Lesson 2 was all about directing light. I was hoping to have some good morning light again, as the time change means that it’s too dark when I get home to have much light coming into the dining room. Unfortunately, mornings this week have been cloudy, so not much luck for me having good natural light.

I want to thank Nika for another great lesson… This one will prove to be really useful right from the start.

I figured this was a good way to try out how white balance would need to change for the light in the dining room, and I ended up with using the ‘Incandescent setting’.

Task 1: My Light Bouncing Equipment

I mostly used foamcore. This is can be found at art supply stores, and it bascially posterboard glued to a white styrofoam core, which gives some stiffness so it will stand up without bending.

I picked up a few sheets of foamcore: 3 white, 2 black and one kind of a silvery grey. I also took a piece of cardboard and wrapped it with aluminum foil and snagged a mirror my wife had under her sink in the bathroom. I have some cheap lights that I can use, too, with translucent umbrellas, and my camera tripod made it into the shot a bit, too.

The problem with the lights I have is that the bulbs are too stark in color. I really need to replace them with more natural light bulbs, which shouldn’t be too difficult. I got 3 tripods (2 tall, 1 short) with 2 translucent umbrellas for something like $50 on ebay to use for photos, and they do pretty well for my needs right now.

So that’s my light bouncing stuff!

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