2. Seeing light

Recognize hard light by its sharp shadow edges and soft light by its gentle transitions. Use sun, clouds, shade, curtains, or a nearby lamp to see how the apparent size of the light source changes texture and mood.

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Notice how bright or dim a scene feels before changing any camera settings. Move a subject closer to and farther from a light source to see how distance changes brightness, clarity, and shadow depth.

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Judge whether a subject stands out because its tones are clearly different from the background. Practice finding high-contrast scenes that feel bold and low-contrast scenes that feel quiet, soft, or harder to read.

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Tell the difference between form shadows on the subject itself and cast shadows thrown onto another surface. Use both types of shadow to read shape, depth, time of day, and the direction of the light.

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Recognize warm and cool light in everyday places, from sunset and candles to shade and cloudy skies. Compare how color temperature changes the emotional feel of the same subject even when the subject stays still.

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Spot scenes where two or more light sources have different colors, such as daylight through a window mixed with indoor bulbs. Reason through why skin, walls, or shadows may take on strange color casts in mixed light.

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Notice when light is bouncing off walls, pavement, clothing, water, or nearby objects. Use reflected light as a gentle fill that can brighten shadows or add a subtle color tint to a subject.

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Recognize bright mirror-like reflections on glass, metal, water, eyes, and glossy surfaces. Shift your position or the subject slightly to see how the angle of light controls glare, sparkle, and distracting highlights.

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Find easy, reliable soft light outdoors and indoors without special gear. Compare open shade and window light by looking at direction, shadow softness, background brightness, and how close the subject is to the light.

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Read how outdoor light changes across the day instead of treating daylight as one thing. Compare midday light, golden hour, and blue hour by noticing direction, shadow length, intensity, and color.

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Recognize when a bright background and darker subject can create a silhouette, or when back light creates a thin rim along an edge. Use these clues to decide whether the image should hide detail, reveal shape, or separate the subject from the background.

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Review this chapter with practice based on your mistakes.