Light: Science and Magic – Book Review

 

Photography books usually fall into one of two categories, either inspirational or instructional.  Light – Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting falls decidedly into the latter.  This book is different than most in that the authors teach lighting concepts by presenting, thoroughly exploring, and solving simple problems.  Once readers comprehend all the aspects of simple examples, they are then equipped to solve increasingly more complex lighting problems.

In the authors own words:

This book is about technology. Science. Brass tacks. Information for you to use when you please, if you please, and how you please. This does not mean that this book is not about ideas, because it is.

The authors, Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, and Paul Fuqua, cover a wide range of basic lighting techniques in the following ten chapters:

Chapter 1 – How to Learn Lighting (9 pages)

The authors begin by describing the presentation method to be used throughout the book, which teaches learning and understanding the key principles of lighting.  According to the authors, the most important concepts are these:

1. The effective size of the light source is the single most important decision in lighting a photograph.
2. Three types of reflection are possible from any surface.
3. Some of these reflections occur only if light strikes the surface from within a limited family of angles.

These three concepts are systematically presented and explored throughout the book.

The authors also answer questions upfront which readers may have, such as:

• Do I need to do these exercises?
• What kind of camera do I need?
• Should I shoot film or digital?
• What lighting equipment do I need?

Chapter 2 – Light: The Raw Material of Photography (17 pages)

Chapter 2 begins by covering some of the physical properties of light familiar to scientists, and then it goes on to brightness, color, and contrast—properties of light more relevant to photographers.   The chapter wraps up with a discussion of how the properties of subjects affect lighting, that is, how they affect transmission, absorption, and reflection of light.

Chapter 3 – The Management of Reflection and the Family of Angles (17 pages)

This chapter presents two of the three major concepts from chapter 1.  First, reflections.

Of the three ways the subject can affect the lighting, reflection is the most visible.

Photographic lighting, therefore, is primarily an exercise in reflection management. … In this section, we will look at how subjects reflect light and how to capitalize on those reflections.

Second, the family of angles.  The family of angles is used by photographers to determine where to place their lights.  It’s an obvious concept but one worth reviewing, nonetheless.

Chapter 4 – Surface Appearance (29 pages)

In this chapter, the authors use a simple, flat surface to explore the properties of diffuse, direct, and polarized reflection.  It demonstrates just how much useful information can be gleaned from an elementary example.

Chapter 5 – Revealing Shape and Contour (31 pages)

Building on the concepts and solutions of the preceding chapter, this chapter extends the problem to the third dimension.

Chapter 6 – Metal (36 pages)

Metal is one of those classic subjects that all photographers are supposed to learn when it comes to lighting.  Since metal is a conductor and not a good dielectric like glass, light reflected from its surface is almost always unpolarized, direct reflection.  The authors present basic techniques in lighting flat metal, metal boxes, and round metal.

Chapter 7 – The Case of the Disappearing Glass (31 pages)

Glass is another classic lighting subject.  Unlike metal, lighting glass is all about paying attention to its edges.

If we want to produce a picture that clearly and pleasingly reproduces the glassware, we must do the following:

1. Produce strong lines along the edges of the subject.  These lines delineate its shape and set it apart from the background.
2. Eliminate distracting reflections of the lights and other equipment we are using.

Chapter 8 – An Arsenal of Lights (45 pages)

This chapter concentrates on the type of lights used mainly in portraiture work, namely, the main or key light, kickers, hair lights, fill lights, background lights, and rim lights.

In addition, the authors cover

• low-key lighting
• high-key lighting
• light size
• skin texture
• the key triangle
• broad and short lighting

Chapter 9 – The Extremes (45 pages)

Chapter 9 covers photographing extremes in lighting, from the very lightest to the very darkest.  In particular, white-on-white and black-on-black photography is covered in detail.  These extreme scenarios provide the authors with opportunities to also discuss characteristic curves, overexposure, and underexposure.

Chapter 10 – Traveling Light (28 pages)

Finally, the authors discuss particular lighting problems that arise on location and their solutions.  Topics include:

• strobes
• multiple flash
• lights of different colors
• nonstandard light sources
• lights of different duration

Critique

Pros –

The book has many good points, including:

• It teaches fundamental lighting concepts which every photographer needs to know.
• It provides exercises as a way of enforcing each concept presented.
• It explores each new concept proceeding from the simple to the complex.
• It’s densely packed with highly useful information with no filler or fluff.
• It’s published on high-quality acid-free paper, so the look and feel of the pages won’t deteriorate over time.

Some may assume that a photography book with a 2007 copyright date must be out-of-date, yet the concepts taught are based on timeless laws of physics, and the nature of light does not change.  The principles taught in this book will always be applicable.

Cons –

To be entirely truthful, I can’t think of any cons.

Summary

All in all, I was thoroughly impressed with the expanse of the covered material and the quality of its presentation.

While the authors do not assume readers know anything about the properties of light, they do assume that readers have a fairly good grasp of basic photographic concepts.  For this reason, I would not recommend this book to beginners.  An advanced beginner, however, would have little difficulty understanding the ideas presented.

I believe Light – Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting should be a part of every serious photographer’s library, and I feel strongly about it.  It would be one of the more valuable photography reference books you own.  If you don’t have it, either order it online, go to a bookstore and get it, or at least put in on your wish list so that you won’t forget.

If you’re still not sure about acquiring a copy, then check out the Amazon online reviews or Google its title and read what others have to say about the book.  You can also look up required reading lists for photography lighting courses at universities, and you’ll find it included.