John Seale is an Australian cinematographer who shot Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dead Poets Society -- and Rain Man; and there's a story from that last movie that I often think about.
There's a shot where Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise head down an escalator into a casino, ready to scam the house by counting cards. As they descend, they pass through a streak of light.
Now, "hot spots" are usually something you want to avoid in photo and video, for various reasons. For example, the eye is drawn to the brightest part of the frame, so hot spots can be distracting -- and, yes, this streak of light was accidental.
John Seale obviously notices it, and is looking at it on the production monitor, and a gaffer (the person who sets up the lights) comes up to him, points and says, "Don't worry. I'll fix it."
Seale turns towards him. "You touch it, and you're fired." In Seale's mind, that lighting accident was like the gods or Lady Luck smiling at the pair, blessing them. It transformed a forgettable and boring transition shot into magic.
Why do I tell the story? Well, it's a good example of how light can mean something. Vittorio Storaro, who shot Apocalypse Now, once defined cinematography as "writing with light and movement". And, the more you think about it, the more you notice all sorts of subconscious messages light is sending -- with where it appears and doesn't appear, the lines and shapes it makes, the contrasts between light and shadow, and the symbolism and associations of different types of light.
The best photographers are very sensitive to light. One process some photographers use is to notice interesting light first, pose the bride, to take advantage of that light, and then, at the very end, add emotion to the shot with some sort of direction like "Imagine a time when your husband-to-be was laughing."
Sometimes, soft flat frontal light is regarded as "beauty" light -- because by shining a light straight at someone, you fill in the shadows and wrinkles and smooth the skin. "Golden hour" and "silver hour" lighting (when the sun is about to dip or has just dipped below the horizon) often has this sort of flattering effect. The light is soft and even everywhere; there's no strong shadows on faces.
But flat lighting is often boring light. The effect can be soft, gentle, surreal -- it can be beautiful. But, on the other hand, it's light that's not being used to write anything. Beauty is not the only game in town.
