Light - The Art of Natural Light Photography
Light…perhaps something I took largely for granted prior to becoming a photographer. I’d, of course, notice when it was a sunny or cloudy day. But, I never paid attention to how shadows fell or how the sky may look different throughout the day.
When I first started my photography journey…I was simply taking pictures. I was so focused on my subject and madly clicking the shutter button that I struggled to understand why I would wash someone completely out of a picture. Or, how to light my subject on a sunny day without making them squint until their eyes watered.
You see, light is the very basics of photography. I may be bold enough to say that light is really the only thing that matters when you’re first starting out. In order to grow your skills as a photographer, it isn’t about how great your camera might be but how you learn to read the light. The basics behind the images you capture are all created by light. Light must travel into your lens and (in my case) transfer the image it brings into electrical signals which are transformed into pixels captured in a digital format within my camera. Without light, I wouldn’t even have my image!
Okay, enough of the school lessons on light.
I have referred to myself as a natural light photographer since I started and always have a giggle when I tell someone that. It’s usually followed by an “oh, I see” and a polite head nod. Acknowledgment that it sounds fancy, but they perhaps have no clue what that means. I promise it’s not a fancy title I made up to sound professional. It’s a real thing!
A natural light photographer is someone who leverages the light naturally occurring in nature to capture their images. There are no flashes to make up for a lack of sunshine and I must deal with what mother nature provides. I also consider ambient light natural light in my photographs. While it may not be from mother nature, I don’t always have the ability to directly control it. This could be candlelight on a cake or a lamp in the background.
I have heard the criticism…natural light means I don’t know how to work the flash on my camera. In fact, that’s not true. I do know how to use a flash and at times it is a very valuable tool for any photographer! It’s an area of my skill set that I will continue to grow and challenge myself in. But, at the end of the day, I love to chase the light, follow the shadows and hopefully enhance my image by what is naturally occurring around me.
I have to continually challenge myself to read the light, understand the light and enhance the light in my images.
During the first year of my photography journey, I learned to appreciate the light. I would see a small path of light crossing my front hallway from the dining room window or the dappled light flowing through the trees in the park and get almost giddy. Giddy that is until I realized that long beams of light could make someone look cut in half or dappled light from a tree could give someone weird splotches all over their face.
It was after I started to see those unique twists with light that I was able to look around my space and best place my subjects. I still don’t get it right 100% of the time…I mean, who does?! But, I now know that shooting a session at noon on a bright sunny day will cast shadows across everyone’s faces or that shooting in those early hours of morning or late afternoons provide a beautiful glow that so many photographers strive for. The golden hour as it’s often referred to!
So, when evaluating times for your next session be thinking about the different types of light you might encounter:
Direct Light – Also referred to as hard light. This light often produces hard lines, sharp shadows, edges, and high contrast.
Soft/Diffused Light – This light often comes at sunset or on a cloudy day creating more gentle lines with soft shadows and easy edges. There often is not as much contrast but instead a more muted transition between color
Reflected Light – Light used in the image that is reflected…reflected off another object like water creating a glow
Twilight – Perhaps one of my favorites for it’s beautiful glow
These forms of light might come from a window, be dappled by the trees around you or even influenced by the buildings or landscape to provide shadows, reflections or contrast.
Every day provides an amazing opportunity to experiment with how the light influences your images. Look back at your family portraits…what do you notice. Did the photographer change your position that perhaps changed how the light enhanced the image? Next time you break out your phone for a cute picture of the kiddos look at how the light might be placing shadows on faces. Try turning them to see what changes and how the image looks different or even provokes a different emotion.
The options to manipulate the mood or message you’re intending to display with your image are endless thanks to light! Follow along in my natural light photography journey on Facebook and Instagram @jbryantphotos.
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