![]() The difference between hard and soft light can be hard to see so with the help of my neighbour, Katie, I put these four images together. Also, by gauging the size and brightness of a highlight we can also determine whether the main light source was hard or soft hard light sources often appear as small bright highlights while softer light sources have a softer but broader presence. If you were taught physics at school you will have learnt that “the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection”, which is to say that if a beam of light happens to strike a reflective surface at a particular angle, it will bounce through and continue on its trajectory at a similar angle.Īs with the sundial analogy we used with shadows, we should be able to look at highlights on a spherical surface (a head for example) and ascertain where the main lighting was to illuminate a scene. Now, the wonderful thing about specular highlights is that, like shadows, they too can offer useful clues as to the direction and quality of the lighting within an image. Specular highlights will also be noticeable whenever you happen to be looking at photographs of metallic objects or glassware. At the human level, specular highlights are often seen whenever someone with slightly oily or sweaty skin has been photographed in direct sunlight or with a flash. 1/500s f4, ISO 400.Īt a more subtle level though, specular highlights can occur wherever there is a mix of moderately directional lighting and a reflective surface. This broad wash of light translates into the rather soft light on his face. As we look at his eyes (below) we can also see a broad band of light across the centre of the pupils. As we look at his face, we can feel that the light is actually coming up from beneath him, hence the shadow above his nose, not beneath it. The conditions were sunny but because he was sitting inside the hut in the shade, all of the light that is illuminating him is being reflected back at him from either the ground, the nearby landscape and the horizon. This portrait of a young Solomon Islander was photographed in a small open-sided hut. ![]() One of the most classic forms of specular highlight can be seen whenever you are photographing a sunset over a lake or the sea the sunlight is reflected across the surface of the water, and often it can be as bright and dazzling as the sun itself. The word “specular” means to have the properties of a mirror, and as you might guess, specular highlights occur whenever an object or a surface within a photograph has reflective qualities. ![]() While shadows can provide useful clues as to how a subject was lit, so too can another common feature within many photographs and art works - specular highlights. This is part two of a two part series on deconstructing lighting. ![]()
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