Light Layers™: from technical lighting to spatial image construction

Abstract

The article is devoted to the transition from technical lighting setup to the spatial construction of a photographic image within the four-layer Light Layers™ framework. The purpose of the study is to substantiate a layered sequence of building image depth, in which light is applied to the space of the scene before it is applied to the subject, and to assess the relative weight of each layer. In the course of the scientific study, general scientific methods of cognition were used, in particular analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, systematization and the relative importance index. The results of the study show that the photographic market has reached a state where technical equipment no longer separates one commercial offer from another. Statistical data on the growth of business costs, on the ratio of openings to closures and on the redistribution of face-to-face formats of client interaction across three business models were summarized. It was found that formats connected with showing and handing over a finished image are growing, whereas formats of checking and approval are declining. A three-year projection of the sale of a product during a personal meeting was calculated for the three business models, and it showed that the models diverge from more than a doubling of the volume to virtual stagnation. The technologies of technical light control were systematized, in particular light-shaping attachments, the colour rendering index and the colour quality scale, xenon and halogen sources, the quantitative measurement of light harshness through the proportions of a cast shadow, and multi-frame capture with subsequent assembly of the lighting in an editor. It was shown that all of them describe the source and not the scene. The stages of spatial construction of a two-dimensional image were revealed and combined into a single sequence, from the inventory of elements in the frame to the focal point. It was demonstrated that the same depth cues, namely overlapping planes, tonal separation and aerial perspective, are used both in landscape practice and in light field depth estimation. The author's Light Layers™ framework was substantiated, in which the image is built through four layers: atmosphere, space, shape and face. The layers were ranked by the relative importance index on four criteria, and it was established that the order of execution does not coincide with the order of weight. Space received the highest index, while the conventional technical setup on the subject received the lowest, despite being the easiest to teach. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using its conclusions by photographers, studio owners and authors of educational programmes to rebuild the sequence of work with light and the sequence of teaching it.