Whether shooting portraits or products, skillful lighting can be the difference between a bland snapshot and a stunning, well-defined image. Capturing the ideal photograph requires many technical factors to work in tandem, the most fundamental of which is lighting. While we may take it for granted that light is required to create a photograph, light by itself usually does not produce the style, energy, emotion or feeling that makes a photograph exceptional. It is the way the light has been modified and shaped that gives the photographer the ability to create an image that communicates their feeling about the subject. It’s necessary to understand how light works in order to know how to modify it in the most desirous way. Beginning with simplified light concepts, Rand delves into the basics of light. Light’s natural tendency is to go off in all directions. To give a better understanding of how to control the light that you use in your photographs, Rand guides the reader through a series of discussions defining the light itself, the surfaces that will interact with the light in the photographs, the look of light that we wish to create and the tools, modifiers and shapers that are commonly available for use. Whether you want to add contrast with highlights and shadows or use the softness of diffuse light to add volume to the subject, the fundamentals of these concepts are covered here. Images, diagrams and descriptions are used to illustrate the manners in which light can be modified. From there, the book moves onto the main tools of light modification. Rand discusses the primary functions of each tool and defines the issues of the light’s characteristics after the modification. Techniques are presented for using reflectors, spotlights, softboxes, diffusers, umbrellas, barndoors, gels, scrims, shoots and more. Each chapter is highly illustrated with images of the tools being discussed, diagrams, and examples for the use of these tools in both commercial and portrait photography. Variations in control and problems that may occur with specific modifiers are discussed as well. The goal of this book is to show the effect of modifiers and shapers on the quality of light rather than to discuss the merits of a particular light source. By focusing on the methods to shape light, the photographer is open to improvise in scenarios where they may not have control over the light source. Whether you shoot commercial or portrait photography, this book provides you with the basis for not only successfully, but elegantly shaping light to create your desired result.

A practical, hands-on guide to lighting for video, this book explores how LEDs are changing the aesthetics of lighting and provides students with an indispensable guide to the everyday techniques required to produce professional-quality lighting in the age of LEDs and wireless control options. The book focuses on first-hand application of technical knowledge, beginning with simple lighting setups and progressing to more complicated scenarios, and features accompanying diagrams, illustrations and case studies to demonstrate their real-world application. Key topics covered include basic three-point lighting, lighting moving actors, set lighting and exposure, instrument selection, bringing style to your lighting, color temperature and the Kelvin scale, exterior lighting, lighting categories and genres, green-screen techniques, money and budgeting, and electricity and electrical distribution. The book also provides guidance on career paths including what a grip does, case studies with photos and diagrams, and an extensive glossary of set terminology to introduce students to the language of filmmaking. A must-have resource for film and media production students taking classes in lighting and/or cinematography.

This book is a contemporary overview of selected topics in fiber optics. It focuses on the latest research results on light wave manipulation using nonlinear optical fibers, with the aim of capturing some of the most innovative developments on this topic. The book’s scope covers both fundamentals and applications from both theoretical and experimental perspectives, with topics including linear and nonlinear effects, pulse propagation phenomena and pulse shaping, solitons and rogue waves, novel optical fibers, supercontinuum generation, polarization management, optical signal processing, fiber lasers, optical wave turbulence, light propagation in disordered fiber media, and slow and fast light. With contributions from leading-edge scientists in the field of nonlinear photonics and fiber optics, they offer an overview of the latest advances in their own research area. The listing of recent research papers at the end of each chapter is useful for researchers using the book as a reference. As the book addresses fundamental and practical photonics problems, it will also be of interest to, and benefit, broader academic communities, including areas such as nonlinear science, applied mathematics and physics, and optical engineering. It offers the reader a wide and critical overview of the state-of-the-art within this practical – as well as fundamentally important and interesting – area of modern science, providing a useful reference which will encourage further research and advances in the field.

The production of biological light (ultra-weak photon emission or biophotons) within many types of cells and tissues is characteristic of an alive organism. You will begin a journey of discovery about biophotons in relationship to biological matter and about how such biophotons can be detected utilizing specialized very photon-sensitive technologies. In this book, Roeland Van Wijk provides a unified synthesis that facilitates easy entry into an exciting sub-field of biology. Light in Shaping Life encompasses the history of biophoton research, insight into how biophotons are generated, and into their involvement with life. Also included, is an overview of the potential benefits of such research to a better understanding of health and medicine. There is sequel to Light in Shaping Life available: Biophoton Technology in Energy and Vitality Diagnostics A Multi-disciplinary, Systems biology, and Biotechnology Appraoch Roeland van Wijk, Yu Yan and Eduard van Wijk Meluna, 2017 ISBN 9789081884341

Selective Laser Melting (SLM), also referred to as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), offers significant advantages for the manufacturing of complex, high-quality parts. However, its market share is still small compared to conventional manufacturing technologies. Major drawbacks hindering an industrial ramp-up are low productivity, high part costs and issues with quality and reproducibility. Comprehensive research has been done to overcome these challenges, but little attention has been paid to addressing them by optimizing the laser beam profile. Therefore, the author examines the effect of the laser beam profile on the productivity and process stability through both numerical and experimental investigations. The results show clear advantages an optimized laser beam profile offers.

Small-flash photography has become widely popular because of its portability and affordability, and this book offers insights on mastering the use of small-unit, hot shoe–mounted flashes called flashguns. Demonstrating the various light modifiers, techniques, and setups designed for these small powerhouses of light, the book explores how to achieve creative results from working with a single flashgun, multiple flashguns, and colored filters, as well as making adjustments with the camera’s white-balance settings. The guide lists the tools required for location-portrait photography and discusses different lighting setups—from shooting in direct sunlight to night and low-light photos—for various location-portrait situations, giving photographers the confidence to make lighting decisions to produce professional results.

The must-have guidebook for creating great food photographs!

The Complete Guide to Food Photography is a visually stunning, eminently useful, and comprehensive resource for creating fantastic food photographs. In this book, professional food photographer Lauren Short teaches you her entire image-making process, as she covers lighting, composition, styling, storytelling, editing, and processing great food photographs.

In the first part of the book, Lauren covers the core concepts, where you’ll learn:

• How to work with both natural and artificial light (as well as modifiers)

• The tools, guides, and rules of composition for food photography

• Techniques, tips, and tricks for styling your food so it looks its best

• How to build a story with the use of backgrounds, props, and other supporting elements

• Processing, retouching, and compositing techniques to finish your image

Additionally, Lauren explains the why behind her creative decisions. By understanding her decision-making process and walking through her problem-solving techniques, you’ll become better equipped to make informed creative decisions so you can excel at food photography, no matter what scenarios you encounter.

In the second part of the book, Lauren walks you through multiple case studies of complete, start-to-finish shoots so that you can see every aspect of her image-making process and understand how it all comes together. Each case study also includes a link to a full video for each shoot so that you can easily follow along.

Filled with beautiful imagery as well as behind-the-scenes photos and helpful diagrams, The Complete Guide to Food Photography is a must-have for any food photographer looking to create images that stand out from the crowd.

Combining theory and application, A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting provides a comprehensive analysis of lighting systems along with examples and illustrations of the technical tools and methods used in the industry. An entertaining and educational read, author Steven Louis Shelley draws from his 35+ years of diverse experience to explain how to get the job done along with real-life examples of projects from start to finish. Learn why some techniques are successful while others fail with 'Shelley's Notes' and 'Shelley's Soapbox,' all with a humor that guides you through complex problems and concepts. Highlights include: -Over 100 new topics, including analysis and application of the three categories of collaboration; a detailed examination of production meetings and one-on-one meetings; and meeting checklists with management and the creative team. -Over 50 new illustrations, including Shelley's Periodic Table of Fundamental Lighting Systems; groundplans, sections, and front elevations that illustrate basic system wash configurations for each direction of light. -Analysis, calculation, and step-by-step technical construction of each lighting system in the Hokey light plot. -Explanation of a manufacturer's cut sheet, and how to apply basic formulas to determine the beam size, footcandles, and gel transmission for lighting instruments. -Updated process of pre-programming computer lighting consoles prior to the load-in. -Comprehensive overview of archiving paperwork and softcopy for a production. Students and professionals will benefit from experience-based tips and techniques to prepare and execute a lighting design, along with learning how to avoid common traps.

With the demands of quality management and process control in an industrial environment machine vision is becoming an important issue. This handbook of machine vision is written by experts from leading companies in this field. It goes through all aspects of image acquisition and image processing. From the viewpoint of the industrial application the authors also elucidate in topics like illumination or camera calibration. Attention is paid to all hardware aspects, starting from lenses and camera systems to camera-computer interfaces. Besides the detailed hardware descriptions the necessary software is discussed with equal profoundness. This includes sections on digital image basics as well as image analysis and image processing. Finally the user is introduced to general aspects of industrial applications of machine vision, such as case studies and strategies for the conception of complete machine vision systems. With this handbook the reader will be enabled not only to understand up to date systems for machine vision but will also be qualified for the planning and evaluation of such technology.

Expensive, delicate, and difficult to operate, femtosecond lasers have already won two Nobel Prizes and created multi-billion dollar industries. As these lasers break out of laboratories for use in real-world large-scale applications, the number of people using them increases. This book provides a fresh perspective on femtosecond lasers, discussing how they are soon to become a universal light source, spanning any timescale and generating any wavelength of light. Starting from the basics of light itself, this book presents in an everyday manner, with clear illustrations and without formulas, what makes this class of lasers so versatile and the future of many more applications. Many of the subjects covered in this book are described in plain words for the first time.