Understanding how to use reflected light and negative fill are two of the most valuable lessons to learn as a photographer. Make sure you have these concepts in your photography arsenal.
The team over at Aputure are back once more with another valuable video on the subject of reflected light. This week, Ted Sim leaves no stone unturned when it comes to explaining how powerful reflectied light can be for us photographers and filmmakers.
For those who don't know what reflectied or bounce lighting is, in a nutshell, we are talking about the indirect light, which is literally bouncing off most surfaces of the scene and affecting how it looks. Many of you will have seen how a reflector can be used to do this, but in essence, everything on the planet is bouncing light off it in varying degrees. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, but once you are aware of how light works, you'll be better at making it do the things you want it to do.
Sim goes into much greater depth on the subject with some great examples to illustrate this idea in action. The video also shows how the opposite of reflective light is negative fill and how replacing a white reflector with a black one will have the effect of killing the light in those areas. This can be equally crucial when it comes to shaping the subjects in a scene.
It doesn't matter what kind of photography you do: if you understand how reflective light and negative fill can be used to your advantage, your work will no doubt benefit as a result. The best thing about these important concepts is that it's something you can start doing instantly without having to spend a dime. Find something white to bounce light in or use something black to do the opposite. Give it a try and see how dramatic a difference it can make in your pictures.
