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Annie Leibovitz: Mastering Light Techniques

Annie Leibovitz studies natural light to inform her photography. She tries to emulate natural light sources by using a small key light directed where the natural light is coming from. While digital allows shooting in lower light, it can change the ambience from the actual setting. Annie favors working on overcast days when she can mix strobe and flat ambient light, and likes to work early mornings when soft light is available for longer sessions. Students are assigned to photograph the same subject at different times of day to observe how lighting changes the mood.

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Romon Yang
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160 views3 pages

Annie Leibovitz: Mastering Light Techniques

Annie Leibovitz studies natural light to inform her photography. She tries to emulate natural light sources by using a small key light directed where the natural light is coming from. While digital allows shooting in lower light, it can change the ambience from the actual setting. Annie favors working on overcast days when she can mix strobe and flat ambient light, and likes to work early mornings when soft light is available for longer sessions. Students are assigned to photograph the same subject at different times of day to observe how lighting changes the mood.

Uploaded by

Romon Yang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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4.

WORKING
WITH LIGHT
CHAPTER RE VIE W

“I am constantly looking: Annie started out as a photographer by studying natural light. It


‘Where is the light helped her learn how to see and it is what she still studies when
coming from? What she goes on a shoot.
does it look like?’”
—Annie Leibovitz She tries to emulate natural light. She uses ambient light and
adds a small key light on her subject, usually in the direction
the natural light is coming from.
SU B C H A PTER S

• Don’t Focus on Equipment Adding too many lights to a room will often take away what the
natural light offers.
• Using Natural Light as Your
Teacher
With digital, you can get away with shooting in lower light, but it
• Keeping Your Kit Small changes the image. It can make your photograph diverge from the
ambience of the actual setting of the photograph.
• Mixing Natural Light With a
Strobe
Annie keeps her equipment kit small so that she can be flexible and
adapt to the moment.

She uses different techniques to manipulate light. Her goal is to


achieve a balance between her strobe and natural light.

Annie favors working on overcast days, when she will mix the
strobe with flat ambient light. She doesn’t like to wait for the
“golden light” at the end of the day. She likes to start working in
the early morning, when she has soft light and the option to work
longer if she needs to. Even so, “You hardly ever get the right
time of day,” she says. You just have to learn to deal with what is
available.

LE ARN MORE

• Annie tries to utilize natural light and she emulates it


whenever she can. But that is not always possible.
Discover what you should be aware of when shooting at night
with these tips on shooting landscapes and city scenes after
dark.

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 6
4.
WORKING
WITH LIGHT
A S SIG NMENT

• In order to develop a better understanding of light, take a


photograph of the same subject in the same place at three
different times of day: early morning, noon, and early evening.
Notice how the light changes in each photograph. How does
the different lighting change the mood of the image and why?
Which one do you prefer?

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 7
PHOTO INDEX

4 . WORKING WITH LIG HT

Jerry Garcia Paul Kantner, Grace Slick and David Harris and Joan Baez
China
New York City, 1973 Los Altos, California, 1971
Bolinas, California, 1971

Vanessa Redgrave Adele Kristin Scott Thomas


Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex, En- London, 2015 Paris, 1997
gland, 1994

Nicole Kidman Jack Nicholson Lucinda Williams


Charleston, East Sussex, England, Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, 2006 Austin, Texas, 2001
1997

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 31

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