Anyone can take a photograph. Photography is the great equalizer in art. There is no physical skill required to take a good photo. So what makes a good photo good, or what makes a one photo better than another? What makes you stop and really look at an image?
The first step toward improving your photography is to look at the things that make a good photograph. This chapter is all about setting up a common language that we can all follow. It's no good if I tell you to freeze the action or look for the soft light when you don't know exactly what I mean. This chapter is filled with examples of the specific ideas we will be discussing in the rest of the book. These are real-life examples meant to show you a specific technique. These are not heavily staged or processed images; instead, they are photos of a variety of subjects taken with different types of gear to show you what to look for.
Proper Exposure
A properly exposed image will have the right amount of light-meaning the main subject will not appear too bright or too dark. Three things control the amount of light that is allowed to reach the sensor: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Shutter speed controls the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light. The aperture is the size of the opening in the lens the light passes through. The ISO controls how sensitive the sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the less light is needed to create a proper exposure. These are the only controls that affect the exposure of your image. Too much means the image will be overexposed (all the detail in the light areas will be lost, and will appear pure white). Too little light means the image will be underexposed (all the detail in the dark areas will be lost, and will appear pure black).
Soft Light and Hard Light
Photography is all about light and how that light shows the subject that we are capturing. Two of the most widely used terms to describe the quality of the available light are soft light and hard light. So what makes some light hard and other light soft? The simple answer is that hard light is generally from a small light source and soft light is generally from a big light source. The easiest way to see if light is hard or soft is to look at the shadows created by the light. Hard light will cause sharp-edged shadows, while soft light creates a much softer transition into the shadows. Neither light is good or bad-both kinds of light can be used to create good photos-but you need to understand the difference between them so you can use them to your advantage. Traditionally, soft light has been used to create flattering, 'pretty’ portraits, while hard light has been used to create more stark portraits.