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Many amateur photographers think that studying light and its properties is a task reserved for the professionals, but not really. The light is one of the most important elements in photography, since no light no npuò exist a photograph.

In this article we will discuss the 4 main aspects of the light that you as a photographer, I know.

Amount

Of all the characteristics of light, the amount is more simple to control and manipulate, in fact most of the controls on the camera are designed for this purpose. The amount of light that is absorbed by the sensor is in fact determined by the settings of ISO , The shutter speed and aperture.

In the photo below you can see a picture deliberately overexposed and is the result of a large "quantity" of light passed through the lens.

Photo of Ignorant Walking

Color / Temperature

Different types of light have different color, better known as color temperature . The human eye tends not to notice these differences and to adapt automatically to changes in color of the light. By contrast, the cameras are susceptible to these changes and have to compensate for these fluctuations.

The color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin (K) on a scale ranging from 2500K to 10000K. Lights at higher temperatures (up to 5000K) tend to blue and are called "cold" while lower temperatures tend to yellow / red and are called "hot".

Photo by Mr Geoff The photo shows the warm tones of red and yellow lights.
The white balance is used to remove color changes generated by the color temperature. setting the correct settings for white balance, the photo will have colors that are faithful to their characteristics to the original image (the white appear white).

Direction

The light can be either directional or non-directional. Since we can not look directly at the sun, we evaluate the direction of light by observing the shadows. If the shadows of an object go to the left, then it is assumed that light is from the right, in which case we speak of directional light.

The non-directional light is the exact opposite, since it is not possible to assess the direction, and is characterized by very slight shades and curtains to create flat shapes and low volume (imagine a day marked by heavy cloud.
In the case of natural light (sunlight), you can not manipulate it, and we rely on the weather. If instead you work indoors, you can simualare directional light with spotlights and light non-directional speakers applying or using reflectors.

Photo of jukaFii . The photo shows the directional light coming from the left.

Quality

The light quality of light refers to its "intensity" (in the sense of strong values, high - a light "intense") or softness. Also in this case, to assess the quality of light, we must observe the characteristics of the shadow that it generates on the subject. An intense light is generated if the outlines of the shadows are sharp on the contrary, the light "soft" or "widespread" creates soft-edged shadows

Photo of ottovelo . The portrait is illuminated by a bright light, because the shadows on the face of the subject are well defined.
Check the quality of light is probably the most difficult task to perform. If you have direct control of light, ie if you shoot in the studio, you can use the hood to make the light more intense, while using the speaker (the classic umbrellas) can make the light softer.