This month I’ve been doing some housekeeping of my photo catalogues. It’s a boring job but it helps maximise my storage and helps my Lightroom catalogue run more efficiently. Whilst I’m better at doing this as I go these days, there are a lot of files to prune out from earlier years.
The upside? I rediscovered some of my favourite photos, taken many years ago, and I also noticed a pattern. And it’s all about the light.
All photographers learn about the importance of light to their images but sometimes it gets a bit technical or frustrating when you don’t have the ‘right’ light. Some light can just be challenging – and lighting is so changeable that we can’t always catch the moment we saw.
These can stop you recognising the magic that light brings.
When I think back over my photographic journey, I know I now notice light all the time – not just when I have a camera in my hand.
There is something special about noticing how light enters the frame, highlights an object, creates a feeling or mood or how it falls across a scene.
In fact looking at some of my examples I’m pretty sure I always saw the light first. I’ve also realised how much I like using backlight or pools of light. Do you have a preference?
Even when I can’t take a photo, noticing that magic is a positive, uplifting moment in my day. It can make me smile when I’m tired or relieve a long journey.
In the work I do for museums there have been many times where an object placed on the table comes to life when lit or details not seen before emerge.
It’s magical to see it happen. The most exciting example was probably when we realised we could see the imprint of the bronze age potters fingers in the base of a pot!
There is a captivating magic to any form of light and how it interacts with a subject or a scene – stop and notice it as well as working out what settings you need capture it.
Technical details are important of course but they are only part of the process.
The magic of light is what creates the beauty.