The Lighting Angle

  I have chosen a small figurine for this exercise because has lots of folds and small details, which should show the effects of the changes in lighting angle well. The first four photographs are taken with the light at the same level as the subject.

Light In Front

  The light is hitting the front of the subject and shows the outline of the figure very well, but there is very little modelling.

Side Light

   The side light shows the folds on the front of the figure very well, but the contrast across the width is too great and the detail is lost on the side away from the light.

Light Side & Behind

   This side and rear light gives a nice edge light, but there is no detail on the front of the figure. It does bring out the texture of the linen really well

Light Directly Behind

  The light behind the figure shows the outline with a complete silhouette.
  The next four images are taken with the light angled down at 45 degrees and follow the same pattern as the first four.

Front Light, 45 Degrees

   This shows the outline really well and has slightly more texture than the straight ahead version.

Side Light, 45 Degrees

  This lighting shows the form of the subject very well, the contrast across the figure is not too great, it could just do with a little fill light on the left side. Overall the figure has good texture and outline.

Side Light, Rear 45 Degrees

   This image has a nice side light with some light spilling onto the front of the figure, the dark side of the subject is lost in the background.

Rear Light, 45 Degrees

  This is not a complete silhouette because some light is bouncing up from the cloth, and there are some interesting highlights around the edges of the figure.

Light Directly Above

  This image has a nice balance of detail and outline, although some of the shadows are a bit dark and the light is fading towards the bottom.

Above and Slightly Behind

  This image has a nice outline at the top with a small amount of detail on the hands and arms.

Above and In front 

  This picture with the light above and in front has a lovely balance of out line and detail, the contrast is nicely controlled, this type of lighting is widely used in fashion and beauty photography as it is very flattering if you are young with good bone structure.
  There are two images here which show good form and outline, the first is the one directly above and the second is the side lit, 45 degree version, but I do feel the second needs some fill light on the left to reduce the contrast.