Chase Jarvis Blog: Making Subtle Light

I love subtle light. And I agree with the Chase on the "just cause you got 'em, don't mean you gotta use 'em" mode of lighting. It doesn't make a better picture.

Chase Jarvis Blog: Making Subtle Light:

"Solution: I’d encourage you to think of artificial light in a photo more like good service at a restaurant: it’s often best when it’s there, but you don’t notice it at all. Thus, enter what I’d call subtle light. And the beauty of making subtle light is that it doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, most shooters I know over-think it. At it’s root, it’s really about just a few things: your ambient exposure, bouncing and/or diffusing light."

Funny how things work. I am working on a post on creating subtle, natural looking images with the blend of strobe and ambient and Chase posts this. Cool.

Money Quote:

"Under-exposing 2 stops and then popping your subject from 5 feet away with a direct shot from your strobe is certainly a style, but unless it’s done deliberately as a style, it often distracts the viewer from the image rather than adding to it."