Week 18: Using a fill light
Using 2 lights, even when you only have one
So far we've assumed you're dealing with a single source of light - the sun, a torch, a desklamp. But you will have more options if you have more than one source of light. The disadvantage of having a strong light coming from a single direction - hard shadows - can be overcome if you have a second light.
Photographers working in studios can set up as many lights as they want. They can
angle them, turn them up or down, make them hard or soft. I'm assuming you're just working with natural daylight though, and maybe a flash.
You can get a lot of the benefits available to studio photographers with no need for new kit if you appreciate the fact that a second light source doesn't have to be an entirely new light - it can simply be the original light source, but reflected.
In this email I'll explain how to use a reflector as a second light source to create a fill light which will soften hard shadows.
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