideas I want to work on. Even though I know the composition method, I am really enjoying your approach, which is most definitely enriching the quality of my thinking towards my projects. Thank you so much.
@@ThePhotographicEye I’ve watched a billion hours on RUclips. And a video that didn’t tell me what camera or lens to use; gave me the tools to see and explore.
Dear Alex Kilbee, I discovered your channel just a few days ago and have followed dozens of your posts over the last two days. I am inspired by what you have to say. It gives me a lot of pleasure to listen to them. Thank you for your fantastic work. Best regards, Stefan
Cameras record light. Good light = good image. The gear is just in the way. Good video. Helping people find the light they want for their vision is an excellent topic. Thanks.
Another excellent video. My favorite time of year has to be either spring or fall. More for the climate than the light- summers are hot and humid and winters are cold and damp where I live. I read once that there is no such thing as "bad light", there is only the wrong light for the subject. I really enjoy your channel. Thanks for all your effort to create your videos.
I’d totally forgotten that saying about bad light, but it’s so right! Right now I’m in the UK so the light isn’t ever really too harsh, but grew up in Africa where the summer midday sun is brutal, but suits the landscape. So pleased you’re enjoying the episodes, thanks for commenting.
My favorite photographers shot with available light, and I am obviously influenced by them. But there is always more to learn and this video was inspiring. Thank you!
Thank you for this wonderful series with it inspiring bio of past and future artist/photographers. There introduction enhance my appreciation of my love of the craft and beauty of photo.
Great video as always, Alex. It’s so important to keep in mind the positioning of light and shadows when composing an image. Looking forward to your next video. Cheers!
"Software gymnastics" lol love that one! Lately I've preferred sketching out the image visions in my head before shooting so there's less time sitting/at computer and more time working on real gymnastics, so my body doesn't stay stuck in a "chair posture" :P I love your channel and this video in particular explains light in a way that few have done on RUclips. Thank you for sharing!
I grew up on film and still use it lots. I record light on digital cameras as if I were using film by using pre sets or a custom setting. I do not use auto white balance it gives what I think of as an incipid colour palette.
Hello again Alex. Another cracking video with wonderful examples. For me, your image of the staircase, the man at the bottom, and the image flanked by angular shapes and form, lines defined by light and shadow, and a sense of mystery too, seems a perfect examplar. Many thanks.
Southern California weather- seems it's ALWAYS summer / harsh light. The winter months seems to give the nicest light - it's at an angle which gives a nice contrast
I usually set picture control to monochrome in my camera, white balance, exposure, ISO set manually, like you suggested to explore. I use graduated filters, polarising filter to feather in the lighting condition and save the hightlights without being blown out. My aim is to cover the blackest black to the whitest white on the histogram and the monochrome photo helps. I shoot raw. The photo automatically gets converted to colour by default by the computer. I find the colour I get is controlled and provides more leeway when editing the files. My dream is to get the monochrome Leica Q2.
Great Episode Alex. Thank you. I enjoyed that you added some of your own images to the episode. They are rather good. All of the images used did a very good job of explaining the concepts you presented. I am useless with flash and so am very interested in exploring natural light and night photography. I primarily shoot a Fuji XPro-3 with the optical view finder to have the benefits of mirrorless along with a real eye view of the scene. I find this allows me to see the light much better than the EVF.
Thanks David. Pleased as punch you’re enjoying the videos. I tried out an EVF once and while it was fun, I prefer the concept of picturing the scene rather than twiddling knobs trying to coax up a picture. Must be a hangover from a Wratten W90 filter (if my wonky memory serves me) being a required purchase at photoschool.
Just discovered your channel Alex ... very much enjoying this series and looking forward to more great content. Very useful insights, and well presented, thank you!
I am struggling with procrastination for fear of creating terrible images. It is paralysing. And I’m mourning what I could be creating. Your video on quitting photography popped up in my notifications and I initially saw it as an omen and hesitated to click on it. I never view suggested videos. But for some reason I clicked on it, and I’m so glad I did. I am putting immense pressure on myself and losing sight of my joy for creating. I am currently trying to figure out how to create some professional looking product images without professional lighting. Instead of experimenting, I’m avoiding. Controlled lighting is my nemesis. I have always worked using natural or ambient light. Even then I don’t think my confidence in understanding light has been there. Shocking considering I received a 1st class degree in photography. This video felt like a nudge. I want to find joy in experimenting and lose fear in mistakes. Any wise words or advice if you have time would be very uplifting. Thank you
Hi Hannah, thanks for watching! IRT working with studio heads. Just try one head at first, in a darkened room so you can see only the strobe and what it's doing. Start slow, don't be afraid to experiment, and move the light around like a hand on the clock (i.e keep the subject standing in the middle of the clock, keep the camera at 6pm, and move the light around 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc always pointing to the subject. See what difference the changes in position make to the quality of the light) Glad the videos helped you :D
@@ThePhotographicEye Thank you so much for that. Do you have any recommendations for a (budget friendly) lighting set up/kit? I’m trying to work with very little at the moment and, as you said, investing in all of the kit isn’t necessarily the answer. Trying to work with an on camera speedlight and sourcing kit to use it off camera. Making the right decision on where to spend money is a mine field.
Found you through the “algorithm “ 🙂. But like others have said you do a great job discussing and explaining photography and not gear, gear, gear. Keep up the great work and letting all my photography friends know about this channel. I am a seasoned photographer but this has refreshed my willingness to look deeper into my photographic journey. Well done!
Thanks for the great photos you shared on Using the Light. I have been a fan of light (and Photography) since I learned that photography means 'writing with light'. Unfortunately, there are far fewer people who enjoy black & white than when I started--when developing and printing were mandatory and digital was a thing of the future. After my walls were full, I became a 'closet photographer; and when my closets were full, I stopped photographing. Then my grandson gave me his 'hand-me-down iPhone 6, and now my iPhone X is ever at hand, and Instagram beats a closet any day. I had not seen Ryuijie's work before and loved the image of the tulip--I looked him up and found that he froze his flowers. It's very like the work by Harold Davis when he photographs flowers on a light table.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, it's rare to find solid content like you present on your channel. I'd just like to ask you to show the example pictures in the net videos a bit slower, so that we can better appreciate the quality of the images that you carefully chose. Cheers!
Just discovered your channel, and very happy that I did. Excellent tutorials and very interesting information on famous photographers. Personally, I think each season has its own challenges, each season is interesting for a photographer - but autumn is my favorite ;-).
I am gradually watching the whole series and it's all basic and yet so well thought out and transmitted down to us watchers. All info like this that makes us rethink things is so good for us as photographers! Thank you!
This was great! I don't often slow down enough to think about direction, quality, color or mood of lighting.....I just know that I either like something or I don't. Question: I am dealing with a lot of smoke in the air from wildfires. Any tips on White Balance? (other than experimenting, which I plan to do beginning tomorrow!) How can I use the smoke to my advantage?
I thank you for your content, it has helped me a lot in my process... maybe you could place the ig link or the website of each photographer? thank you, greetings from Colombia
Call me wrong, there is never wrong light. Let me explain. First I don't shoot with a flash unless I am shooting people. So to put this in context I am talking about street and landscapes primarily. I see light as a challenge to find a way to highlight a subject and tell a story. Light that may make a landscape flat and boring makes me look deeper into a scene. A subject hiding in a shadow or peaking out of one for example. Light constantly changes. Which means I can tell the story differently every time and still be honest in telling it. I am simply the scribe to the moment. My goal is to present the moment in a way that makes others pause and take in the scene and sense something deeper than the daily grind. There is never a wrong time to photograph. Knowledge, tools, and a good storytelling are, as I see it, the keys to good and great images. Ultimately if I like the image I am happier for having made the effort. If someone else likes it is simply bonus points.
Hi Luke. It's hard to say really, as IMHO there's no such thing as bad lighting, just the wrong choice of lighting for the idea behind the photograph. Probably a good rule of thumb is to think to yourself, 'does this light make me feel something different than to what I'm trying to achieve?'
HELP?! I have issue with dynamics. Eg; if I’m trying to get a good exposure for a brightly lit sky AND the tree line below. Sometimes, when I expose for the sky, I get an unexpected and wonderful siloette of that tree line and that’s great but, most often it doesn’t work out and is incredibly frustrating. Help?🙏🏻😬✌🏻
0:36 “light is the mother of photography” Actually photography is a Greek word… In Greek we say φωτογραφία….φωτό = photo and means light, φως. So there’s light in the word photography.
I like this guy because he is not a young Instagram photographer with the cliche photo of a woman on the beach streching her arm bacwards to her partner...
Unfortunately everyone perceives light differently, just because of biology. Most people are partially colour blind, in the sense that not everyone can differentciate every tone of shade. Same goes for light effects as a whole? Where you may perceive a dozen or so tones, my physiology only perceives half of those tones at best. On the other and of the spectrum, my night sight is almost perfect. How's yours? There's always a trade off.
Yes, I would imagine that I see light a different way to you. That's not to say though that the basics aren't the same of how light informs the scene infront of us.
![Eminem - Temporary (feat. Skylar Grey) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZaK9Wi5ho0o/mqdefault.jpg)
![Mariah Carey - We Belong Together [American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UnO2m2BEXDU/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for joining me today here for another episode of The Art Of Seeing.
What is your favourite time of year to be photographing outside?
I like the early spring as the land is still in it's winter mode, but the lighting can change so quickly (plus it's a bit warmer outside!)
Spring for me as well. I live in the country on 100 acres of land. In the spring the ice and snow melt, water starts flowing, new life emerges from the earth. There’s just so much going on. Every day is something different. And there’s no mosquitos or black flies, which is always a plus!
My favorite time for photography is autumn. Autumn can be a long season in California. It starts in late September in the High Sierras at over 10,000 feet, and works it’s way down to the Central Valley by mid December. As a rule, we get clear blue skies for weeks, so the color of the leaves contrasts nicely with the blue sky. When the sun is shining on leaves they will look like they’re on fire. The sunsets turn the mountains pink and baby blue. There are many little lakes where you can catch a perfectly reflected sunset. If you’re lucky you get freshly fallen snow with the colorful leaves still on trees or on the ground. I can’t wait for fall! (Right now it’s around 40 degrees C, which is making that wish even stronger!). Thank you for this great video!
Time of the year? Preferably early mornings but no real preference for season although I tend to stay where it's warm in the winter.
Early spring, early fall. Times of change.
Great video, rarely to find a Chanel discuss the art in photography not the gear in it. Thanks a lot
Glad you liked it!
Another good one ruclips.net/video/mC8ol2-V7Ck/видео.html
I found this channel purely by accident and I’m so glad I did. The photography knowledge here is outstanding and so eloquently delivered. A great combination of the technical and the artistic.
Thank you ever so much!
I'm not one that has gone to college or university to study as I'm not good at learning in that manner. However your channel feels more educational than any of the other Photography channels on RUclips. Thank you for your time making and allowing us to learn from your experience.
Happy to help! Glad you're finding it helpful Karl.
Totally agree Karl, I definitely learn something new every time I watch the channel, a real photography education, I echo your thanks for Alex’s efforts.
I fully agree with you Karl! This channel is real photographic education. A pearl among many stones.
When we think we see things, all we see is actually just light! Wow! Hilariously thought-provoking! Thanks for sharing!
A great and inspirational teacher! Every video makes me start taking pictures with new exciting ideas.
Bravo…let there be light!🌈🌈🌈
When we use"light" in the sense of being able to see an object, we also use black in order to determine the boundaries of the object.
Using the word 'light' is such a bold description of it all.
THANK YOU!
Were it not for you, I genuinely would have given up on photography long ago.
✌🏻👊🏻
You are quickly becoming my favourite channel both for your teaching and as pure entertainment. "Software gymnastics" ~ such an accurate turn of phrase.
I don't have a favourite time of year outside; it is all good. Living in the subarctic, I enjoy fabulous quality of light both night and day.
Thanks. Has the penny just dropped on your name for me? You live in the Yukon...
So much good stuff here. I would not have minded if you had slowed it down a bit and took twice as long to get through this video. Thanks for posting.
Yes, I found this useful. Your explanations feel unbiased.
Thank you for the great content. Your channel is really about photography; far from the camera/lens marketing frenzy that has plagued RUclips.
Your videos have made me look more into the works of famous photographers and understand why they excelled at what they did, it also made me more intentional about taking photos.
Thank you Yassine. Glad you're enjoying them!
RUclips recommended your videos and it’s rare for the algorithm to be on point. Thank you for your generosity and kindness in creating conceptional and creatively rich content. As a new photographer I’m grateful.
Welcome! I'm pleased you're here
White balance off auto and on to daylight is my favourite way to capture natural light. It seems to me to best emulate film photography in capturing lighting moods like the weird yellow green as the sun shines under storm clouds, the green shadows in a forest, or the actual golden light that gave golden hour its name. Auto white can be useful but it often also seems auto bland, so too for digital correction off grey card shots.
That's helpful for other people, thanks for sharing.
The white balance tip is gold.
😀
Thank you so much. This presentation was very enlightening for me.
Photo-graphy simply means the Art of Light. Thus, the second most important skill a photographer need to learn or know is to identify the light to make a photograph. In a studio enviroment, we just have to create the light using strobes. Concepts well explained.
Thanks for the comment Chris. Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Alex, I've watched quite a few of your videos now and am hooked. You share some amazing knowledge and your style of delivery is just fantastic. I could listen to you talk about photography all day! You would have been a fantastic BBC presenter, back in the day when there were serious shows about art and culture on television!
Thank you for your interesting perspective on light in photography.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and your thoughts on photography and light.
You mention in this video, ..."once you learn to read and understand and use light to your advantage in camera without resorting to software gymnastics then you are going to be in charge of everything within that image." Your example of taking a picture of sunset with one's camera set on "daylight" acts a good exercise as I find myself wrestling with appropriate settings to get appropriate exposure for foreground, mid, and background in a sunset in a single shot.
I apologize for the obvious naivete. What I hear you say is, if you know how to use the camera (and I sooooo want to know how to use my camera), you can get that shot in one shot, in camera, without post-processing "gymnastics."
And, not to digress, but what used to only happen in post-processing and "gymnastics", now has crawled right inside these contraptions as they offer intervalometers, exposure bracketing, not to mention all manner of in-camera processing. Thoughts?
Two nights ago, I went with the LOML to watch the sunset and try to get a photograph. As I mention above, in manual or even aperture priority mode, I can't seem to get where I want. Either the clouds look gorgeous and all else is way under exposed, or the foreground looks great and the clouds are blown out.
My first attempt at HDR post-processing resulted in the only picture that felt like it kinda, sorta, captured the scene. (Sorry, you asked for URLs of photos in one of your videos. I post only to ask the question. So, I guess, roast away, however, please remember I have owned the camera for six weeks and photography is not what I do. Though I would like to do it better, which I guess is why we are all here. Thank you again. :) )
www.photocrowd.com/photos/sunset-at-gully-trail-trailhead-del-mar-ca-5339298.8ad09dcc4/
Methods like high dynamic range compositing seem to solve this problem, but is it cheating. Is that an example of knowing how
to use one's camera to harness the light? Or, does this show an example of software gymnastics?
So much thanks! Keep up the great work!
I should say as well "daylight" mode did not solve the problem. :)
Hi JP.
The idea about post processing gymnastics is that quite a few photographers perfer to spend more time in PS trying to get the vibe they want. And that's fine, if that's what they want to do.
Without getting too into it, what it sounds like in your case is needed is just some basics about exposure and how photography works at it's base level. Don't worry, we've all been there. It's not nearly as scary as it seems at first.
The situation you're talking about is a tricky one IRT exposure and photographing what you see.
My suggestion would be to spend the next week or so just photographing 'average' scenes (i.e nothing too taxing lighting wise) and getting to know how things like shutter speed, aperture and the like work. Once you have a better grasp of the basics it will be easier for you to interpret the scene in front of you.
FWIW, and this is a personal take, I'm not a fan of HDR. I think this sunset would have much more drama if there was just the barest hint of detail in that forest rather than trying to balance them both. Also, the sky is the main player here, not the foliage, give me more sky please :D
I can't appreciate this enough. I've been a photographer since 1998 and recently I've been dwelling on what sort of ideas I want to work on.
Even though I know the composition method, I am really enjoying your approach, which is most definitely enriching the quality of my thinking towards my projects.
Thank you so much.
I followed the instructions precisely. I have just taken an image which in my opinion at this moment, one of my most favourite I’ve ever taken.
Awesome! Good to hear Rob :D
@@ThePhotographicEye I’ve watched a billion hours on RUclips. And a video that didn’t tell me what camera or lens to use; gave me the tools to see and explore.
Dear Alex Kilbee,
I discovered your channel just a few days ago and have followed dozens of your posts over the last two days. I am inspired by what you have to say. It gives me a lot of pleasure to listen to them. Thank you for your fantastic work.
Best regards, Stefan
very usefull ..very inspiring explanations and images..love your channel..greetings from germany
Superb. Informative. Inspiring. Thank you.
Cameras record light. Good light = good image. The gear is just in the way. Good video. Helping people find the light they want for their vision is an excellent topic. Thanks.
Thanks, glad you liked it :D
thank you so much, now I SEE THE LIGHT!
Another excellent video. My favorite time of year has to be either spring or fall. More for the climate than the light- summers are hot and humid and winters are cold and damp where I live. I read once that there is no such thing as "bad light", there is only the wrong light for the subject. I really enjoy your channel. Thanks for all your effort to create your videos.
I’d totally forgotten that saying about bad light, but it’s so right!
Right now I’m in the UK so the light isn’t ever really too harsh, but grew up in Africa where the summer midday sun is brutal, but suits the landscape.
So pleased you’re enjoying the episodes, thanks for commenting.
muito, muito obrigado por esse vídeo!
Autumn is my favourite season, I love the colors. Your videos have me wide awake to so much exciting possibilites. Thank you.
My favorite photographers shot with available light, and I am obviously influenced by them. But there is always more to learn and this video was inspiring. Thank you!
I'm pleased you found it helpful Jamie. Thanks ever so much for your comment
Thanks!
Thank you for this wonderful series with it inspiring bio of past and future artist/photographers. There introduction enhance my appreciation of my love of the craft and beauty of photo.
Many thanks!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us... and the background music is superb!!!
Superb video. Thank you very much. I will surely watch all episodes of The Art of Seeing. Happy New Year
Thank you
Awesome content. Just found your channel last night. How refreshing!
Welcome aboard!
Great video as always, Alex. It’s so important to keep in mind the positioning of light and shadows when composing an image. Looking forward to your next video. Cheers!
Cheers Loki.
Yep, shadows are such a powerful tool in our palette. Strange they never get the praise they should!
I was searching for something like your channel. Thanks 🙏
I'm pleased you found your way here! Great to meet you.
Thanks again for an inspirational video.
And the man said let there be Light, or the lack of.
Tony Australia
"Software gymnastics" lol love that one!
Lately I've preferred sketching out the image visions in my head before shooting so there's less time sitting/at computer and more time working on real gymnastics, so my body doesn't stay stuck in a "chair posture" :P
I love your channel and this video in particular explains light in a way that few have done on RUclips. Thank you for sharing!
I grew up on film and still use it lots. I record light on digital cameras as if I were using film by using pre sets or a custom setting. I do not use auto white balance it gives what I think of as an incipid colour palette.
Like most things, these are all tools we can use to achieve our own ends.
Hello again Alex. Another cracking video with wonderful examples. For me, your image of the staircase, the man at the bottom, and the image flanked by angular shapes and form, lines defined by light and shadow, and a sense of mystery too, seems a perfect examplar. Many thanks.
Thanks Daniel.
That was taken in Barcelona a few years back. Middle of the day, so the harsh light works in defining those shadows. Glad you like it.
Great essay as always and fantastic channel.
I agree with you on early Spring. I also love Autumn for dramatic skies. Great video as usual!
Thanks Angela, glad you liked it and thanks for the comments.
Just outside now enjoying some lovely Spring weather and planting some veg seeds.
It’s pouring rain here on my farm in western Kentucky, but at least it’s warm. Like everyone, I’m so tired of being stuck inside!
Warm rain is lovely. Nothing like it! Never really get any here in the UK
Just delightful to get this perspective. Thanks so much!
Southern California weather- seems it's ALWAYS summer / harsh light. The winter months seems to give the nicest light - it's at an angle which gives a nice contrast
Grew up in Africa, so I know your pain about harsh light. But look at Robert Adams and the way he used that to his advantage.
So glad I discovered this channel. Looking forward to watching it grow.
I usually set picture control to monochrome in my camera, white balance, exposure, ISO set manually, like you suggested to explore. I use graduated filters, polarising filter to feather in the lighting condition and save the hightlights without being blown out. My aim is to cover the blackest black to the whitest white on the histogram and the monochrome photo helps. I shoot raw. The photo automatically gets converted to colour by default by the computer. I find the colour I get is controlled and provides more leeway when editing the files. My dream is to get the monochrome Leica Q2.
Your videos are phenomenal. Thank you very much.
You're very welcome!
Fantastic channel
Thank you very much Carmen and thanks for commenting.
very informative and gave me alot to think about. Thanks for sharing! i believe i am starting to notice light more and more in a scene
Glad it was helpful!
thank for all your wonderfull photographic help and advice you are one of the best teachers this ART
Thank you so much 😀
You enlighten in the dark,
and make things brighter with sparks.
Thanks for Your wonder - full sharing :-)
So glad I have found you.I cannot wait to watch more, many thanks
Love watching your videos! Very infomative, and very well put together!!! ✌
Glad you like them Steve. Thanks for being here.
You look like someone who I can take both photography and fashion advice from. Thanks for the video!
Hahah, thanks! Great to have you here.
Muy buenos vídeos. Few of the RUclips videos where you can really learn technic. Keep like this. Ánimo!
Thanks a lot Hector!
Great Episode Alex. Thank you. I enjoyed that you added some of your own images to the episode. They are rather good. All of the images used did a very good job of explaining the concepts you presented. I am useless with flash and so am very interested in exploring natural light and night photography. I primarily shoot a Fuji XPro-3 with the optical view finder to have the benefits of mirrorless along with a real eye view of the scene. I find this allows me to see the light much better than the EVF.
Thanks David. Pleased as punch you’re enjoying the videos.
I tried out an EVF once and while it was fun, I prefer the concept of picturing the scene rather than twiddling knobs trying to coax up a picture.
Must be a hangover from a Wratten W90 filter (if my wonky memory serves me) being a required purchase at photoschool.
Just discovered your channel Alex ... very much enjoying this series and looking forward to more great content. Very useful insights, and well presented, thank you!
Your videos are very inspiring. Subscribed
I am struggling with procrastination for fear of creating terrible images. It is paralysing. And I’m mourning what I could be creating. Your video on quitting photography popped up in my notifications and I initially saw it as an omen and hesitated to click on it. I never view suggested videos. But for some reason I clicked on it, and I’m so glad I did. I am putting immense pressure on myself and losing sight of my joy for creating.
I am currently trying to figure out how to create some professional looking product images without professional lighting. Instead of experimenting, I’m avoiding. Controlled lighting is my nemesis. I have always worked using natural or ambient light. Even then I don’t think my confidence in understanding light has been there. Shocking considering I received a 1st class degree in photography. This video felt like a nudge. I want to find joy in experimenting and lose fear in mistakes. Any wise words or advice if you have time would be very uplifting. Thank you
Hi Hannah, thanks for watching!
IRT working with studio heads. Just try one head at first, in a darkened room so you can see only the strobe and what it's doing.
Start slow, don't be afraid to experiment, and move the light around like a hand on the clock (i.e keep the subject standing in the middle of the clock, keep the camera at 6pm, and move the light around 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc always pointing to the subject. See what difference the changes in position make to the quality of the light)
Glad the videos helped you :D
@@ThePhotographicEye
Thank you so much for that. Do you have any recommendations for a (budget friendly) lighting set up/kit? I’m trying to work with very little at the moment and, as you said, investing in all of the kit isn’t necessarily the answer. Trying to work with an on camera speedlight and sourcing kit to use it off camera. Making the right decision on where to spend money is a mine field.
@@hannahsamuels4238 Send me an email with any specific question you've got about lighting and I'll be happy to help
alex.kilbee@gmail.com
Found you through the “algorithm “ 🙂. But like others have said you do a great job discussing and explaining photography and not gear, gear, gear. Keep up the great work and letting all my photography friends know about this channel. I am a seasoned photographer but this has refreshed my willingness to look deeper into my photographic journey. Well done!
I have been taking photos since 2011. I am only now starting to understand photography
Another great video Alex. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
😄👍
Binge watching tonight .
Enjoy!
Thank you
Thanks for the great photos you shared on Using the Light. I have been a fan of light (and Photography) since I learned that photography means 'writing with light'. Unfortunately, there are far fewer people who enjoy black & white than when I started--when developing and printing were mandatory and digital was a thing of the future. After my walls were full, I became a 'closet photographer; and when my closets were full, I stopped photographing. Then my grandson gave me his 'hand-me-down iPhone 6, and now my iPhone X is ever at hand, and Instagram beats a closet any day.
I had not seen Ryuijie's work before and loved the image of the tulip--I looked him up and found that he froze his flowers. It's very like the work by Harold Davis when he photographs flowers on a light table.
Hi Lynn,
I feel film (and BW film especially) is making a comeback. If you have all your old stuff, dust it down and get your hands wet again :D
Another excellent educational video Alex, thank you again.
My pleasure Derrick
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, it's rare to find solid content like you present on your channel. I'd just like to ask you to show the example pictures in the net videos a bit slower, so that we can better appreciate the quality of the images that you carefully chose. Cheers!
I'm working on finding a balance between the time the images are on screen. Glad you liked it.
Just discovered your channel, and very happy that I did. Excellent tutorials and very interesting information on famous photographers. Personally, I think each season has its own challenges, each season is interesting for a photographer - but autumn is my favorite ;-).
I'm really pleased you found your way here! It's my pleasure to share these with you.
Glad youtube recommended me such a great and useful content.
🙏
I am gradually watching the whole series and it's all basic and yet so well thought out and transmitted down to us watchers. All info like this that makes us rethink things is so good for us as photographers! Thank you!
Excellent as ever! Highly informative and engaging.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it. :D
Damn good👍 Bravo!!
Superb!
Thanks a lot! Glad you liked it.
Interesing and stimulating.
THanks
Awesome video, very enjoyable and educational. John Pouw NZ
Glad you enjoyed it
This was great! I don't often slow down enough to think about direction, quality, color or mood of lighting.....I just know that I either like something or I don't. Question: I am dealing with a lot of smoke in the air from wildfires. Any tips on White Balance? (other than experimenting, which I plan to do beginning tomorrow!) How can I use the smoke to my advantage?
I thank you for your content, it has helped me a lot in my process... maybe you could place the ig link or the website of each photographer?
thank you, greetings from Colombia
Call me wrong, there is never wrong light. Let me explain. First I don't shoot with a flash unless I am shooting people. So to put this in context I am talking about street and landscapes primarily. I see light as a challenge to find a way to highlight a subject and tell a story. Light that may make a landscape flat and boring makes me look deeper into a scene. A subject hiding in a shadow or peaking out of one for example. Light constantly changes. Which means I can tell the story differently every time and still be honest in telling it. I am simply the scribe to the moment. My goal is to present the moment in a way that makes others pause and take in the scene and sense something deeper than the daily grind. There is never a wrong time to photograph. Knowledge, tools, and a good storytelling are, as I see it, the keys to good and great images. Ultimately if I like the image I am happier for having made the effort. If someone else likes it is simply bonus points.
madam u do very simple but deep keep it up
Great video Alex! do u have examples of bad lighting?
Hi Luke.
It's hard to say really, as IMHO there's no such thing as bad lighting, just the wrong choice of lighting for the idea behind the photograph.
Probably a good rule of thumb is to think to yourself, 'does this light make me feel something different than to what I'm trying to achieve?'
Software gymnastics 😊
HELP?! I have issue with dynamics. Eg; if I’m trying to get a good exposure for a brightly lit sky AND the tree line below. Sometimes, when I expose for the sky, I get an unexpected and wonderful siloette of that tree line and that’s great but, most often it doesn’t work out and is incredibly frustrating.
Help?🙏🏻😬✌🏻
Great video 👍!
0:36 “light is the mother of photography”
Actually photography is a Greek word…
In Greek we say φωτογραφία….φωτό = photo and means light, φως. So there’s light in the word photography.
❤️👍👍👍👍👍🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
I like this guy because he is not a young Instagram photographer with the cliche photo of a woman on the beach streching her arm bacwards to her partner...
Thanks for being here! 6
I have a question: I sometimes photograph other peoples art work, just for myself; do you think it's a bad habit?
Does it help you improve?
Unfortunately everyone perceives light differently, just because of biology. Most people are partially colour blind, in the sense that not everyone can differentciate every tone of shade. Same goes for light effects as a whole?
Where you may perceive a dozen or so tones, my physiology only perceives half of those tones at best. On the other and of the spectrum, my night sight is almost perfect. How's yours? There's always a trade off.
Yes, I would imagine that I see light a different way to you. That's not to say though that the basics aren't the same of how light informs the scene infront of us.
👍
🙏
I totally respect this along with all your videos but it just seems over my head..I take nice photos but they’re not artistic like these are.
Don't worry about whether you think your photographs are 'art' or not. Just create images that make YOU happy.
It was very confusing, three times I thought you were winding up the video.
If you haven’t experience any enlightenment watching this video you probably can’t even read this .
🙏🌟
Please insert indonesian sub
the world would be incredibly bleak if only cats got changed by lighting
Good content, but the constant zooming in is annoying. Stop it.
Thanks for the feedback