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Digital Angle-Finder (protractor)


hjoseph7

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For those of you who have problems understanding Lighting Diagrams, I found this a nifty tool for placing your lighting equipment:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W395R5E?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details . I had all kinds of problems with Math when I was in school, especially Geometry. So when those Lighting Diagrams talk about place your Main light at this angle and your Fill light at that angle, I'm often left scratching my head . This tool makes it easy, all you have to do is point one arm(of the Angle Finder) at your subject while swinging the other arm until you reach the angle stated on the diagram. It's all digital and easy to see. I wish it had a back-lit LCD light though, because in dim situations you might have problems

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I don't really understand why one would need a protractor to understand lighting diagram.

Indeed.

Giving exact angles for lighting placement is pretty pointless except for a flat copying setup.

 

The correct setting for 'Rembrandt' lighting, for example, will depend on the size of the subject's nose and the height difference and facing angle between the subject's face and key light. In short, the 'correct' angle can only be judged and set by eye.

 

Much the same applies to 'butterfly' and 'split' lighting setups. Use your eyes, not a protractor!

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Just a note from the fringes

 

I do no studio shooting aside from scientific specimens, being a "natural light" photographer who started off under the influence of Gordon Converse* and the field-side of Ansel Adams†

So I just move around till it "looks right". I think every photographer has to decide how they want to use light for themselves. Rigid prescriptions don't really do it.

*

This incident proved to be useful. It forced me to experiment with natural

light photography long before it seemed wise or practical for newspaper work. I

vowed never again to allow my camera to invade or disrupt the lives of other

people. Since that day I have never used a flash on any of my cameras. Simply,

it's not polite!

 

Gordon N. Converse

 

Photography was conceived in natural light. Our visual reactions to the world

about us are tied inexorably to the experience of the ages; by the process of

evolution and adaptation our eyes hav.e come to serve as instruments of percep·

tion and in some measure of interpretation, strengthening by association the

other sensory impressions. Not only are objects perceived by daylight, but they

are interpreted according to the direction, the intensity, and the color of the

light. Hence the perceptual realities of the world largely depend upon the

qualities of natural light.

Ansel Adams Natural Light Photography

Edited by JDMvW
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I've never done lighting. But wouldn't the approach be different if you use continuous lighting where you can see the shadows vs. strobe lighting and let's say using film where you can't see the results at the shoot?

That's why professional studio strobes have modeling lights, usually adjustable to match the power levels of the flashes in use. Also, a little practice with an incident meter allows the photographer to anticipate results. Polaroid backs were also popular with pros in the film era, both to verify results and equipment operation as well as to show to clients to make sure that everybody was on the same page as to the final look of the image.

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