A Quick Photography Insight by Matthew K Mayes

• It’s ok to mix light. Different colors are fun all at the same time.

• Catch a “natural” occurrence of mixed light. A lamp light mixed with a window light.

• To create mixed light in the studio, use gels with complimentary colors on front and back of the scene. Green/Magenta or Blue/Yellow or Red/Teal

• Some photographers try to make all lights the same color. Lately I think we don’t mind different colors so much. Its easy and convenient to just set the light quality and see what happens with the color in the final print. But if anything, make the lights different color but not similar. Colors that are too close to one another in hue makes the most ugly possible feeling in an image. Duality is what we want. Its how our mind works, but if you want to make something with low or confusing ugly energy, its ok to break the rules.

• light the face with a cool light and the background or scene with a warm color, and then try the opposite. Both have different feelings.

• put an orange filter on your flash and set your camera to tungsten white balance and watch the background scene turn pale blue and the subject look normal.

• A cold light on the subject against a balanced or warm interior light can give the feeling of longing and hunger. Or or a journey that will begin.

• Looking into different colors of light will make the model look as tho he/she has different feelings based on the color of light.

• To meter light light a pro, you first set your camera settings for what you want for the ambient natural light and then add the amount of flash you need to fill the dark shadows. There are many ways to approach this.

1. Set your shutter speed as high as it can go while still syncing with your flash. 1/200 for slr and 1/500 for range finders and tlr cameras
2. Meter your scene with this shutter setting and set your fstop to complete your exposure formula. Lets say f4
3. Test and physically adjust your flash power and distance to f4 sampled right in front of the point of reflection of the subject’s face with your hand held incident flash meter.

Now you can shoot and the artificial flash will blend with your scene and you might be able to have a nice picture with more than one light source.

Have fun and I love you tumblr!

-Matthew K Mayes (mojokiss)