This week we conducted a lighting experiment using a single continuous light and our subject. It was suggested to use an egg, of which I had none but as you can see the effect of the shadow placement on the apple is really quite obvious. For this experiment it was necessary to try to eliminate as much ambient lighting as possible and to rely on the light source, in this case a small but powerful LED torch.
The images were taken on a Nikon D3500 cropped sensor DSLR using a 50mm lens that due to crop factor ended up being a focal length of 75mm. Each image was taken first using the torch as a direct, hard light which creates sharp, black shadows and noticeable highlights on the subject. For the second image a diffuser was used to soften the light. This resulted in shadows with a softer, more diffused edge and less contrast between the highlight and the shadow.
Above: Back lit subject in hard, direct light and then soft, diffuse light.
Above: Side lit subject in hard, direct light and then soft, diffuse light.
Above: Opposite side lit subject in hard, direct light and then soft, diffuse light.
Amber Lyons Photography 