Technology changes with time, but the fundamentals and recipes in photography remains. This article was first published in 2006, revised in 2018
The funniest thing about Shadow is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like a rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all. — A quote from Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850–1894). A Child’s Garden of Verses and Underwoods
Shadow is one of the Design Elements in Visual Art. You can find it being utilized in photography and painting.
Shadow come and go in a fleeting moment. We encounter shadow everyday and everywhere. Sometimes it is very obvious, sometimes it is not. Sometimes it is long, sometimes it disappears. Most often, many people simply walk away without noticing how shadow can help create an interesting photograph.
There are no special lenses needed to capture the shadow. The handphone camera with its Program mode is able to do the job well. But of course, the Digital SLRs provide the photographers with more options to play with, such as the higher range of ISO and wider range of aperture.
Your main problem would probably be camera shake due to shutter speed slower than 1/(focal length). In this case, you may have to consider using a higher ISO and a bigger aperture to get you a faster shutter speed to minimize camera shake.
The below shall serve as a useful guide to aid you in the search for shadow.
The ingredients for shadow:
- The best time to get good natural shadow will be early morning or late evening on a sunny and non cloudy day. The quality of light and shadow is at its optimum best during this period.
- Shadow is longer early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
- Shadow from artificial light will be great if the light source emits strong light. Sounds like common sense but spotting such opportunities is not easy even though it can be found everywhere. The Art of Seeing!
- The main subject must have distinct outlines so that the shadow will be obvious. Avoid group of subjects or else the shadow will just become one big black area with no distinct shape.
With the above in mind, you can use this technique and tips in your quest to catch the lurking shadow.
Matrix metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO400, Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter speed 1/320s, Aperture f3.5
While walking towards the gate to board the plane, the strong light shines into the waiting area. I anticipated some good photo opportunities and took out my camera. The long shadow shows that the shot was taken very early in the morning. I waited for a minute for someone to walk past the chairs in the waiting area and I fired away. It worked well to have the person as a subject. It is good to have a camera all the time.
Center weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO320, Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter speed 1/180s, Aperture f3.8
While checking out at a hotel lobby in China, one of the hotel staff walked in and I immediately shot about ten pictures, out of which I can choose one or two. Every picture is different, such as the hand and legs movement. No harm shooting more, as opportunities do not repeat.
Matrix metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO125, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/125s, Aperture f4
The shadow reveals the shape of the windows of a domestic airport in Myanmar. Fortunately, a kid walked out and became my main subject. As usual, took a series of shots to choose from as he walked towards me. The shadow was long as it was early in the morning.
Centre weighted metering, ISO400, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/250s, Aperture f5.6
I was in an alley in one of the villages in Lijiang, China. The architecture is interesting and the older people there wear traditional costumes. Opportunity came when the strong sunlight created the shadow of the roof on the wall. It formed an interesting graphic image with the lady as the subject. Yes, Shadow forming Shape.
Centre Weighted metering, ISO400, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/250s, Aperture f4
Upon touch down in Bagan, Myanmar, we made a dash for this shot to catch the early morning light. We were fortunate that we were not late and the shadow is relatively long. We cannot afford to wait for a candid subject to walk in as the shadow becomes shorter quickly as time flies. I asked my guide to ask the food seller near us to pose for us.
Matrix metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO250, Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter speed 1/640s, Aperture f4.5
As it approached noon as shown in this picture, the shadow became very much shorter and the quality of light was not very good. The harsh lighting resulted in severe “hotspot” and the “glaring” floor is something which we should try to avoid. Details on the floor are lost.
Centre weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO500, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/320s, Aperture f9
While on a bus, we passed by a slip road and the noon sun created a shadow of the overhead bridge on the road. Graphically, it look like two “Cs”. Lighting was getting harsh as the time approached noon and the shadow was short. A bicyclist cycled past and I fired a few shots.
Centre weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO400, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/125s, Aperture f5.6
The sun was setting. I was in front of a Tibetan house with the door closed. The sun created very good shadows of the tree branches on the white coloured wall. I asked my guide whom I requested to be in traditional Tibetan costume to be my model and it worked well. Here, Shadow formed Texture on the wall.
Centre weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO500, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/320s, Aperture f8.5
We were walking along a street in Pushkar, India in the late afternoon. The long shadows looked interesting and I shot this “group photo” of myself and my students whom I led for the photo trip. You can guess which shadow is mine. Third from left.
Centre weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO400, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/320s, Aperture f8.5
The shadow resulted in interesting shapes on the wall, and created something like a framing effect. The couple became my main subject. Shadow formed Framing here.
Centre Weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO320, Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter speed 1/3200s, Aperture f5
Two people or four people. The early morning light created the shadow of the two people on the wall as we walked up the slope of the Potala Palace, Tibet. Oxygen was very thin there and it was sure not an easy walk.
Matrix metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO800, Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter speed 1/5000s, Aperture f5.6
Why did the chicken cross the road? The bus was moving at high speed along an expressway when the mother hen walked onto the road with her charges. The bus had to do a jam break white I fired a few shots.
Matrix metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO100, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/500s, Aperture f4
I got tired of shooting the ancient ruins of an old city in Xinjiang. The setting sun emitted a very strong orange light which made the place looked so good. I spotted this angle where I can shoot my shadow. The shadow was long as it was late into the evening.
Centre weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO100, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1/125s, Aperture f5.3
Group photograph of myself and my students. We stood in a line in the midst of the setting sun. We spread ourselves apart to ensure that the shadows did not overlap.
Centre Weighted metering, Daylight White Balance, ISO1600, Program Mode, Shutter speed 1s, Aperture f2.8, D2X, 10.5mm DX lens
After a sumptuous dinner, we waited for the bus to pick us up. The street was very dark and a car headlamp suddenly shone in our direction with the two men walking away from us. There was no time to setup a tripod. I set my ISO at 1600, use the wide angle fisheye and fired rapidly. I think I shot almost 8 shots handheld and somehow two or three appeared quite well with no camera shake, at 1s shutter speed.
