Photography Lighting Syllabus

Lighting syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Lighting in Photography, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Properties of Light

   4 topics

   • Quality: Hard vs Soft Light
   • Direction of Light
   • Intensity and Falloff (Inverse Square Law)
   • Color Temperature
2. 2

   Natural Light Photography

   4 topics

   • Golden Hour and Blue Hour
   • Overcast and Diffused Light
   • Backlighting and Silhouettes
   • Using Reflectors and Diffusers
3. 3

   Artificial and Continuous Light

   3 topics

   • Continuous LED and Tungsten Lighting
   • Ambient and Available Light
   • Mixed Lighting Challenges
4. 4

   Flash and Strobe Lighting

   4 topics

   • On-Camera and Off-Camera Flash
   • Bouncing and Fill Flash
   • Studio Strobes and Power Packs
   • Wireless Triggers
5. 5

   Lighting Setups and Modifiers

   3 topics

   • Classic Portrait Lighting Patterns
   • Light Modifiers
   • One, Two, and Three-Light Setups

Lighting flashcards for Photography

25 of 50 cards from the Lighting deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the primary factor that determines whether light is hard or soft?

   The apparent size of the light source relative to the subject. A large source relative to the subject produces soft light; a small (or distant) source produces hard light.

2. Describe the shadow characteristics of hard light versus soft light.

   Hard light creates sharp-edged, dark, well-defined shadows with abrupt highlight-to-shadow transitions. Soft light creates gradual, diffuse shadow edges with smooth transitions between highlight and shadow.

3. Why does the sun, despite being enormous, act as a hard light source on a clear day?

   Because it is so far away that its apparent size in the sky is very small relative to the subject, so its rays arrive nearly parallel, producing hard, sharp-edged shadows.

4. What happens to the quality of a light source as you move it closer to the subject?

   It becomes softer, because its apparent size relative to the subject increases; moving it farther away makes it harder.

5. What is front lighting and what is its main effect on a subject?

   Light coming from the camera's position directly onto the subject's front. It gives even illumination and accurate color but flattens the subject, minimizing texture, shadows, and the sense of depth.

6. What is side lighting and what does it emphasize?

   Light striking the subject at roughly $90^{\circ}$ to the camera axis. It emphasizes texture, form, and three-dimensionality by casting shadows across the subject's surface.

7. What is top lighting, and why is midday sun problematic for portraits?

   Light coming from directly above the subject. Overhead midday sun casts unflattering shadows in the eye sockets ('raccoon eyes'), under the nose, and under the chin.

8. State the inverse square law for light as a formula.

   Illuminance is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source: $$E \propto \frac{1}{d^{2}}$$ Doubling the distance reduces light intensity to one quarter.

9. If a subject is moved from $1\,\text{m}$ to $2\,\text{m}$ from a light source, how much light does it receive and how many stops is the loss?

   It receives $\frac{1}{4}$ of the original light ($\frac{1}{2^{2}}$), a loss of exactly 2 stops of exposure.

10. What is light falloff, and how does light-to-subject distance affect it?

    Falloff is the rate at which light intensity decreases with distance. A light close to the subject has rapid falloff (background goes dark quickly); a distant light has gradual falloff (more even illumination between subject and background).

11. According to the inverse square law, moving a light from $2\,\text{m}$ to $1\,\text{m}$ from the subject changes exposure by how much?

    The light intensity increases $4\times$ ($\frac{2^{2}}{1^{2}} = 4$), a gain of 2 stops.

12. In what unit is color temperature measured, and what does a low value versus a high value indicate?

    Kelvin ($\text{K}$). Low values ($\approx 2000\text{–}3500\,\text{K}$) indicate warm (orange/red) light; high values ($\approx 6000\,\text{K}$ and above) indicate cool (blue) light.

13. Give the approximate color temperatures of candlelight, tungsten bulbs, midday daylight, and open shade.

    Candlelight $\approx 1900\,\text{K}$; tungsten/incandescent $\approx 3200\,\text{K}$; midday daylight $\approx 5500\,\text{K}$; open shade/heavy overcast $\approx 7000\text{–}8000\,\text{K}$.

14. What is white balance and why does it matter?

    White balance is the camera setting that compensates for the color temperature of the light so that neutral tones (whites/grays) render without a color cast. Incorrect white balance produces orange (too warm) or blue (too cool) casts.

15. What is the approximate color temperature of electronic flash, and what daylight condition does it match?

    About $5500\,\text{K}$, which closely matches midday daylight — which is why flash blends naturally with daylight.

16. What is golden hour and what are its lighting characteristics?

    The period roughly one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset when the sun is low in the sky. Light is warm (low Kelvin, $\approx 3000\text{–}4000\,\text{K}$), directional but soft, with long shadows and low contrast — highly flattering for portraits and landscapes.

17. What is blue hour and what kind of light does it produce?

    The period of twilight shortly before sunrise or after sunset when the sun is below the horizon. The sky produces cool, soft, deep-blue ambient light with very even illumination — ideal for cityscapes where artificial lights balance the sky.

18. Why is golden hour light warmer and softer than midday light?

    When the sun is low, its light passes through more atmosphere, which scatters the shorter blue wavelengths (leaving warm orange/red light) and reduces intensity and contrast.

19. How does an overcast sky affect the quality of sunlight?

    The cloud layer acts as a giant diffuser, turning the small hard sun into an enormous soft source. The result is soft, low-contrast, nearly shadowless light that is flattering for portraits and accurate for colors.

20. What are the main disadvantages of shooting under heavy overcast light?

    Flat, low-contrast images lacking depth and dimension; dull white skies; a cool/blue color cast; and lower light levels requiring slower shutter speeds or higher ISO.

21. What is backlighting?

    A lighting setup in which the main light source is behind the subject, facing the camera. It creates rim/halo highlights around the subject's edges and can produce silhouettes or glowing translucent effects.

22. How do you deliberately create a silhouette?

    Place the subject in front of a bright background (e.g., a sunset sky), expose for the bright background — not the subject — and keep flash/fill off, so the subject renders as a black shape. A distinct, recognizable subject outline is essential.

23. When shooting a backlit portrait without silhouetting the subject, what two main techniques restore detail in the face?

    (1) Expose for the subject's face (letting the background blow out) using spot metering or exposure compensation, or (2) add fill light with a reflector or fill flash to balance subject and background.

24. What is lens flare and when is it most likely to occur?

    Non-image-forming light scattering inside the lens, producing haze, reduced contrast, or bright artifacts. It is most likely when shooting toward a light source (backlighting); a lens hood or shading the lens reduces it.

25. What is the function of a reflector in photography?

    A reflector bounces existing light back onto the subject to fill in shadows and reduce contrast — it adds no new light source, only redirects light, and requires no power.

See more Lighting flashcards →

Planning Lighting for Photography

Lighting (Photography) FAQ