Side Lighting

As you gain experience with different types of outdoor lighting, you

discover that interesting effects you can achieve by changing the angle of

the light. When you find the perfect view, have the person or object you are

photographing turn a little until you get the angle you are looking for.  When

you are photographing children or pets, you may have to physically move

them and tell them not to move. Change the cameras viewpoint, or just wait

for the sun to move.

The light will fall more on one side, and more shadows are cast on the

opposite side of your subject.  If you are trying to achieve a picture

where texture is important, side lighting is the ideal lighting source.

Side lighting is more important with black-and- white photography where

you are using gray tones,  rather than color, to photograph. Shadows caused

by side lighting reveal details that can create striking pictures from ordinary

objects that are otherwise hardly worth photographing in black and white.

Anything that has a noticeable texture-like the ripples of the sand on

the beach or the drops of water on  a flower are best photographed when lit

from the side. Landscapes, buildings, and  people, all look better when they

are side lighted.   You have heard the phrase "This  is my best side". This

applies to color photography as well. Most often when you are  side-lighting,

you will develop harsh shadows on your photos. Instead of  photo-shopping

every detail, lets think about these things as we are taking the  photos.  It

will save you a lot of time later.  To lighten the shadows and reduce the

contrast, you may want to use some type of reflector to direct additional

skylight into the shadow areas or use fill-in flash, whichever is more

convenient for you.