Pixiq

Aloha! We are interjecting in our retouching series this article on lighting. It's an important but simple tutorial that will help you create depth, drama and polish to your photography, retouching and painting.

The Five Lights of Nature are values that artists and photographers use to create the feeling of depth and drama in two-dimensional output. Each of the 5 lights has characteristics that provide the viewer with information about the subject’s surface, color and texture and they always occur in the same relationship to each other. These lights are the basis for professional lighting patterns and shaping them perfectly is the focus of professional portrait retouching. When more than one light source is used, more than one set of the 5 lights is produced so it’s important to identify and understand what you are seeing when using light for photography, retouching and painting.

 Light One / Specular Highlight

The specular highlight is the lightest value on an object. It tells you what direction the light is coming in from and how shiny or dull the surface of the object is. A shiny surface is represented by specular highlights that are very white in comparison to the neighboring values and have sharp, well-defined edges … like metal or catch lights in the eyes. A dull object, like cotton fabric, is be represented by specular highlights that are just a bit lighter in value than the next tonal value and it’s hard to tell exactly where one ends and the other begins.

 Light Two / Diffused Highlight

The diffused highlight contains the correct color and truthful texture of the object. There is no difference in color between the specular highlight and the diffused highlight, only a difference in value. The diffused highlight is the correct value for the object. This light shows you the correct skin tone and pore structure. While texture may be visible in other values on the object, the natural texture is evident in the diffused highlight value.

 Light Three / Shaded Side

The shaded side finishes the lighting ratio and completes the trio of values that make rounded objects look round. The shaded side receives no light from the source light. There is a difference in both color and value between the shaded side and the diffused highlight; the shaded side contains the complimentary color to the diffused highlight (an orange object will have a blue shaded side) and is darker than the object is in life. If there are blemishes or wrinkles on the skin, most of the roughness will show up in the transition between the diffused highlight and the shaded side – that’s where good retouchers start blending and shaping the lighting.

 HINT: if something looks too “flat” – it’s missing one of the previous lights. Determine what is missing and replace it.

 Light Four / Reflected Light

Reflected light is light bouncing in from a source other than the main light; like a reflector. Reflected lights add additional shape and definition to the object illuminated. In addition, reflected lights often contain color because “the color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it” - Leonardo di Vinci. Look for reflected lights when you are photographing so you can use them to add accent shapes to the contours of the subjects you are photographing.

 Light Five / Shadow

The shadow positions the object in relationship to its surroundings and also communicates the shape and texture of the surrounding areas. The shadow a person casts upon grass takes on the texture and shapes of the grass.  The same shadow cast upon a flat wall will replicate a direct outline of the subject. Shadows are used when making image composites to tie new objects into the base image.

Mastery of the 5 Lights of Nature gives you powerful control over any art form you desire to work with. Photographs become breathtakingly beautiful, retouching becomes a work of art and paintings achieve the status of timeless masterpieces. Did you know that one of the first signs of a fledgling artist is their fear to use depth – their fear to use light and their ignorance of how to use light effectively? Learn to see, feel and create lighting in your work and your knowledge will take it to a higher plane of excellence.

See you next time! Thanks!