Front Lighting

Front Lighting
Your subject is front lit when the light source is directly behind you and shining on the thing you are photographing.

Front Lighting
Front Lighting is a lighting technique in which the light sources (natural or artificial) are in front of the subject. Unfortunately, Front Lighting can result in flat images, particularly in portraits.
F-stop ...

Front Lighting Lighting that illuminates the subject from the position of the camera. Because illumination falls evenly on the subject, a front-lit subject may look flat and less dimensional.

Front lighting - light shining on the subject from the direction of the camera
Candid - unposed picture
Composition - arrangement of the subject matter in a photograph ...

Front Lighting Side Lighting Upper Side Lighting
Although sphere lighting is a good rough guide for portraits, a wide range of lighting angles could have been used to achieve the above sense of depth.

This type of light creates the illusion of a third dimension-depth-and is more pleasing to the viewer than the two-dimensional flat effect you get with direct, front lighting.

Front lighting the subject will provide even lighting, while lighting from the side will enhance the three dimensional qualities of the subject. Backlighting can produce a pleasing effect, but may require some practice to get the result you want.

Most novice photographers keep the sun at their back, called front lighting. This is a good way to avoid glare and make sure you can see your subject in the photograph. It's not ideal for taking high-quality photographs though.

Front Light: A good use for front lighting is when you have an image with a lot of color that doesn't rely on depth and texture. With front lighting the part of the subject to be photographed is facing the sun.

Soft boxes are also preferable to umbrellas for certain angles with front lighting. Below, we see an umbrella placed forward of the camera position and used to achieve a 45-degree key lighting pattern on the subject, also known as Rembrandt lighting.

Do I want front lighting, side lighting, backlighting do i have to worry about backscatter Do I need to position my strobes for a black background?

For example, front lighting will reveal detail but not texture, while side lighting will emphasis texture and form by creating shadows. Backlighting is the primary tool for creating silhouettes and the golden halo effect of rim lighting.

When photographing golden reeds or other crops in your scene wait until the warm light is illuminating them to really bring out the warm colours. Side lighting and front lighting works well for this, just keep an eye on not only your shadow, ...

Direction of Light. The direction of light has affects depth, dimension and detail. Side lighting produces greater dimensional effects. Front lighting reduces texture and depth. Back lighting highlights form and reduces detail.

The shot below shows the final fill light intensity. Notice that it is slightly under-exposed, and also note what the drink looks like. Front lighting just doesn't cut it with beverages.
The Final Effect ...

Take photos with it in different orientations, with front lighting, back lighting, side lighting and bottom lighting.
Use a wide (F2.2) aperture to create a blurred background effect. The focus will need to be precise.

The closer the sun is to the horizon, the warmer it becomes. Use this warm light to emphasize a mood. It’s one time when front lighting a subject works great. Just be careful your shadow doesn’t enter into the composition.

See also: Photograph, Front light, Subject, Camera, Lighting