Tree Shadow On House

Shadows have always intrigued me. When looking at paintings, I can usually tell how much experience the artist has by the shadows in their work. If there is an absence of shadows the artist is a beginner because the ability to observe has not matured enough for them to even notice shadows. Without shadows, objects are flat and things seem to fall off the page visually. Many beginning photographers are also oblivious to shadows and how they effect their images. Understanding shadows is the beginning of understanding light, which is the most important element of photography. Without light, photography can not exist. Many inexperienced photographers try to light subjects with a direct flash on their camera which for the most part eliminates all shadows. This gives the image a very unnatural look. Shadows have different characteristics; in the morning and evening, shadows are softer containing some detail, whereas at high noon shadows are very dark with no detail. LynnFreeny.com