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iStockphoto Photography Standards: Lighting

Lighting is probably the single most important aspect of photography, and is a huge topic. Every picture you take depends on
good light. Mastering the basics of photographing a well-lit subject will help make your images useful for designers in everyday
applications. When you know the basics, you can begin to explore the more dramatic possibilities of light: how the angle,
power, and warmth of light effects your subject, stimulates emotions, and expresses your creativity.

Understanding light is a lifelong project. For beginning photographers, the key subjects are:

Proper exposure
Using and adapting to different light sources (natural and artificial)
White balance
Unexpected problems: Lens flares, reflections, and chromatic abberation

Let's explore these topics by looking at a few examples that aren't acceptable for our standards: shots that cannot find their
warm home at iStock and need more technical improvement before being accepted into collection.

Exposure
Exposure is the amount of light that you allow into your camera when you take a picture. Too much light makes a photograph
overexposed. Too little makes it underexposed. These are among the most lighting issues people face.

In an overexposed photo way too much light

comes through the aperture, completely blowing
out the highlights, washing out the colors, and
flattening the surfaces. What few shadows are left
are harsh. You've essentially burned the image
away, leaving only a few light and color values
behind.

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In an underexposed image like this one, not

enough light has made it through the lens, which
means that there just isn't enough information
coming into the camera. Everything is flat and dull,
and only the strongest colors are able to make any
sort of impression. Shadowed areas become
completely lost.

A properly exposed image has the right mix of

shadows, highlights, and middle ranges. It is sharp
and in-focus up close, the colors are rich and
accurate, and we haven't lost detail in the shadows
or highlights.

Exposure is controlled by 3 variables:

1. Aperture: The aperture is the opening that lets light pass through from the lens to your sensor or film. The wider your
aperture, the more light will be allowed in to strike the film or digital sensor. Light is measured in 'F-Stops', where the
lower the F number, the more light is coming through your aperture.

2. ISO: This is the measure of light-sensitivity of your camera medium. The term comes from film, where different 'speeds'
of film were more or less sensitive to light, with low ISO numbers (100-200) being less sensitive, and suitable for well-lit
situations, and higher ISOs (400 and up) being more sensitive and intended for low-light or fast movement. With your
digital camera, you can change the ISO depending on the circumstances without running down the street to buy a whole
new role of film. Generally speaking, in the controlled environments of stock-shooting, we are almost always using ISO
100, to get the best possible quality. Use higher values in dark rooms, night-time environments, or to catch quick action.

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3. Shutter speed The longer your shutter stays open, the longer your sensor is exposed to the light, and the more
accurately it will reproduce — if everything in the frame stays still. Long exposures allow for better reproductions in low-
lighting situations, with little possibility of the subject moving around. Fast exposures are necessary to capture objects in
motion.

There are three ways to manage these variables and expose your picture. You can set your camera to an Automatic mode and
let it take care of everything. Basically, the camera's brain will meter the available light, and then set its own exposure
accordingly. This will let you shoot a lot, quickly. However, your camera is prone to making mistakes. Automatic modes include
the fully auto mode (e.g. the green box on C anon) as well as ‘scene types’ (e.g. portrait, sports, landscape) and P mode.

A better option is to choose either manual or a semi-manual mode, meter the light yourself, and set your own exposure.

Aperture Priority
(AV or A mode on camera)
Aperture priority is a great semi-manual mode to start with when moving away from automatic modes. It allows you to select
the aperture you want, giving control over the depth of field* of the image, while the camera looks after the required shutter
speed. You still have some manual adjustment of the shutter speed by using exposure compensation.

A small F number will give a shallower DOF, faster shutter speeds and mean focus is more critical. A larger F number will give a
larger DOF, slower shutter speeds and more latitude for small focus errors.

1. Set your ISO. Is there a strong light source, like a flash, strobe light, or sunshine? You can probably use ISO 100. If
you're in a darker setting, or plan to photograph something in motion, try a higher ISO.
2. Select the aperture number you wish to shoot at depending on if you want a shallow or wider DOF. (Check the shutter
speed the camera is going to use through the viewfinder. Is it too slow to handhold? If so you might need to bump your
ISO speed up.)
3. Focus the camera and take the shot.
4. Review the image on the LC D and check the historgram.
5. If the image is under or overexposed dial in exposure compensation and reshoot.
6. With experience, you'll learn when you need to add compensation before the shot.

*Further reading: Depth of Field

Shutter Priority
(Tv or S mode on camera)
Similar to aperture priority mode, in shutter priority mode you select the shutter speed that is important to you and allow the
camera to choose the aperture. The aperture can still be overridden by means of exposure compensation.

This mode is useful when you want to freeze action or produce motion blur, with DOF being less important.

1. Set your ISO.

2. Select the shutter speed you wish to shoot at depending on if you want to freeze or blur the motion. (check the aperture
the camera has selected)
3. Focus and take the shot.
4. Review the image and check the histogram.
5. Dial in exposure compensation and reshoot if needed.
6. Learn when you need to add compensation before you shoot.

Full manual
(M mode on camera)
Full manual mode gives you ultimate control over your capture. The exact order you set the ISO, shutter speed and aperture
will depend largely on the shot you are trying to capture. Where depth of field (DOF) is critical you should set the aperture first,
if shutter speed is more important set this first. Of course most of the time aperture and shutter speed are both important. Set
them both and then vary your ISO to suit the exposure. Like everything in photography, practise and experimenting is the best
way to learn to take full advantage of the power manual mode offers.

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1. Set your ISO.

2. Set the aperture you wish to use depending on the DOF you want to achieve. A small F number will give a shallow DOF
and larger F numbers give a larger DOF.
3. Press the shutter button half way down and the camera will show you if the shutter speed needs to be faster or slower on
its exposure level indicator. This indicator’s location depends on the camera. Normally it’s visible along the bottom or side
of the viewfinder as a marker on a + or – scale.
4. Adjust the shutter speed until the exposure level indicator is zeroed. You’ll often want this above or below zero depending
on scene you are shooting e.g. in snow the cameras meter will be fooled and try to make the snow grey, set your
exposure 1 stop higher than the meter says.
5. If you can’t get exposure level indicator zeroed for your desired aperture/shutter speed combination you may need to
adjust your ISO up or down to compensate.
6. Focus. Shoot. Check Histograms.* Adjust. Reshoot. Repeat.

*Further reading: Learn to Love your Levels

A note on metering modes

Using the correct metering mode is critical to getting an accurate exposure from your camera. For most shots Evaluative or
Matrix metering is probably a good starting point. But there are times when Partial or Spot will give much more accurate
results. For example, imagine a person standing in front of a bright light or window. With Evaluative/Matrix metering the bright
light will be taken into account causing the subject to be underexposed. With Partial or Spot metering however, only the focus
point will be taken into account, giving the correct exposure on the subject. (Note on some cameras spot metering only works
on the centre focus point, meaning you must meter there then recompose with the metering ‘locked’).

Common Exposure Problems

The lighting you see is not the same lighting your camera sees. The medium in your camera, whether it is film or a digital
sensor, can only detect a certain range of light, which is much less than your brain can. So you will often find yourself in
situations where the available light information exceeds the amount that your camera can accurately reproduce. If you are
shooting in an automatic mode, your camera will often decide on a certain part of the image to reproduce correctly in these
cases, compensating one area at the expense of another

So here you are, outdoors in the field, with forest in the background and a nice blue sky at the far end. Your camera is set to
an automatic metering mode. If there are many dark areas on the frame, the camera will think there's not enough light coming
in and will open the aperture and/or make your exposures longer, resulting in an overexposed sky.

REALLY OVEREXPOSED
OVEREXPOSED

You may try and compensate for this by angling your camera more towards the sky. Now the camera meters for that nice blue
sky with gorgeous white clouds, and is fooled into thinking the scene is bright enough. Your aperture closes down to
compensate and the rest of the frame is now too dark, bringing no detail or joy to the picture.

UNDEREXPOSED
OVEREXPOSED SKY/ UNDEREXPOSED SCENERY

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Your camera is easily fooled when light comes from unexpected sources. Winter scenes with lots of snow are the perfect
candidates for underexposed shots. The reflected light from the snow will fool your camera into thinking there's enough light
coming in, when there isn't. Stronger reflected lights can underexpose your shot, and give you blown-out highlights as well.

UNDEREXPOSED & BLOWN OUT

UNDEREXPOSED

There may be a light source in your frame which, while not immediately obvious to you, can overpower the light that you want,
forcing your camera to underexpose. A window in the background of an indoor setting can do this. Even a partially-shielded sun
is enough to throw your exposure out of balance.

UNDEREXPOSED
UNDEREXPOSED

When you shoot directly into a light source, your camera will meter against that source, and underexpose the rest of the scene,
regardless of how well-lit it may seem to you. In the second image, even though we are in broad daylight, the direct light from

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the streetlamp overpowers the available light in the rest of the scene.

UNDEREXPOSED
UNDEREXPOSED

Solutions
Most of these problems are caused by the automatic settings on your camera, but you can still over or under expose images
manually by misjudging the lighting conditions around you. Learning how to properly expose your photographs in the manual
mode will not only remove unexpected problems like these, it will give you a real understanding of how photography works,
and help you understand the lighting in your images every time you take a picture.

Adverse Lighting Situations

Harsh shadows, blown-out highlights, uneven or aggressive lighting are many of the main reasons for lighting rejection at
iStockphoto. These are often fatal problems, meaning there isn't much one can do to bring them back to life. These problems
tend to come from certain kinds of lighting sources and conditions.

Direct Flash
On-camera flashes can be your worst enemy. They give you little or no control over the direction and position of your light
source. They tend to throw too much light at a subject, overexposing some areas and creating bad shadows in others.

BAD SHADOWS, POOR EXPOSURE FLAT COLORS, BLOWN-OUT HIGHLIGHTS

Use your oncamera flash wisely, and with great care. Try to diffuse the light: there are various diffusers, smaller softboxes,
tubes, grids and other products available on the market, that make lighting softer, more diffused, directionally controlled and
generally more pleasing.

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UNEVEN EXPOSURE COMPLETE BLOW-OUT

Outdoors
Many outdoor situations suffer from similarly unpleasant lighting conditions. Depending on the season and your location, a
bright sunny day probably isn't your best friend. Especially in summer time when sun travels high across the horizon, the light
light range is just too big and generally too aggressive. You will end up with washed out colours, blown out highlights, harsh
shadows and so on.

HARSH SHADOWS, FLAT COLOURS OVEREXPOSED

If the sun is high overhead in a clear, blue sky, you may have to just avoid shooting for most of the day. The best times to go
out into your beautiful garden is between dawn and 9:00 a.m. or so, and then anything past 5:00-6:00 p.m. The closer the sun
is to the horizon, the more atmosphere the light has to pass through, which diffuses it and removes a lot of the harsh ends of
the spectrum. The ideal situation is an overcast day: a cloudy sky diffuses and softens the sun's light.

WASHED OUT BAD SHADOWS, UNDEREXPOSED

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If you have to shoot in bad outdoor light, there are a few things you can try to help. There are several different kinds of neutral
density filters that you can attach to your lens. These block varying amounts of light from coming through the aperture. A good
polarizing filter will help you maintain strong colours on a sunny day — perfect when you're in that gorgeous green meadow
with all the fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. Move into the shade, or use diffusion panels and reflectors to control the sun.

Further reading: The Color of Light

White Balance
Another vital part of lighting is proper white balance. This is another area where you camera just isn't as smart as your eyes
and brain, leading to images that end up looking drastically different than how you planned. Our brains can easily compensate
for various colour casts caused by different light temperatures. Our cameras can't, which means that your frame may end up
with strange blue or yellow tints.

Further reading: White Balance

Imagine a piece of metal being heated. As the temperature rises, the metal becomes yellow, then orange, then red, and finally
blue and white. Well, different sources of light are different temperatures as well, and just like the metal, these different
temperatures cause different colour casts.

C olour Temperature in Kelvins

Light temperature is measured in Kelvins. Between 5000 -
6500K a light source will produce neutral light, this covers not
only sunlight at midday and clear skies but also electronic
flashes.

From 1000 - 4000 K illuminates Red/orange/yellow, usually

from flames, tungsten bulbs and sunrise/sunset.

Fluorescent lights are a little special needing extra care to

balance them; they show as a green tint with a temperature
of about 4000 – 5000K.

Temperatures 6500-9000 K will illuminate your frames with

blue, usually from shade, Overcast skies and so on.

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This is when the A(uto) W(hite) B(alance) setting on your digital camera kicks in and tries to do what your brain does
automatically — adjust the colour so that white is actually white. However it doesn't always get it right, and you can end up with
the wrong white balance.

Further reading: Seeing the Light

YELLOW TINTS FROM STREET LAMPS BLUE AND YELLOW TINTS FROM INDOOR LIGHTING

NOT WHITE NOT WHITE

Lens Flares, Reflections, Chromatic Aberration & Purple Fringing

A well-timed, artistically used lens flare can add a really nice touch to a composition. More often than not though, lens flares are
unintended, and such images are not acceptable. Try with different angle in relation to light source. Have your lenses/filters
clean and dry.

REFLECTIONS
LENS FLARE

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Often you get home and find annoying light reflections in the frame which you didn't catch at the time. The most common are
your own camera's flash reflected at the far end of a nearyby window, glass or similar reflective surface. While it can work
sometimes (and indeed rarely), it's usually not going to be accepted around here. The only real secret to avoiding these is to
always check your LC D display right away, if you're shooting digital.

REFLECTIONS & HARD SHADOWS PURPLE FRINGING

C hromatic abberations are our next serious contender for ruining your shot — the dreaded Purple Fringing. Again, without
fiddling with theory, it's basically caused by the refractive index of the lens in relation to different wavelengths of light. Not all
wavelenghts that hit the lens are focused into the exact focal plane. There's more to it, but in essence this causes those nasty
purple and/or blue shifts that you see around the edges of your subject. C heap lenses are more prone to purple-fringing, and it
is emphasized by wide-open lenses at their maximum speed. You see it most in high contrast scenes with lots of border areas,
especially when shooting wide-open against the light source.

Step down your lens, shift your position in relation to light source. And as always, shoot in RAW, so your options for addressing
the problem later in post-processing are wider.

Poor Lighting
Every day we see and inspect many images where one or more of all these factors conspire to ruin an image. There may not
be one specific flaw worth singling out, but rather, everything adds up and makes the shot unacceptable. In many of these
cases, the photographer has seen something interesting and rushed to get the shot, without taking time to really consider the
light and how it will affect the final image.

This is when we see the onboard flashes creating harsh shadows, or overexposing parts of the frame, or screwing up the white
balance. These are the times when Mother Nature simply doesn't cooperate in any way and you end up with dull, grey, lifeless,
washed-out colours, underexposed frames with no contrast, and dull subjects that are far better to just forget about than waste
time trying to save in post-processing. And these are the often those macro shots of objects lying around the house, coins and
plates, your cat, which are probably badly lit for a variety of the reasons above. If you don't do anything to improve the
lighting, you'll end up with a nasty colour hue, or coloured shadows, harsh shadows, bad exposure, or contrast pushed beyond

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anything useful.

Further reading: Are You Taking Snapshots?

WHITE BALANCE, BAD SHADOWS UNDEREXPOSED WITH REFLECTIONS & BAD WHITE
BALANCE

REFLECTIONS, FLARES, WHITE BALANCE UNDEREXPOSED, POOR WHITE BALANCE &

REFLECTIONS

UNDEREXPOSED WITH BLOWN-OUT HIGHLIGHTS AND OVEREXPOSED WITH LENS FLARES

BAD WHITE BALANCE

UNDEREXPOSED, FLAT COLOURS, LACKING CONTRAST UNDEREXPOSED, MULTIPLE SHADOWS

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REALLY UNDEREXPOSED REALLY, REALLY OVEREXPOSED

HARSH SHADOWS, TERRIBLE EXPOSURE YIKES

Afterword - When to break the rules

The basic rules that we are proposing here will help you create clean, well-executed shots that are instantly useful and
maximize the impact of your compositions. Remember, we provide raw materials for design: the crisper the exposure, the
more useful those raw materials will be.

With that said, anything is possible and everything is to be taken as a challenge. We reject lighting mistakes and improper
exposure because ultimately they detract from compositions and weaken images. But in some cases, what we'd sometimes
consider ‘bad light’ around here is actually fantastic. A direct flash on second curtain in a party with 5 people dancing is at times
absolutely formidable.

'C reative' lighting choices must ultimately further the impact and effect of a composition. If that's the case, then these aren't
mistakes at all, but aesthetic features, and we're very interested to see what you can come up with. We won't always agree
that the execution works, but we encourage you to take chances and experiment. We want 'real shots'.

Here are a few files that made it — precisely the kind of imagery that we want to encourage:

1. Shot directly against the sun with a tilt-shift lens. Processed accordingly for a superb photograph.

2. Shadows everywhere combined with a clear lack of dynamic range… make for an astonishingly pretty photograph with an
intention & a strength all its own.

3. Photographed with a direct flash (second curtain, slower shutter speed) in a party using the photographer’s finger as a
modifier – over 500 photos made that night in that bar… but only one ended up working for stock.

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4. Harsh light & strange vignetting: an extreme atmosphere for an extreme subject matter.

5. Odd white balance, odd shadows & odd composition. Oddly enough, everything here is joining forces to make for a superb
image — odds were against it, but it pulled through.

6. The last thing one wants is a model too close to the background in difficult light situations… unless the subject matter and the
texture of the wall makes it a strong statement to do so.

7. On-camera flash could be considered Enemy Number 1 in the context of stock photography… until it becomes the perfect tool
to complete the mood of the scene.

8. Using a Lomo camera & then cross-processing the film, knowing that the shots were taken at night in extremely crude light
conditions… you never know, one may have captured a scene in the very coolest possible way.

9. Using harsh available lights to one’s advantage and then processing the photograph accordingly makes for a retro vintage
look that totally works.

10. Direct flash at its very finest to capture the portrait of someone willing to go beyond every rule.

Visit this lightbox for more examples of ''Different Light that Works''.

Matjaž Slanič (gremlin) is iStockphoto's Technical Lead.

Image C redits
All 'sub-par' examples were created specifically for this article by Gremlin
The correctly exposed guitar player example on page one is Solo Songwriter by Elerium
The 'when to break the rules' examples are:
apple tree portraits by kevinruss
The kiss by susib
Under Attack by JJRD
Demon C hild by kevdog818
bedroom legs by krausphoto
Young punk man posing by izusek
funky girl mirrored by Mlenny
night time wait (LOMO) by KVMithani
Open air milonga at night by elkor
Bitter by lisegagne

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