What's poppin, people? It's Dante. Welcome to module four. Light, Shadow and Contrast. So today we'll be discussing how light is the foundation of layering. Light is the thing that gives form and structure to people, places and things, and of course, the layers within our frames. And so light comes first. Light is what's going to organize the scene that you're photographing. And so a lot of the times when I'm out there on the streets and I'm practicing my photography and looking for layers, and I'm out there and I'm looking for light firstly, because I understand that this is the glue that will hold the composition together. And so it's really important for you to look for the strong light on the corners that you're photographing. Look for the way that light casts upon the scene firstly, and then chase the light. I think actually looking for light first and then building your structure secondarily is actually very much important, because without light, a lot of the times layers will fall flat. And so look for the light. Watch the light. I like to study the light in my hometown and know at what time of the day light is going to fall in these particular places so that I can return time and time again and anticipate when the light will just be right. And so light is going to simplify the chaos in your frame where it's going to remove distractions and create hierarchy and contrast. This is really critical to. For layering, because we want clean separation between the foreground, middle ground, and background, where light is going to direct the attention of the viewer to the thing in the frame that matters most. And so light will also define the stage. It will define the structure of the place that you're photographing. And so I'll break down this photograph very simply here to share with you exactly how I look at the way in which light defines the scene that I photograph. And so this is a street that I visit every single day in Philadelphia. This is Market Street. This is a place where I can anticipate that the light will be just right. And so, as you can see here, the background is crushed in shadow area. Right. As I highlight here in red, you can see exactly what I mean. And the structure of this street is quite clean and it's quite simple where I always know that shadows will be falling along the sidewalk. And it's a very wide sidewalk with structure formed by these columns. And the background is clean. And there's always strong light at this particular scene. And on this day in the summertime, there was Some breakdancers. And I was anticipating the movement of this man who was doing a trick. And as he did the backflip, I clicked the shutter. At that decisive moment. But before I made the photo of that moment, I already had my structure established. I already had the way in which the situation was going to fall within my frame established, meaning the. The structure, the background, the stage was set. I had my back positioned accordingly with the sun so that the light was casted upon this space. And then as I made the picture of this man who was doing the trick, I had a very sudden surprise here of this shadow that was looming on the sidewalk. And I kind of sensed the possibility of light and shadow play interplaying at this particular scene, simply due to the way that light was giving shape and form to this space. And then in the background, these other characters that you see, they kind of just fell together naturally, right? A lot of the time when you build your structure at a certain scene, the other elements in the background, the foreground, the middle ground, a lot of these things kind of just fall together naturally. But it comes through your physical positioning, anticipation, and recognizing how light defines the stage. And so the structure is already existing in these spaces that you're photographing. But light is what's going to give form to those spaces. And so with contrast with light, it's going to create separation between light and shadow, between the dark and the. And the bright spaces, right? Where shadows and silhouettes will emerge. And the form of the subjects in your frames will be much more readable. So the layers will be prominent. And so light works with time. You know, a lot of the time, light is very quick and fleeting. It's shifting, it's out of our control. But what you're in control of is being patient and waiting at these particular scenes. A lot of the best photos that I've made have come during the golden hour. It's come during the time where the light casts long, looming shadows. And here we can find a lot more dramatic scenes that we can photograph with this kind of light. And so pay attention to the way the light moves during certain times of the day and go out during those times where the light is just right. I often find that during the midday, when the light is a bit harsh, it can be difficult to work with layers because of that fact. But at the hours around sunset, golden hour, the light is very much beautiful. And the way that it casts upon faces, people, places and things create structure in the frames much more easily. And so when you're making photographs at a Situation where the light is right, you're going to have to be patient. And waiting at these particular scenes where light and shadow is interplaying at a moment is essentially how alignment will happen. And so patience pays off. And here at this scene, I was photographing along the Schuylkill river as these people were picnicking and hanging out around this dock, and this girl started to enter the frame in the foreground. However, I wasn't necessarily looking at something extraordinary. I was simply looking at this beautiful scene of people hanging out. Right? We had some simple light as the sun was setting, and that soft light, that reflected light off of the water in the background. The way the light casts upon the space isn't so dramatic. It's actually very nuanced. It's not so dramatic. And so you don't always need to work with the harsh sun or the sort of looming light and shadow play, but you can work in a variety of different situations. And the way the light affects the scene will create some sort of mood in your frame. And so the takeaway for this little lesson here in the beginning of this lecture is to understand the foundational sort of principle of light being the foundation of your frame, where light is going to give form and give shape to the things that you photograph. Right, where you can look at this image once again, breaking down a picture for you here, because I find that understanding the way the light interacts with a particular space can go a long way. And so, essentially, I was still here at this moment. I walked past this fence in Penn's Landing, and I noticed the way the light and shadow was interacting within my frame. I actually held my hand up and noticed the way the light was casting upon this area of the frame. As I highlight in red, you can see those stripes of the shadows upon that boy in the middle ground. And so I had an understanding as people came by the scene, that I could have some sort of interplay between light and shadow and make something a little bit more deep with layers. And so, essentially, I saw some boys biking by, and I was patient positioned and had the structure in my frame established. And all I had to do was wait for the alignment and click the shutter as they sweeped by. And so in the foreground here, you can see a very strong silhouette taking up almost one half of the frame in relationship to that boy, where the light and shadow play is casted upon the middle ground. And then finally, the boy in the background in the full illuminated light moving into this, into the background of the scene. And so we have 1, 2, 3 layers from the foreground, middle ground and background, with three subtle yet prominent layers due to the way the light is casted upon my space that I'm photographing in, where we have a strong shadow area, we have an area where light and shadow are interplaying. And then finally, we have a subject in full illumination. And so you can see exactly how contrast and structure is formed through light in this example here. And so now we're going to discuss how to use shadows as foreground elements where shadows become active tools that we can use. Right. Shadows aren't just empty space. You know, a lot of the time I see a shadow and I think about how I can use it to activate a space and create a visual anchor in my frame. And so use shadows as a way to activate the scenes that you photograph. Right. Where sometimes shadows can simplify, a frame, using that dark, crushed shadow area can give emphasis to the important and prominent characters within your frame. And so with shadows comes depth, comes separation between the foreground, middle ground and background, where the subjects in your frame begin to pop. And so the way the light casts upon this scene here in Jericho, as I photograph these boys playing against this wall, allowed structure to naturally give shape and form to this surface here. And so you can see I'm looking at the shadows. You know, the first thing that caught my eye were these two shadows that I noticed casted in the foreground of the frame. And so I was playing with that idea of plugging these shadows into the foreground and seeing how I could add layers and depth from that element firstly. And so as I positioned my body close to those shadows, a boy emerged around the corner with the rock. He actually threw the rock at me, and it actually kind of hurt, I remember, but. And then this. They were playing at this scene. And then. So I have this sort of form foreground established with the. With the shadows. I have this boy emerging in full illumination in the mid ground with that strong gesture. And then I have an understanding of my background. I have an understanding of the way the light is casted upon the background and the way that these shadows are casted upon the ground there. And then finally, you can see that boy who's emerging in the background and shadow area. And so you can see the way that the shadows in a frame can become an active space. You know, they can add drama and depth to your frame from foreground to background, depending on the way in which the people are positioned within the light. And so we have shadows in the foreground, full illumination in the Mid ground. And then finally a silhouette figure in full stride deep in the background, drawing the viewer's eye from front to back. And so shadows can seriously allow the subjects to pop. And it becomes this way for you to create instant layering and in your frames, where light will reveal the depth for you in the pictures that you make here in Baltimore. I photographed this man in the window frame, and I used this idea of framing him within a frame, creating depth very naturally within this picture by positioning him in the foreground of the frame in relationship to the shadow area that's casted along the mid ground, and then revealing a shadow in the background where these edges and borders form the composition very naturally. And framing this subject within this doorway, within this window frame allowed for the light to illuminate in a particular way that creates depth and mystery throughout the frame. And so when you go out there and you're making pictures, it's always important to recognize your physical position in relationship to the light and shadow that you're working with. And so a lot of the times, I use the sun to my back so that I can have the long, looming shadows in front of me to work with. And so, depending on your physical position, you can start to play and tinker with the way that light and shadow interacts at a scene. And so, similar to that way in which I photographed at Penn's landing of those boys on the bicycle, I was looking here at this scene as this man was emerging from the subway station underground. And I was playing with the way that light and shadow interacted with his face, waiting for that moment of a small sliver of light and to interact with his facial expression and kind of have this very small, nuanced effect of light and shadow casting on his face. And so, by positioning your body at a space where light is casted, by positioning your body in a way where you can sense the interplay between light and shadow play, you can also add more dominance to these shadow areas in the foreground of your frame. Shadows will create mystery in your pictures, right? They'll leave questions for a viewer, create mood, intention. And so I believe it's important as a street photographer to suggest rather than explain. And so using shadows is a simple way to achieve that goal of creating engagement for the viewer's eye. And so with that, I encourage you to avoid weak shadows, avoid those kind of muddy grays, those accidental darknesses that appear in a frame. You know, you really want to make sure that the shadows that you use sort of have a function and create depth in your picture. And so strong light in the foreground or strong shadows in the foreground in relationship to light in the background instantly create that separation and contrast that we're looking for to allow the layers in our frame to be activated. And so use shadows as a tool. Use it intentionally. Use it to simplify and separate the subjects throughout your frame, adding depth and mystery. And so now we'll discuss contrast for separation and clarity. And so why contrast matters is quite simple. In order for a picture to be legible, contrast must exist. In order for somebody to be able to travel from the foreground to the middle ground to the background of your frame, there must be some separation that creates the clarity. And so make sure the composition is easy to read. When you're layering things, it's really chaotic. There's so much spontaneity. But when you actually set separate your subjects using light, it gives clarity and contrast to your frame. And so contrast is not just about light, right? You can use, of course, light and shadow, but there's also sharpness versus softness still subjects versus moving subjects, a clean environment versus a chaotic environment. There's a variety of ways that you can use contrast in your frames to create separation. Light just happens to be my favorite way of achieving this. And so when you have contrast in a frame, it's going to create hierarchy, right? And so with this picture, I photographed these boys who were actually sitting on top of their bicycles as a fire, a house fire, was emerging from the background. And you can see the background is activated quite naturally due to the way the light is casting from that area where the smoke is emerging. On the right hand side, we have this subject revealing herself with her face covered walking down the sidewalk. And that hierarchy between these boys in the foreground, you know, on their bicycles, in relationship to the smoke in the background was created naturally through the way that light casts upon this space and creates natural hierarchy and contrast, separating the subjects from the foreground to the background in order to create order from the chaotic scene. And so I encourage you to chase separation over clarity. When you're making a picture, don't try to add more, but try to remove more and try to avoid overlap and simplify when needed. I think that ultimately, with layering, clarity beats density. Don't think about how you can add more, Think about how you can separate more, how you can subtract more, and try to simplify the frame so that the layers are structured with contrast and easy to read. And so when you're photographing a scene, you're going to, of Course, be observing the different ways in which people are moving in and out of a moment where people are gesturing with their face, people are moving their hands. And the way that you separate these subjects throughout your frame creates contrast and isolates the meaning and the gestures throughout your frame. So it's very important to create this visual hierarchy between the different subjects where the facial expressions, the gestures should be legible throughout the frame. And so when I see a scene with light and shadow, I use contrast as a timing tool. Sometimes a shadow will cast upon a boy's face, and I'll click the shutter at the decisive moment where I can sense the possibility that there will be some sort of separation between the light, between the shadow. You know, sometimes somebody will step into the light, sometimes somebody will step into the shadow. And it's important to wait for alignment and use contrast and use the way the light is casted upon a space as a timing tool for you to click the shutter. And so you want to press the shutter at that decisive moment where the alignment occurs. And I use light, and I use contrast as a timing tool, where I use contrast as a way for me to give emphasis to what matters in the frame and crush in the shadow area what is unimportant in my frame. And so you. You want to avoid muddy contrast, because then it'll create a little bit too much sort of overlap where you're not going to be able to necessarily determine where your eye wants to travel from the foreground to the background. And so you really want to make sure that you avoid muddy contrast, because then there will be equal weight all throughout the frame. And it will be very difficult to decide where your eye wants to travel throughout the picture. And so contrast is going to create separation, and with separation comes clarity. And this is how you're going to achieve deeper layers that are easy to read. And so now we will be discussing building layers with light firstly. And so when you're out there and you're shooting and you're hunting for your photos, think more so about the condition that you're photographing and not necessarily the human or the thing that you're trying to photograph. I think it's very important to find the light firstly and build the structure before the subjects are in your frame. And so it's important when you're out there to be patient, to wait in these situations where there's nice light, rather than simply running and gunning and chasing. And so find the background firstly. This is a technique that we will use when we're practicing layering. Over and over again in order to create the structure when we find the light. And so with light, you have layers. Sometimes a shadow will cast upon the foreground, adding depth to the the frame. There will be a mit, a mid ground area that is in the light and a background that could be crushed. There's something that happens when you put yourself in a position where there's people moving and nice light. You know, it's a very spontaneous thing, light. You know, the way that people move in and out of these situations can cause, you know, surprises in your frames that are interesting and add depth to the picture. And so when I find a strong situation with nice light, I use the light to make my structure. You know, I like to find where the light stops, where is it strongest, what shape does it make. And I work within those zones when I'm on the street so that I can add layers to the frame. And so when you're making a picture and you find the light and you have your structure, simply let people complete the frame. You know, people will enter the structure that you make. You just have to position your body in relationship to those moments, the light and of course, the background, to create the separation for the observer of the image. Right? So you want to make sure that patience becomes power, that you're actually waiting for the alignment. When you find light, you have to really be there and be present in the moment and notice the nuances of light at these different scenes and simply allow life to unfold naturally within those spaces that you're photographing. And so with light, you will have consistency, right? I think that when you find light and you understand the way that people interact with light, it becomes a repeatable process, right? Where you can always find yourself at a corner looking at light and understanding where you should position your physical body in relationship to that light to give yourself a recognizable style. And it will help you because you'll stop wasting your energy photographing in certain scenes where there isn't necessarily strong light. And so with light, it will also signal the end of you working a scene. Right. Sometimes when you're photographing the. The light will fade and disappear. Subjects will lose interest in those areas where the light is activated and contrast will collapse and the scene will then be finished. And you will then know it's time to move on when the light fades away. You know, there's countless times where I have photographed out on the streets in certain corners and pockets of light where once the light disappears, I'm done for the day. And so you don't always need the perfect, strong contrast in your light. But I do think it's important to find the different nuances of all sorts of light, whether it's reflected light, partial illumination. Really what it comes down to with layering is that the structure matters most. So when you build your structure around a scene, the light that you're working with can also just add a little bit more to the picture. Right where this photograph that I made in Philadelphia on the street, on Chestnut street here was very simple. I was watching the way that the reflected light was affecting the people that were on the sidewalk and waiting here at the bus stop. And so you can see the prominent subject in the mid ground of the frame illuminated in the light. But one of the things that I did before making this frame was make sure I have some structure here. And so I made sure to plug in my foreground, that cartoon on the right hand side of Ariel on the right, in relationship to this woman's lips. And this sort of advertisement of the storefront on the left. And you can even see a little shadow of the. Of the man there. And so I created depth. I created layers with this picture. But by creating my structure and then recognizing the way that the reflected light from the building was creating a more soft experience, a more sort of partial, illuminated experience with this photograph where the light is a little bit different than that harsh light. And so you don't always need that perfect, strong light during the golden hour, but find the structure and allow the light to build around it. And so when I'm out there shooting, I always make sure to find the light. And then I build the structure. And. And so think more critically about that when you're on the street. Chase the light. Don't chase the moments, necessarily. And so I use light to add depth. And so we're going to discuss how we can do that. And so I believe that depth is simply revealed. It's not something you can force or add. You know, when you're out there in the world, light is out of our control. And so you kind of have to discover it as you're out there on the street. You know, it's not necessarily about making something complex with layering. It's all about something simplifying. And using light as a tool for you to create depth in your picture is one of the simplest ways to create these kind of dynamic, layered frames. Where essentially, when you're making a photograph at a scene, you want to be very patient and very observant of the way that light interacts with the faces, especially the expressions, because this is what's going to create separation throughout the different planes. And so when you find yourself looking at a scene and you're looking at light, recognize the way that it fades. Recognize the way that you see the way light casts upon the space. Whether there's highlight areas, shadow areas, zones of brightness. You know, these different things are going to give you cues on where you should position certain subjects within your frame. When you're looking at life unfold and the way that you're anticipating and waiting for people to enter these situations. You know, when I was making this picture of this man in Mumbai working, I was aware of the way the light was illuminating through the scene from those small holes. And so we have all these casted beams of light and we have this moment of him throwing that piece of wood into the fire. And I was aware of the way the fire was casting the light on his face and waiting for that sort of timing where the highlights were illuminating his face. And so when you're making layered frames and you're using the light, it's very easy to separate the planes from the foreground, middle ground and background. And so you want to make sure that when you're photographing, you're finding that light, because this is what's going to give shape and form to this space. You know, when you look at this frame, it's a simple photograph made towards the evening. And you have illuminated light all throughout the frame from the foreground, mid ground and background. And because of that, the facial expressions are very visible. There's no shadows casted on the faces that make it too difficult to read. And so the separation was created through clarity, through contrast, because of the light and the way they are positioned throughout the frame. And so when I'm photographing, I don't shy away from allowing the light to enter my lens. Of course, I like to shoot towards the sun. I like to have backlit, side lit subjects. But it really depends on the time of day, it depends on the situation and if it calls for these kind of things. And I believe it's important to play with all different types of light. My favorite particular tends to simply be the golden light, sunrise, sunset. And so with this approach of using light, it's going to allow you to simply add depth without clutter in your frames, where the fewer the elements, the cleaner the frames. I believe that it's very simple. With light comes structure, and then with structure comes clarity. And with clarity comes contrast. And the layers are very legible. And so when there's fewer Distractions in the frame, the stronger the photograph will be. You know, it's very simple. So when you're out there on the street, make sure you're recognizing the physical nature of photography and you're positioning your body at that right space, at that right time where the light is casted upon that particular scene that you're shooting, and allowing the light to reorganize your scene. And so pay attention to light and pay attention to the way that your body and the position of your body, whether you're facing the sun or having the back to your sun, is going to give control to the depth in your picture. And so recognize that light is what is going to help you simplify the frame. You know, without light, it's very easy to have a cluttered and chaotic frame. But with light, you can have structure and contrast form very naturally. And so let light lead you. Now we're going to discuss light and storytelling. And so light will shape meaning in your frame. It's not just illumination, but it can also help guide interpretation in your picture. And so I believe that light carries emotional weight. It really can define the narrative tone of your picture. You know, with this photograph, if I didn't have that strong illumination, this man's eye would not be revealed, and it wouldn't have had that sort of intense, emotional sort of feeling in the picture. And so I made this picture on Market street of this man who was hanging out with his little rooster here. And I dropped low, and I was watching the way the light was casting upon his face and the shadows interacted at this seen. And then because he looked up towards the sun, I captured the moment where the eye and the whites of his eye is very prominent. And without light, it wouldn't have emphasized that gesture. And so recognize the power of light and how it can influence the mood and the emotional weight of your frame. I believe that light sets emotional tone. Here we have a scene that I photographed of these girls doing each other's makeup in Mumbai, India. And we have that sunset, beautiful pink light, right? It's a very elegant frame. It's calm. You know, that kind of soft light creates this more intimate experience in a picture, you know, where if the light was actually strong and there were too many shadows in this frame, it wouldn't have that same mood in the picture. And so with harsh light comes this sort of, like, tense and confrontational experience for a viewer where backlit scenes can create mystery. With shadows comes privacy. And. And these different times of day and these different qualities of light can really Set the emotional tone of the picture. And where light can also direct the attention. Right? So bright areas will pull the eye towards those gestures. Where dark areas recede and contrast creates focus and clarity throughout the frame. And so with light, you can reveal and conceal. You can illuminate what's important in the light, such as this dog and his eye. And crush out in the background the shadow area. That leave a little bit more mystery for the viewer. I believe that light is very important when it comes to making a narrative. When you use light, it really helps you emphasize what's important in the frame. Right. We have this simple scene of this man sitting on a step outside of his home, smoking a cigarette. But the way that I made the picture is it really emphasizes the dramatic, tense experience with that harsh light. Where half of his face is crushed in shadow. And half of his face is illuminated in the light. And you can clearly see him with the cigarette in relationship to the boy on the right hand side. Who is playing and joyous and has a different mood. And so that sort of tension of harsh light was created here very naturally through the way that I separated the different layers throughout this plane. And so when you're shooting photos, recognize that light is going to reflect the presence in a scene. You know, there's something about the positioning of your body in relationship to the light. And the way that it can create distance or intimacy. And I believe that my favorite kind of way of shooting is close. And so I like to become an active participant at a scene. And so the way the light reflects your presence is very critical in terms of the narratives and story you're trying to tell. And so with light, a lot of the time, the quality of the light can create the story without any explanation. Where the photo becomes complete due to the way the light casts upon the street or casts upon the places that you're photographing. And so recognize that light can help tell a story. It can give mood and focus for a viewer's eye. And it really does suggest more than explain a lot of the time. And that's why I think that light is such a critical component to recognize as one of the first foundational things that you're looking for on the street. When trying to build layers and make these kind of frames that have depth and so use light, follow the light, and build your structure around light. And I believe that you can improve the clarity of your pictures. You will be able to create contrast that will allow the viewer to be carrying their eye throughout the frame. Creating these visual feasts with layers and so light reveals what matters, you know, expose for what it matters and expose for the story in the highlights and crush the unimportant part in the shadow area. And so light will simply reveal the structure of the scenes that you photograph, I believe. And so, thank you for watching today's module on light. And I will see you in the next one.