Turn The Worst Light Into The Best Light - 8/04/08elptShooting shadows makes sunny days more interesting
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By William Sawalich
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Some photographers can take the extraordinary and make it look ordinary. Others can take the ordinary, and through their creative vision, make it look outstanding. Thats part of the fun; you never know what youll encounter when youre out with your camera.
When Im faced with a seemingly impossible situationwhere I cant find anything extraordinary, and Im shooting under the horrid midday lightI remember to wait and look for something ordinary so that I can turn it into something great. Its then that I remember the most ordinary, yet almost always interesting subject: shadows. The light on these bright, sunny days also happens to provide the best shadow-shooting opportunities.
Shadows are two-dimensional objects that take on more weight in
photographs. They are easily overlooked in real life, but confined to
the two-dimensional plane of a picture. They take on the same graphic
power as typically more noticeable three-dimensional objects. In short,
shadows are hidden gems just waiting to be photographed.
One interesting exercise for shooting shadows is to stop looking at the
subjects around you and start looking at the shadows they cast instead.
Suddenly a whole new world will open upone that makes other people see
your shots and say, How did you even see that? Its extraordinary!
When the light is very sunny, everywhere you turn youll find dramatic
and interesting shadows. Look for objects full of graphic lines and
shapes themselvestheyre bound to cast interesting
patternsparticularly if the light source is at a strong angle and
turns the graphic shadow into an exaggerated shape. This is obviously
more likely later in the afternoon or evening on a sunny day.
Things like chairs, railings and fences, anything linear rather than
blob-like, is an ideal candidate for shadow shots, but even people and
other shapes can cast interesting shadows. Shadowed shapes can easily
be made into graphically pleasing abstractions, or used as another way
to reveal the dimension of an object in your photograph. They are great
subjects whether theyre used to add information, or confuse things.
But when you photograph shadows they always look great.
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