'If composition is choreography for the eye, light is casting.' Light decides who gets the speaking role and who is just a silhouette in the background. It tells us what matters in the scene, what time it is, how the air feels on the skin, and sometimes even whether we should be afraid. Most people first see light as a technical problem. Where do the shadows go? How do I make this look three-dimensional? What colour should I pick for highlights? That is all useful, but if you stop there, you miss the real trick. In story images, light is not just an accuracy problem. Light is meaning. You can have perfect form and still tell the wrong story if the light is wrong. *My illustrations are created with my own custom diffusion models, MJ moodboards, SD/MJ ai rendering, and my own painting, rendering, touch-ups, and assemblage in Photoshop. Custom textures. Custom effects. Custom filters from Topaz Studio... blah blah blah. My own unique mix of analog, digital, and diffusion(ai) techniques....