Color of natural light: Have you ever noticed how the light changes throughout the day? The color and quality of light varies greatly as the sun moves across the sky. By quality, I mean: varying degrees of softness/hardness, and by color I mean in cold (bluish) and warm (yellowish) tones. To keep things simple, I would recommend you remember the following:
Morning light = Somewhat soft, yet bluish and sometimes unflattering light. But, this can be corrected if you know how. We will talk about the correction in a later lesson.
Mid-day light = Harsh, unflattering (especially in direct sunlight....you may get the "racoon" eyes with harsh shadows when the sun is directly overhead). It's a warmer light than morning, but if you are forced to photograph at mid-day...stick to open shade (see below for details).
Early evening = This is called the "sweet light" for a reason. It's usually beautiful and soft and very warm in color....the most flattering. You can even shoot in direct sunlight, if it's in the early evening because the light is so soft....meaning the shadows aren't leaving harsh lines across the face necessarily.
Whenever possible, I try to shoot in early evening light.
Diffused vs directional light: Direct sunlight : when the light is hitting your subject directly...like when there are no clouds or shade.
Diffused sunlight: when the light is somehow being blocked, yet still able to penetrate through to your subject....like on an overcast day or in shade...or if you held up a white sheet, for instance, between the direct sun and your subject, you would be diffusing the direct/harsh light on a very sunny day and making it nice and soft.
Use Clean Light!
It is no wonder most professional photographers love using daylight. It is the “cleanest” light around. Natural daylight is also infiltrating. What does that mean? Because the light source is so large (the sun) it bounces off of everything. If sunlight is clean, what is dirty? Anything man made other than professional strobes. Even on camera flash can be a bit dirty if not used correctly because it is too small. When something is shot indoors, everything usually looks like it was shot with a pale yellow piece of film over it. It lacks contrast and detail. When sunlight is introduced your colors will be clearer, contrast will be crisper and your images will pop. But beware: not all sunlight is created equal. Just as the Eskimos have 100 different words for snow, so does the photographer for light. The best light is in what is called “open shade.” Look for a place that is fully covered from the sun, but looks open and airy. The way to learn how to light is to attach a feeling to it. Once you are able to start doing this, you will begin to understand light and will most certainly become a better photographer!
Bounced light:
Lighting is crucial to a great photograph. How big your light source is in relation to your subject is also key.
The smaller the light source the harsher the light. The larger the light source the softer the light. As an example, the sun, while in reality, it the largest light source we know, however in relationship to us (the distance away from us) it is a very small light source albeit strong. This is why our shadows are extremely sharp/harsh. When the sun sets we get some of the best light possible because the sun is reflecting into the entire atmosphere around us and now the sun is no longer our light source but the atmosphere is. In relationship to us the atmosphere is huge because it wraps around us. With this idea in mind, whenever you are shooting outside in the bright sunlight, look for a shady spot that is opposite a big wall that is fully lit by the sun. It is easy to find in cities... and why I can always do photo shoots in the middle of the day in some places. The above shot was taken in full shade in a doorway with the sun reflecting off the walls and door. The big white sky and the reflections all around her created a beautiful sparkle in her eyes and a soft light on her face. You know your lighting is good if the specular highlight (white reflection) in your subject’s eyes is large and clear. This shot was taken years ago with my old Digital Canon Rebel with a lens at focal length 75mm. No flash was needed. I didn't own much professional gear back then, but this photograph still remains one of my favorites. I think it shows that you can get good results even without a professional camera.
-Bounce with a hand-held reflector: Have you ever seen one of those big silver circular discs that photographers carry at times? This is a tool to reflect light, thus it's name "reflector." The bigger the reflector, the better...in comparison to your subject (since technically it makes your bounced light a bigger and softer source of light and it hits more areas of your subject more evenly.) You can make a reflector by using one of those silver windshield pop-out thingy's....or just wrap some cardboard in aluminum foil. (I did this for a while until I could afford to buy a real one). Get the reflector in the sun and reflect the sun back onto your subject. It takes a bit of getting used to and may be difficult to see at first. But, with a little practice, this can become second nature and you will be able to spot the light easily. If the sun is strongly reflecting...then it may be helpful to move further back from your subject, as to not reflect too much light. But, if you don't see much reflection at all...moving closer to your subject usually helps. On a very overcast day, you may not be able to reflect anything.
Window Light:
1. The closer your subject is to your light source, the softer the light will look.
2. The further your subject is from your light source, the harsher the light will look.
Thus, get your subject as close to the window as possible!
If you find yourself in a room with a large window, get your subject as close to it as possible and shoot away. Window light is some of the prettiest lighting because it is super soft and directional meaning the light will wrap around the person with both highlights and shadows that create better depth.
The above shot was taken in my little apartment right next to the sliding door. I believe I also used a reflector to bounce the light back into the shadows. It resembles studio lighting...because the window acts like a big soft box.
Some lighting techniques:
Back lighting: One of my favorite techniques....
this is when you intentionally place the sunlight behind your subject and then using a reflector (or flash) you bounce light onto your subject. Don't forget to bounce light back onto the subject or you may get a silhouetted look. This technique works well in early evening light that is directional...with no clouds in the sky. The below pictures demonstrates back-lighting.
The sun behind creates a beautiful glow in the hair and around the body.
Direct early evening light: This is best achieved right around sunset. The light is very warm and soft enough that it can fall directly onto your subject. In this shot below, I saw how the light was beautifully bouncing around this little nook of a building. So, that's where we went.
Side lighting: When your light-source is illuminating the side of your subject. This shot below was taken on a slightly overcast day, she was in the shade, and the light was coming from her side. I had her look into the sunny area, which caused the light to softly illuminate her face.
Diffused light (overcast day): This is one of the easiest techniques and most flattering. On an overcast day, the light is softly diffused, yet you still get the specular highlights in the eyes. In this photograph below, I bounced a little flash onto my subject, but not so much that you can tell it's flash...just enough to light up the eyes and even out the shadows. This technique can also be done with a reflector. There is an appearance of even soft light all around.
Above: Here's a picture of what your camera meter reading looks like when it's properly exposing a picture. The largest green line is right smack in the middle. You can either see it by looking into your viewfinder (it's down at the bottom usually) or it is usually on your LCD screen.
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