Same Place, Different Light: Lighting Reference for Artists

Day and night pairs

The best way to study light is to keep everything else the same. When the place, the photographer and the camera stay the same, the only thing that changes is the light. These packs come in pairs:

• Vancouver. Vancouver Cityscape (136 photos by day) and Vancouver Night Cityscape (199 photos at twilight and night). Both by matte painter David Edwards on a Nikon D7000.
• A village on stilts. Cambodian Stilted Fisherman Village Day (254 photos) and Night (171 photos in twilight). Compare how the same houses and water read in daylight and in twilight.
• Manila. Manila Cityscape Daytime (149 photos) and Manila Cityscape Night Time (117 photos at sunrise, sunset, twilight and night), shot from rooftops.

Some single packs cover a whole day. Everest Range Day and Night follows Mount Everest and the peaks around it through the day, the evening and the night, with 9 panoramas. In Taipei Cityscape Day and Night, about 30% of the 165 photos are at night.

Overcast and golden hour

Two kinds of natural light teach the most.

Overcast light is the neutral baseline. Shadows are soft, and you see the true color and form of things. Bubble Bulging Rock Plateaus shows the same rocks twice: an Overcast Plateau folder (110 photos) and a Sunset Plateau folder (216 photos). Compare them side by side to see how much low sun changes color and contrast. For buildings, most of Auckland Cityscape (177 photos) was shot on an overcast day for neutral shading.

Golden hour light is low, warm and long. Canadian Forest in Sunset has 143 photos of a mossy pine forest in British Columbia, from sunset into twilight. Compare how warm the light becomes and how the shadows change as the sun goes down.

Artificial light after dark

At night, the sun is replaced by many small light sources with different colors. That is hard to paint from memory.

• Seoul Cityscape Sunset and Night: 191 photos of the skyline, lit landmarks, neon signs and reflections in the Han River.
• White Buddha Stupa at Night: 110 photos of a white Buddhist temple in Bangkok that changes color under many lanterns.
• Malaysian Construction Site at Night: 116 drone photos of a building site at night, with cranes, pipes and wet ground.

Controlled light in a cave

Limestone Cave is a rare kind of pack. The photographer went back to the cave 3 times with different lighting equipment and shot short sequences under different setups. You can see how the same rock looks completely different depending on where the light is placed. The pack also includes video of ripple caustics on the cave walls, made by shining a light onto the water.

If you need a new sky to go with your light, see our sky replacement photos. For a full process, read how to photobash.

Frequently asked questions

Why use photos instead of relighting a scene in 3D?

Photos show what real light does, including the small effects that are easy to miss: bounce light, haze, wet reflections and the mix of color temperatures at dusk. Use them as a target for your 3D lighting or your painting, and compare your result against them.

Are these HDRI files?

No. They are standard photographs, not HDR environment maps. Use them as visual reference for light, color and mood. Everest Range Day and Night and some other packs include panoramas, but they are not made for image-based lighting.

Which pack should I start with for night scenes?

For cities, start with Vancouver Night Cityscape or Seoul Cityscape Sunset and Night. For a mix of small, warm light sources, try the Cambodian Stilted Fisherman Village Night pack.

Can I paint over these photos and sell the result?

Yes. Your paintings and illustrations are your own work. Every license is royalty-free and covers unlimited projects. Only reproducing the photos themselves in advertising or on products depends on the pack's content type.