Light

Light is one of the main key factors to keep in consideration when doing photography. There are three types of light in photography: natural light, artificial light or a combination of the two. And there are three things to think about when working with light: the direction from which the light is coming from, the colour of the light and the strength of the light.

Photographer: Matjaz Carter

Light in a photograph is either hard or soft light, this is decided by whether it has heavy shadows or not.

The direction of the light can give the photo a certain effect, these are the different directions light could be coming from: high, low, in front or behind. You can manipulate which  direction the light will come from by using a flash or moving the subject or your own positioning.

The colour of light can also give a picture a certain mood or look. when we are looking out to different places at different temperatures our eyes are constantly adjusting to the light. Digital cameras do this by using white balance. White balance is a feature that changes the colour of the light. this isn't necessarily a good thing because it can change the look of a picture.

I think that light is a very interesting aspect of photography that can be manipulated in certain ways to create the photograph that you envisaged.

Sources:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/natural-light-photography.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Light-in-Photography