Let there be Light ...
- Chris Hilton
- Aug 6, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 18, 2025
This coming season we have a competition based around the theme of light ...
Photography literally means 'the study of light', it surrounds us but can be difficult to see or quantify. A good way to start is look at shadows ... a light shadow with soft edges means that the light creating it is soft, or diffused whereas a harsh light produces a strong, dark shadow with crisply defined edges.
The direction of light can have a real impact on the way an image looks or, more importantly, feels. Again, if you're unsure of the direction of the light, start off by observing the shadows. Side light really helps to contour an image ... the diffused side light from a window can really make a face come alive whereas a strong, harsh side light can make an architecture image sing.
The use of light can lift an image to another level. One of our guest speakers coming to the club this season is the renown nature photographer Richard Peters ...
He says that you should never photograph an animal but the light that bounces off it.
He comes to us after the competition but that's because the learning doesn't stop when the judge leaves the room ... the competition shouldn't be the culmination of your work, it's just a marker along the way.
Foremost, the competition is a forum where you receive feedback on what you've done so far ... we take that advice (most of the time), add it to the wisdom of visiting speakers and continue to look at light and use it to our advantage for evermore.
Shooting in to the sun, or contre jour, can produce some interesting effects, the most common of which is the silhouette.
For me, the real master of light is the Renaissance painter Caravaggio ... the shadows inform us about the light, every muscle and sinew pops and faces are sculpted and alive.
Jump forward and you can clearly see the influence in Eugene Smith's photo essay of the Minamata water poisonings in Japan. In particular, his image Tomoko and Mother in Bath ...
An absolute masterclass in light from the photographer that shot, what many consider, to be the first photo essay, The Country Doctor ...
In addition to the usual programme we'll be slipping in an extra evening where we'll be talking exclusively about light. We'll be sharing ideas and talking about the likes of Fan Ho and Ernst Haas.
