Creative Lighting.

I have just finished reading Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. Thinking about the subject of lighting before starting this book I tried to assess to a certain extent what I already knew. A particular subject can look drastically different just by altering the lighting around it, as Harold Davis says, " without light there is no photography".

This book has five main sections: seeing the light, exposure and lighting, working with ambient light, lighting in the studio and lighting in the digital darkroom. Within each section are smaller sections which break down each topic into more easily manageable sections. I found this particularly handy as I don't always have time to read big sections of text in one go and this then causes me to lose my train of thought and have to keep re reading parts. Having the book set out in this way gives you time to read and understand what has been written. Harold Davies talks you through ways to interpret, select and then alter or make the most of what lighting is available so you can improve on your technique.

This book does not go into a huge amount of detail on technical detail concerned with lighting which is probably best for me. I really liked the fact that the book is full of Harold Davis's own images and he has then gone on to explain the settings he used and the process he went through to achieve that particular result. I find it much easier to learn in this way than if the book had just been full of technical explanations.

I think that Harold Davis has achieved his aim that he wrote in the introduction....." My aim in Creative Lighting is to be your companion and guide by providing inspiration, ideas, and techniques as we work together to create photos that are masterfully lit-enjoy!"

I will definitely be referring back to this book as I progress through these sets of projects (as well as looking at others in his range), along with a book I read near to when I started the degree.....Light, Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting.

Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. Harold Davis. Wiley Publishing. 2011