Comments on: Practical Lighting

By: Richard Smith

Richard Smith — Thu, 21 May 2015 18:49:54 +0000

Really great and inspiring post, Brooke! It's inspiring in that you achieve great results with simple tools and careful consideration — proof that you don't need tons of gear to create meaningful art. I do the same thing with my own surreal photomontage work: here's how I used a flashlight to get the raw shots where they needed to be for the final result. Thanks for encouraging us to share our images, too! :)

By: David Rieri

David Rieri — Mon, 18 May 2015 11:35:51 +0000

Ohhh really nice brooke. I love it

By: Marina Colen

Marina Colen — Fri, 15 May 2015 00:55:32 +0000

First of all: Another amazing and inspirational post! I truly love your work and always will repeat that! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Most of my pictures are with natural light in so many different uses!
Some of them:
Using the last shine of a day and a window blinds (portrait of a friend):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuatro-lunas/14701075634/in/dateposted-public/

Using the light of the top of my appartment, next to sundown (self portrait):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuatro-lunas/16072415047/in/dateposted-public/

And this two was at the same place, inside my livingroom with a window at right of the imagem and the reflection of the light on the other side by a white wall:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuatro-lunas/16583433305/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuatro-lunas/14298230960/in/dateposted-public/

Thank you once again for the post! Natural light rules <3

By: Diuliane

Diuliane — Thu, 14 May 2015 11:48:30 +0000

Such a cool post Brooke!”keep simple” are my keywords :p i just love natural light and how it change during the day!

early evening light from my window: https://www.flickr.com/photos/some_stuff1/16235579918/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/

for the upper side i used my notebook screen light e the below light came from the candle: https://www.flickr.com/photos/some_stuff1/15017543268/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/

Thank you so much for bein my inspiration from so long time ♥

By: Slava

Slava — Wed, 13 May 2015 17:21:43 +0000

Brooke, I LOVE this post! It’s so refreshing to see that I am not the only one who does not like to mess with lights and would rather use what’s available! I like to keep it simple and create the light I need with what I have on hand. I’ve used practical lights for many of my self portraits.

For this photo I used the hallway light, and kept adjusting the opening of the door until the light felt right: https://www.facebook.com/slavabowmanphotography/photos/a.174975992547105.38925.173349859376385/665261240185242/?type=3&theater

This image is lit with just the living room light: https://www.facebook.com/slavabowmanphotography/photos/a.174975992547105.38925.173349859376385/676164415761591/?type=3&theater

This one is just a light I have in the corner of the room: https://www.facebook.com/slavabowmanphotography/photos/a.174975992547105.38925.173349859376385/702032899841409/?type=3&theater

And this is a little kbit of daylight seeping in, mixed with the light from the burning paper: https://www.facebook.com/slavabowmanphotography/photos/a.174975992547105.38925.173349859376385/702624993115533/?type=3&theater

I have a set of professional lights I have been making myself try to experiment with, but I just cannot force myself to do it. After reading your post, I am even more convinced that I should go with what feels natural to me and continue to be creative with the existing light sources around me! Thank you for the inspiration!

Slava 🙂

By: Lis Nathaly

Lis Nathaly — Wed, 13 May 2015 16:38:51 +0000

I am actually very much like you. I only like lights when they are not in my way or holding me back from being creative.

This is a self portrait I shot a little while ago. I did my hair and make-up and I liked it so much I needed to take a picture. It was a really cold day and did not want to go outside so I improvised with a window on the right and a standing light, that has a head I could position in certain ways, on the left. After I photoshopped it you could not even tell whether I shot in a studio or not.

https://www.facebook.com/lisnathalyart/photos/pb.1440242749569452.-2207520000.1431534547./1539574726302920/?type=3&theater

The image you created is very lovely and really speaks to me. Lately I’ve been really searching for myself and how to improve in my art. I admire your ability to tell stories.

Thank you for being you and reaching out to us <3

x Lis

By: Tom Newforge

Tom Newforge — Wed, 13 May 2015 15:01:53 +0000

oooh. I really like how warm the image with Steph is without feeling like the tones are sacrificed. Looks very rustic. Very….Northwestern Spain. (I want to go there so bad.).
I really love this post. It’s you showing people how they can do something with the tools they already have. You don’t need $1000 lighting to create something amazing.