Lighting

Light and Shadow- There needs to be a balance between light and shadow so as to light a scene correctly. Which means that there cannot be so much light that all that can be scene is a flat surface. Shadows add depth and allow us to see the geometry of a figure, it also comes in use when trying to create certain details.

Tonal range- Tonal Range is once again about the balance between light and dark. It is more concerned with how even the lighting is on both sides of an object. Basically, for good tonal range, one needs to ensure that there are no areas of absolute black or absolute white in a figure.

Lighting Systems-

Three-Point lighting system- As one can probably deduce from the name, the three point lighting system, one of the fundamental lighting systems, is a system consisting of three lights at varying degrees and heights. The primary and most powerful light is called the key light. The key light is the main light source and is typically place at 45 degrees from the camera, also typically to the left of the camera. The nest light is called the fill light. This light is place 90 degrees opposite of the key light, and is used to help the tonal range. If the key light were the only light, it would cast a harsh glare on the object, the fill light balances it out. However, it is less powerful than the key light. The last and least powerful light is called the rim light. This light is used to separate the character from the background, especially if the latter is dark. The rim light casts a soft glow behind the character, which can help the scene a lot.

Implied Lighting- Implied Lighting is when there is an object off screen casting a shadow on the scene. This technique is widely used as it expands the scene in a sense, it's also quite useful for creating/telling a story. It makes the scene seem bigger than it actually is, adding depth to the scene and helping with the story aspect as it makes it "come to life".

Back Lighting- Back Lighting is when the main source of light is from behind an object. This light then proceeds to "bounce" off objects, then casting a diffused light on everything else. This gives a "soft and intimate" feel to scene, so it can be used during specific scenes to enhance the effect.

Silhouette Lighting- Silhouette Lighting when the scene is lit with a vary bright light source from behind, so much so, that much of the tonal range is lost, making the objects seem more like silhouettes than anything else. It is a very strong story telling technique and can be used to create dark or ominous moods in a scene--such as a murder scene.

Non-Key Lighting- Non-Key lighting is sort of similar to Implied Lighting. The main light is off to the side and bounces off objects to create a soft, peaceful scene. It creates soft diffused shadows and can be more interesting than normal lighting, but is useless if one does not know how to set the system up.

Histogram-

Definition- A histogram is a graphical representation of a the pixels in the different shades of light in your scene.

How to read- Each tone is one pixel wide, the height of the bar representing how many pixels there are in each tone. 0 represents absolute black and 255 represents pure white. The histogram can be read depending on the highest amount os pixels definition. The ideal lighting scheme would have an arch in the middle, and a low amount of pixels on both of the extreme sides. This would give you a near perfect balance between light and dark. However, if the most amount of pixels is towards is nearest to 255 or 0, it's not necessarily wrong. For example, if the subject of the scene is black/ dark, then the highest amount of pixels would be near 0.

Information on histograms found from https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-read-and-use-histograms/