We discuss light and its importance to the photographic and cinematographic process on this platform every fortnight, but I guess some people still haven’t gotten the memo. I was reminded of this a few days ago while talking to my friend, who’s a cinematographer and an avid reader of the work on this platform (click here to read our extensive catalog of articles on various lighting techniques and how they can improve your work)
Light sculpts every Photograph and piece of Cinema
(I should put my name beside that quote). The importance of light in creating images and motion pictures determines how far that piece of art might go. I engaged in a conversation with my friend and we discussed a film he shot recently on a smartphone that has a beautiful story and a shocking twist ending (click here to watch THE LAST BUS) and how light just makes photographic work come alive.
The imaging industry is built on selling photographic equipment (cameras, lenses, lights and light modifiers, etc.) but very little is spoken in terms of how none of that really brings a vision to life unless you understand how to use light properly. The only definition of photography I completely remember and hold to heart to this day is the definition Kola Oshalusi provided me and a class of photography enthusiasts in 2016. He said;
Photography is drawing with Light.
The absence of light neglects the ability to create photographs but the presence of quality, well-sculpted light elevates the photograph being created. Understanding how light works pushes the boundaries of what can be created and that was where we left the conversation. Camera-wielding artists need to understand the importance of light and how it helps elevate the stories that they tell with their work.
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Okay. This will be the last time we discuss light for this year. Hopefully, we have more enLIGHTening conversations next year (get it?)… Lol.
