ABSTRACT
Light that falls directly on to a textured surface will produce an even lighting that can minimise, or sometimes hide, the appearance of texture. The advice to photograph scenes ‘with the sun on photographer back’ came about in the era of early colour films. These films had a limited latitude and low sensitivity to light. Black-and-white film easily exceeds the latitude of those old films. Not only that, but black-and-white images can lack the necessary ‘punch’ when taken in flat, almost shadowless lighting. Side lighting, sometimes called raking light, will dramatically reveal the texture of surfaces such as wood grain, rough cloth and rock. Side lighting will highlight one side of the subject and throw the other into deep shadow, creating a dramatic, high-contrast scene. Side lighting needs to be used appropriately, when the subject demands.
