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PHOTOGRAPHY
The Power of Light and Shadow
Are shadows the enemy in photography?
Is shadow the enemy of light? In my opinion, the short answer is no.
Photographs need shadows created by light to help complete the rendering of an image. The two go hand-in-hand—however, different types of light and shadow depend on the photography genre.
Let’s look at photos where high-contrast shadows are the story’s hero. We need a vital light source that defines strong shadows to discern the details in shadows.
Strong shadows and light can create a robust sense of drama, like in these two images of the two bronze sculptures. These are examples of how lighting can drastically transform similar subjects by reversing the lighting and creating opposite shadows.
Image one, shooting into the light or backlighting, creates a high-contrast image creating a silhouette. It’s a perfect way of having light create a dynamic shadow over the subject.
In the second image, the angle of the specular light under the sculpture brings out the surface and texture…
