Mark Bryant

Within photography it is often said “see the light”, but I believe you must KNOW light first.

I love the quote by George Eastman: “Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth and you will know the key to photography.”

I can remember going with my family on a road trip and excitedly pointing out the play of light and shadows on a beautiful grassy ridge to a less than impressed audience. One of my first recollections of the beauty of light, I am still on that life long quest to replicate that beauty of light that comes out of the shadows.

My goal in lighting most portraits and especially sports portraits is not a 3:1 lighting ratio with detail in the shadows. It is a portrait with a full range of specular highlights, long range of mid-tones graduating into deep robust shadows which define and provide a backdrop for the details. This quote by Sir Francis Bacon sums up my lighting directions: “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.”