Photography and Media Exposure & Lighting 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'Rembrandt lighting' in portrait photography?
- Lighting from directly in front of the subject
- A pattern where a small triangle of light appears on the shadow side of the subject's cheek (Correct answer)
- Lighting from directly above the subject
- Using two equal lights on either side of the subject
Correct 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.
Question 2: What is the purpose of a 'diffuser' in photography lighting?
- To increase the intensity of light
- To soften and spread light, reducing harsh shadows (Correct answer)
- To focus light into a narrow beam
- To change the color temperature of the light
Correct 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.
Question 3: What does 'white balance' control in a photograph?
- The brightness of white objects
- The color temperature/tint of the image to render whites as neutral (Correct answer)
- The contrast between light and dark areas
- The sharpness of bright highlights
Correct 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.
Question 4: What is 'backlighting' in photography?
- Lighting the background separately from the subject
- Positioning the main light source behind the subject, facing the camera (Correct answer)
- Using reflectors to bounce light back toward the subject
- A flash technique using the rear curtain sync
Correct 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.
Question 5: What is a 'stop' in terms of photographic exposure?
- A shutter speed of 1 second
- A doubling or halving of the amount of light in an exposure (Correct answer)
- The maximum aperture of a lens
- A pause in a time-lapse sequence
Correct 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.
Question 6: What is the 'inverse square law' as applied to photographic lighting?
- Light intensity doubles when the distance from the source doubles
- Light intensity falls off proportionally to the square of the distance from the source (Correct answer)
- A formula for calculating the correct aperture setting
- The relationship between ISO and noise
Correct 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.
Photography and Media Exposure & Lighting 2
What is 'Rembrandt lighting' in portrait photography?