A Guide to Understanding the Art and Craft of Cave Photography Only the Beginning With serious cave photography, positioning the camera is only the beginning. Other photo team members must then be dispatched throughout the cave to position the flashguns. Painting with Light Beyond the entrance, a cave is completely dark. Unlike most nature photography, which primarily uses available light, in a cave the photographer must provide all illumination. This gives the photographer a great deal of creative control -- literally painting the scene with light. With remotely triggered slave flash units, many flashes can be triggered simultaneously. Alternately, the shutter can be held open on a tripod-mounted camera while multiple, individual flashes are fired manually to build up the exposure over time.   Fill Flash for Balance At cave entrances natural light illuminates the areas outside the cave. Careful use of fill flash can balance lighting inside the cave with the light outside. When the drama of a silhouette is preferred, the shot is simply metered on the scene outside the cave.   Backlighting for Drama and Transparency Positioning flashes is central to designing the shot.
	Direct front lighting flattens a shot; moving the flash away from the camera helps add depth by giving more shadows. Backlighting the shelfstone with a single flash reveals its transparency and adds drama to the shot. Balancing front and back lighting can produce the best results.
	Putting It All Together As shown in the diagrams, three flash units were used to illuminate this column and the ceiling and walls behind it.   © 1999 Oakland Museum of California |  Credits