Exposure & Lighting Flashcards
6 cards from real Photography and Media practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Exposure & Lighting flashcards as text
What is 'Rembrandt lighting' in portrait photography?
Answer: A pattern where a small triangle of light appears on the shadow side of the subject's cheek
Rembrandt lighting is characterized by a small inverted triangle of light on the shadow side of the subject's face, named after the Dutch painter's style.
What is the purpose of a 'diffuser' in photography lighting?
Answer: To soften and spread light, reducing harsh shadows
A diffuser scatters light to create a softer, more even illumination that reduces harsh shadows and specular highlights.
What does 'white balance' control in a photograph?
Answer: The color temperature/tint of the image to render whites as neutral
White balance adjusts the color temperature of an image so that white objects appear neutral white under different lighting conditions.
What is 'backlighting' in photography?
Answer: Positioning the main light source behind the subject, facing the camera
Backlighting places the primary light source behind the subject, which can create silhouettes, rim lighting, or glowing hair-light effects.
What is a 'stop' in terms of photographic exposure?
Answer: A doubling or halving of the amount of light in an exposure
One stop of exposure represents either doubling or halving the amount of light; opening by one stop doubles the light, closing by one stop halves it.
What is the 'inverse square law' as applied to photographic lighting?
Answer: Light intensity falls off proportionally to the square of the distance from the source
The inverse square law states that light intensity decreases proportionally to the square of the distance from the source, so doubling the distance reduces intensity to one-quarter.