Talking Texture

I talk about light a lot. Light is truly the most important element of the photographic process. Mastering light is paramount to photographic success.

One of the mistakes I witness new photographers making time after time after time is worrying about their background primarily. While backgrounds are indeed an element of any photograph, is not the subject what's truly important? 

My house has wonderfully large windows that create an environment rich with natural light. I sit in front of these windows in the morning as I have my coffee. This morning I couldn't help but appreciate what a fabulous learning opportunity the light falling upon this old classic Christmas decoration would be. 

So, lets talk texture. 

Made decades ago, this little ceramic tree has a lot of texture to it. However, in the photograph below, much of that texture has been lost because of how I've chosen to photograph it. The large windows are directly behind the camera evenly lighting the tree. 

Other than the painted lines little texture is apparent here. 

In photographs, texture can be reduced or highlighted simply by where the subject is placed in relationship to the light. Light skimming across a subject will accentuate texture whereas light falling directly upon the subject will flatten texture out. This is because the light fills the deeper recesses evenly in relationship to higher areas.

A photograph is only two dimensional, so the only way we can add the perception of that third dimension is to add visual texture.

In the image below, by moving to approximately a 45 degree angle to the window, you can see that we begin to see more texture because we now have more highlights and shadows becoming apparent. The light is no longer striking all parts of the tree evenly.

More distinct highlights and shadows created by cross lighting.

Here, at a 90 degree angle to the light source, texture has become even more noticeable. The light skimming across the higher surfaces but being blocked from the deeper areas create a lot of texture. This is the classic window light look that is coveted for portraits and other types of photographs. 

Texture is now quite apparent as the light is fully skimming across the subject.

For my final image I've moved another 45 degrees or so. Now the subject is fairly backlit but due to the size of the windows I still have some light striking parts of the subject. This is a dramatic look but the subject is beginning to become silhouetted so unlikely ideal for most subjects. 

Learning to use light to your advantage will truly improve your photography. 

Are you photographing a woman with some wrinkles she'd like concealed? Flat lighting will be more flattering and glamourous. Conversely, are you photographing a burly, weathered old gentleman that carries the story of his life in rough, leathery skin. Failing to skim light across a beautiful face like that is nothing short of shameful! 

For food photography, skimmed light will always be your friend as food is about texture. As are many, many other subjects we may be attempting to capture. 

Photographing the moon? A new moon is going to show the most crater texture. A full moon will show very little. If this is something you've struggled with, as I know many have, hopefully the reason has now become apparent. 

Find your light first. Always. Everything else is secondary. 

Happy shooting!