Lesson 4 Three Lights

Three Light Inspiration

Three Light Breakdown

Lesson 3 Direction of Light

The cube is tilted to reveal 3 sides equally. When a point source (our Halogen bulb) is placed over and as close to the camera lens as possible, all three sides reflect equally. When the light is moved to the right and up, the 3 sides reflect light in unequal ways and photograph with 3 different values.

Lesson 3 Light Falling on an Sphere

What happens when a point source (like the sun or our Halogen Bulb) falls upon a solid white sphere:

1. A highlight is created



2. A cast shadow is created



3. A core is created in the transition of the highlight and the shadow



4. A cast shadow is created



5. A specular or incident highlight is created within the highlight

Lesson 2 Light Travels in a Straight Line

The camera obscura is an example of light traveling in a straight line


Examples of light traveling in a straight line



How the softbox is projected through a hole in seamless

Lesson 2 Angle of Incidence Equal Angle of Reflection

Light reflected from a metal surface with angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflection. The dashed line is perpendicular to the surface.

Light reflection from a) smooth surface (specular reflection) and b) rough surface (diffuse reflection). In both cases the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection at the point that the light ray strikes the surface.

Examples of different surfaces reflecting a beam of light.

Lesson 1 The Inverse Square Law

I did the assignment using 4"sq gray cards placed at 45 degrees facing up in order to avoid any specular reflections. Also I did an additional test with the light at 32 feet to see if the numbers continued to work. I was very careful to contain the light and not have any light hitting walls the could influence the exposure. It worked perfectly. Every time I doubled the distance the intensity of the light dropped by 1/4 or 2 stops.







To balance the Black, Gray and White Cards I had the Black card 18" from the light, the Gray card 40" from the light and the White card 92" from the light.