Photographic lighting is the illumination of scenes to be photographed

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

. A photograph simply records patterns of light, colour, and shade; lighting is all-important in controlling the image. In many cases even illumination is desired to give an accurate rendition of the scene. In other cases the direction, brightness, and colour of light are manipulated for effect. Lighting is particularly important for monochrome

Monochrome

Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...

 photography, where there is no colour information, only the interplay of highlights and shadow

Shadow

A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the...

s. Lighting and exposure are used to create effects such as low-key

Low-key lighting

Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light for illumination...

 and high-key

High-key lighting

High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to...

.

The main sources of light for photography are:

• Daylight, which varies with the weather and the time of day. Different techniques are necessary to take best advantage of, say, brilliant sunshine, and an overcast evening.
• Continuous artificial light
  Electric light
  Electric lights are a convenient and economic form of artificial lighting which provide increased comfort, safety and efficiency. Most electric lighting is powered by centrally-generated electric power, but lighting may also be powered by mobile or standby electric generators or battery systems...
  
  , which may be normal lighting, or produced by special photoflood lights. The properties of different light sources vary; household incandescent lighting, fluorescent lighting, sodium discharge street lighting, etc., are very different and produce different results, and require different correction if a subjectively neutral rendition of colours is required.
• A bright and very brief photographic flash
  Flash (photography)
  A flash is a device used in photography producing a flash of artificial light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light...
  
   from a single position (usually very close to the camera) or, in a studio environment, from several.
• For special purposes lightning
  Lightning
  Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
  
  , electric sparks, fireworks, moonlight, or other light sources may be exploited.