Light

Photography is all about light. Get the wrong kind of light and your picture is ruined. Be it too dark or too light, the truth is that light is the greatest protagonist of your image.

That is why you must make sure to get the right kind of light.

The right kind of light is not always the same. Depending on the kind of mood you want to create, the subject and many other factors, you will want one kind of light or another. If you want to highlight the sunset, for example, you will want to underexpose, but if it's already dusk, you may need to overexpose to compensate.

Shadows are important to consider. If the light is very strong, contrary to popular belief, you won't get good portraits. Either the person will be squinting back at you, or harsh shadows hide half of his or her face.

For obvious reasons, you wouldn't take a picture of a person at night.

And then there's the best kind of light- at least, in my opinion. The kind of light you get more or less an hour before sunset or an hour after sunset. Soft and pretty.

I think it makes for a very cheerful kind of picture. You judge:

This is a picture I took about twenty minutes ago of my dog. The moment I saw the way the sunlight looked as it illuminated the grass, I knew that it was perfect. The hardest part about taking this picture was getting the dog to stay still. I tried to have him sit, to no avail, and got several shots of his antics (see below), before finally taking this picture.

Note: More about exposure coming soon.