Light Knowledge Check
These questions are built around situations you'll actually encounter - reading a scene, choosing a modifier, deciding when to bounce. There's no timer, no pressure.
Work through each question at your own pace. Some have a clearly right answer; others depend on context and that's intentional.
Questions
Question 01
You're shooting a portrait outdoors at noon. The light is harsh and creates deep shadows under the eyes. What's the most practical fix without extra gear?
Question 02
A softbox versus a bare strobe - which produces harder shadows and why does that matter for texture?
Question 03
You want to photograph the texture of rough stone. Which light angle will make the surface grain most visible?
Question 04
When bouncing a flash off a white ceiling, what happens to the effective size of the light source?
Question 05
What does the inverse square law tell you about how quickly light falls off as you move your strobe away from the subject?
Question 06
You're in a room with warm tungsten ambient light and you add a daylight-balanced flash. What happens to the background if you don't gel the flash?
Highlighted options show the intended answer for each question.
Reading the results
The accent-coloured option in each question marks the answer that holds up most consistently across practical shooting conditions. These aren't always the only defensible choice - photography involves trade-offs.
If you got 4 or more right, you're already thinking about light as a variable to control, not just a given. That's the shift that changes how images turn out.
0–2 correct - foundational concepts need more time with practical exercises
3–4 correct - solid working knowledge, some gaps worth revisiting in workshop sessions
5 correct - confident with core principles, ready for more complex multi-light scenarios
6 correct - you're thinking about light the way working photographers do