Shadow Photography is not so exciting thing to most of the people especially to those who are just starting their way in photography. The most important thing to consider while capturing a photograph is lighting.
When it comes to lighting darkness is equally important as the illumination.
while creating proper blend between lighter and darker parts in an image shadows play vital role. Shadows help in improving contrast, balance, texture and also creates better composition.
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What is Shadow Photography?
Shadow Photography is a genre of photography where shadow is used in the composition for creating dramatic mood or artistic approach.
People generally misunderstand shadows photography with silhouette photography.
In silhouette photography an object stands between the light source and the camera creating a dark solid outline with lighter background.
And in shadows photography an object stands in front of light source creating a shadow in the opposite direction of source of light.
Is Shadow Photography possible with iPhone?
Yes, Shadow Photography is absolutely possible with just using your iPhone.
The scenario of mobile photography has completely changed in past few years and iPhone is standing in one of the leading position when its about capturing photos using mobile phones.
Just using your iPhone that packs hi-tech camera hardware and highly polished software you can amaze people capturing shadow photography.
How to capture Shadow Photography with iPhone?
For capturing Shadow Photography the first thing that should be consider is you must have a bright source of light which generally is the sun. The source must be bright enough to cast a shadow of the object.
It is all about playing with light and darkness and being creative with it. Either you can use the shadows formed by the main subject for composition or you can use shadows from other objects to fall in your main subject to create pattern or texture out of it.
Shadow Photography is all about being creative and experimental but there are few tips and ideas which makes your task a bit easier and will provide you with better photography ideas and they are listed below in detail.
Experiment with various light sources
Any light source that is bright enough to form a shadow will work for shadow photography. Either the light source can be rays during Golden Hour or harsh sunlight or an artificial source of light.
Golden Hour: If you are shooting during golden hour then elongated shadows will form in the opposite direction to the sun. The lighting will be perfect during this hour and the elongated shadows can be used as leading lines.
Harsh Lighting: Generally harsh lighting is found during afternoon when the sun is lighting at its best. During this time very solid shadows are formed and so formed shadows will be shorter than the object.
These can be used to balance the composition by creating proper contrast between bright portion and dark portion.
Artificial Lighting: Artificial lighting can also be used for shadow photography. The light from billboards or street light or neon lights. Since artificial lighting are in various colours you can be more creative with it blending dark shadow with colourful lights.
Look for Patterns and Shapes
While shooting shadows you must remember to check out whether the shadows are creating any shapes or patterns. The shadow may add to make your composition better and it may also be too distractive. If the shadows are not fitting properly in your composition, it is better to let them out of the frame.
While shooting outdoors look for those objects which have some unique and interesting patterns because they form really interesting symmetric shadow if the lighting is proper. This will make your image more appealing and aesthetically pleasing.
Use Shadow in Portraits
You can make your Portrait shots a lot more unique and interesting by including shadows and patterns. For this technique you can place some nets or any kind of object with pores or patterns through which light may pass.
Using Black & White effect in this technique makes the images aesthetic and appealing.
Blend Shadow with Colours
Shadow photography is not always about dark and grey shades. You can play with colours even in shadow photography. Including various colours along with the shadow creates a complete look in the image.
It is not compulsory that a shadow should always be dark. You can create colourful shadow by letting the light to pass through translucent or transparent object.
Wait for the Perfect Timing
If the shadows are captured at the perfect time to fit in the frame then this will create really amazing shot. Many people claim that photography is all about timing and it is somehow true. Nothing can beat the beauty of the image if it is captures at the perfect timing.
This this implies for shadow photography as well so sometimes it is better to wait for the perfect timing to make the shadow fall perfectly in your frame.
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