Introduction What is photography? The history of photography What this site will do for you Light: The most important element Why light is important to a photograph The many types of light Controlling light in your pictures The camera The basic function Types of cameras Choosing the right camera Putting the image together: the Lens How the lens bends light: a tutorial A brief introduction to apertures The variety of lenses Choosing a lens Exposure: a film tutorial How film records an image Understanding film speed Print vs. Slide film Film recommendations Taking Pictures Depth-of-field Apertures and shutter speeds Composition and experimentation: the basics Metering: when you can't guess The many types of picture-taking Photography with a point-and-shoot Accessories Tripods: for when you can't stay still Lens filters Post-processing: after development Scanning photos The digital darkroom Photo and equipment storage
Light comes in a variety of flavors, here I explain a few of them.
Sunlight- This is an example of natural light, or light that is not created by people. This light comes from no other than our own sun. While the sun gives surely enough light for film to be exposed at, you must still do some serious thinking before taking the picture. For one thing, the time of day will affect the quality of your photo, as you will learn.
Overcast skylight- Though related to sunlight, this type of light is different in many ways. For one thing, you will not get the harsh shadows that appear in direct sun. Because clouds are blocking the sun, light is diffused, or scattered, thus softening shadows. Also, clouds can give a dramatic touch to your photos.
Indoor(artificial) light- This is about the toughest type of light to get a good, bright picture, in my opinion. Unless you have incredibly bright searchlights as the main room lighting (and hopefully you don’t), you will need a reasonably fast lens and perhaps a tripod to get a good exposure. You may think of using flash, though I wouldn’t recommend using it if there is limited lighting; there is a good chance it will ruin your photo (at least if it is the primary light source).
Now that you have an understanding of what types of light you should look out for, we will learn how to deal with them in your exposures.