There are so many options with photography. We can create our own lighting patterns, utilize ambient light, enhance, fill, and direct as needed. These are all situational changes, or as photographers call them, "rearranging the furniture". More popular today is creating interesting patterns and embellishments with photoshop or similar programs by "masking" or "dodging and burning". 

Why do we need to control the light, anyway? Glad you asked! 

Photography is all about lighting.  Think about it. There is no way to create an image without light. When I was in photography school, I learned about so many different lighting techniques, but one thing that stuck with me was that each professor had their favorite "sweet spot lighting". One of my professors said, "the only thing that will set you apart from everyone else in the world of photography is your unique style." As I started developing my own style, I realized that style is an entire process. 

Give five photographers the exact same camera and lens, the exact same subject, same day, hour, lighting and angle, and you end up with five identical shots, right? Well, no. First of all, exposure is a creative decision (and one that many "photographers" don't understand how to make). Secondly, the crop can make or break the image. Then we have juxtaposition, color, expression, mood, the list goes on and on. We're still "in camera" at this point. 

Post processing or "editing" can be as extensive and unique to each photographer as our finger prints are. My opinion? Learn the rules and then break them.

I was very traditionally minded when I was in photography school: if you need to photoshop it, you obviously didn't shoot it well enough. 

But then I learned the magic of enhancements. Just as I believe that beauty is derived from truth, and women wearing makeup is simply an enhancement on the natural beauty that is truthfully already there, images can be made better in post processing. Not made, but made better.

Coming full circle to how we start the creative process in camera, lighting is everything. I'm all about getting creative and breaking the rules, and I believe my images show that off well. 

When I told my professor about the creative process of this first shot, he almost fainted. 

First, I underexposed it by four stops. Then I masked the stuffing out of the highlights on the cats face and left front leg, blacked out (with the paint tool) the areas in the upper left and bottom right quarters of the image that had small light lines from the wood where the light hit it, and then I cropped it slightly. The raw image looks very similar, but I simply wanted to enhance the light and expression on Leo's face, so I used a vignetting technique to draw more attention to his face. 

This is also where cropping with your feet wins because had I been one inch higher when exposing this image, the light spot in the upper right corner would not have existed, and therefore it would have taken the brain a few extra seconds to figure out what type of surface the cat was lounging on, distracting the eye from the facial expression.

This is where ambient light with post masking wins. Expose for the highlights, and you too can create dramatic images like this one.  

Similarly, the blue eyed cat below was photographed using window light only. I used an incredibly involved technique in photoshop to create the gentle blur and vignette in post production. If you'd like to learn it, send me a contact form and I can share my notes over coffee, because it is a very detailed process which would take a seminar's time to write out in depth. The bottom line of the technique, though, is to bring attention to where the light is falling on the subject.

This shot was super fun to catch because I used an in camera technique that is signature to my style: I didn't look through the viewfinder to capture it. Since I photograph short beings, many times I simply put my camera on the ground, aim it somewhere around the subject's direction, and shoot when I think the expression is right. I waited for the pup to walk into the light pattern created by the shades for this shot. Very unique lighting patterns can happen involuntarily if you just wait, and this is one reason why I love photographing inside.

The photo below was a take off of a commercial that I once saw. I think it was for wrestling or boxing and the tv star waved his hand in front of his face and the camera had this crop for the last second of it, and the background was bright red. This dog's personality reminded me of him because she thinks she is very tough, though in reality she is a five pound pipsqueak. I used ambient light and set up a red backdrop using fabric for this shot. 

Again, color is so important when creating a mood. Leo's eyes matched this painted wall behind him, so I chose this backdrop to create that cool feel. One window, directly to my right and up about five feet created the perfect light source. However, there was also a dark blue wall directly behind Leo and a dark red wall directly behind me, and if you look closely you can see subtleties of these colors bouncing off his fur. One thing his owner expressed to me was that they love the way his fur seemed to change colors in different lighting. It seemed to change from grey to brown and certain patterns would appear sometimes. I thought that these subtleties of blue and red would tie in nicely with this element his owner loved about him.

Expression. This shot was captured with a combination of ambient light and my swivel flash bouncing light off of the white ceiling. I waited for the puppy to close her eyes before firing my flash, knowing full well that I wanted that sleepy puppy expression. I also chose a pink background because baby pink and baby blue are colors we naturally associate with puppies and babies and new fragile things. 

Sometimes you will make images that you still can't decide if you like. The shot below is one of those for me. I haven't sold myself on the crop yet, but it is a popular image and lots of people love buying it! Shot with window light only, I think it shows the best parts of the German Shorthaired Pointer breed off: focus and awareness.

This cat was not very social, so I thought it would be fun to play off of the imaginary friends idea. Behind him is a blanket with cats on it, and he is taking the place of the center cat. Unfortunately, I used a technique that I shudder (no pun intended) at when I see other people using now, and this required me to do much image recovery in photoshop, and I'm still not completely happy with the results.

This image was shot with ambient light on a porch, one umbrella strobe, and *deep breath* telephoto on camera flash. Phew, I said it. I can't remember why my swivel flash didn't participate in the making of this image, but my in camera flash stepped in and the results clearly showed. This was a several layer and photographer effort fix, so I'm never doing that again. However, the bright side is that it continues to be a popular image and sell in pet businesses all over the place! This was also the only indoor shot that I've done of a cat that required more than two assistants. 

Pink! Again, color wins. Check out those painted toenails! The shot below was from a series of work for a local groomer, and I used window light and bounce flash. 

The below image was shot in a studio, so I had full control over the lighting. I most prefer butterfly lighting when given the option, and shooting for this event it was most ideal. It was an event of celebration, so the more high key the better. I don't normally do studio work, but the little that I've done in and out of photography school has been well worth it!

Well, there you go! There's a little peek into my mind when it comes to making decisions in the creative process given indoor situations. I am grateful for every opportunity I have to shoot more, and super thankful that I've had the six years experience I've had with photography. Whatever it is that you do, keep learning new things along the way, and implement what you learn!