This exercise will cover the basics of shooting with natural light. Once you learn a few things about natural light and consider them, you will be on your way to taking better photographs.
Three characteristics to keep in mind. Quality, Direction, Color.
The Quality of Natural Light: Soft light and Hard light.
Soft light - diffused, large light source, nice blend between the shadows and highlights, intensifies colors, low contrast.
An overcast sky, a diffuser, reflected light (though not always), even shade, early morning or late evening all produce soft light.
This is the easiest light to capture photographs in. This light is beautiful.
Hard light - not diffused, small light source, harsher blend between the shadows and highlights, washes out colors, high contrast.
A bright sunny day, right out in the open sun, or very direct, most of the day, all produce hard light.
This is more difficult light to shoot in and can be very unflattering to your subject. It can give a harsh or stark feeling to your photograph. You have to make a sacrifice in either shadow detail or highlight detail as you cannot really capture both well, when using only natural light in a hard light condition.
The Direction of Natural Light: This is the direction of light leading from your camera to your subject. The three main directions are Front, Side, and Back lighting.
Front Light: This lighting illuminates your subject straight on or from over head. It produces flat unflattering lighting and reduces texture. This kind of lighting is found during hard light conditions and is difficult to photograph in.
Side Light: This lighting illuminates your subject from the side. It can add drama, emphasize detail, texture, and shape. This lighting also elongates shadows. Side light is produced during the early morning or late evening.
Back Light: This lighting illuminates your subject from the back with the light coming directly toward your lens. It can also add drama, create a silhouette or a glow. With a translucent object it can emphasize detail otherwise, detail can be lost. Back lighting is produced during the early morning or late evening.
The Color of Natural Light: Light constantly changes color all day long and this will effect the color of the light in your photographs which can effect the mood of your photographs. The three color palettes to consider are neutral, warm, and cool.
Neutral: No strong color cast or hue to this light. Works well when you want the natural color of your subject to come through. A sunny mid day usually produces neutral light.
Warm: Warm light is pleasant, inviting, comforting, cozy, romantic, dreamy and flattering. Early morning or late evening produces warm light. Yellows, reds, earth tones.
Cool: Cool light is calming but can also create a feeling of cold. A cloudy sky, shade and early morning just before sunrise or late evening after sunset produces cool lighting. Blues.
The Magic Hour : This is a time of day when the quality, direction and color of light all come together to work their magic. The colors are warm and saturated, the quality is soft, and the lighting is directional rather than over head or straight on. The Magic Hour can be found early morning or late evening. If it is cloudy or hazy, the color will be cool rather than warm.
White Balance: White balance is about color temperature. And temperature gives light its color. Normal daylight has a color temperature of about 6,500K. Warm light has a lower temperature and cool light has a higher temperature.
To truly capture the color that you want for your photograph, you need to understand White Balance as well. I suggest you do a search to learn more and read your camera's manual to understand the specific white balance options available on your camera. There are many white balance options. Auto white balance is a good all purpose choice. However do experiment with different white balance settings and even custom white balance.
Feel free to ask questions and post pictures.
Three characteristics to keep in mind. Quality, Direction, Color.
The Quality of Natural Light: Soft light and Hard light.
Soft light - diffused, large light source, nice blend between the shadows and highlights, intensifies colors, low contrast.
An overcast sky, a diffuser, reflected light (though not always), even shade, early morning or late evening all produce soft light.
This is the easiest light to capture photographs in. This light is beautiful.
Hard light - not diffused, small light source, harsher blend between the shadows and highlights, washes out colors, high contrast.
A bright sunny day, right out in the open sun, or very direct, most of the day, all produce hard light.
This is more difficult light to shoot in and can be very unflattering to your subject. It can give a harsh or stark feeling to your photograph. You have to make a sacrifice in either shadow detail or highlight detail as you cannot really capture both well, when using only natural light in a hard light condition.
The Direction of Natural Light: This is the direction of light leading from your camera to your subject. The three main directions are Front, Side, and Back lighting.
Front Light: This lighting illuminates your subject straight on or from over head. It produces flat unflattering lighting and reduces texture. This kind of lighting is found during hard light conditions and is difficult to photograph in.
Side Light: This lighting illuminates your subject from the side. It can add drama, emphasize detail, texture, and shape. This lighting also elongates shadows. Side light is produced during the early morning or late evening.
Back Light: This lighting illuminates your subject from the back with the light coming directly toward your lens. It can also add drama, create a silhouette or a glow. With a translucent object it can emphasize detail otherwise, detail can be lost. Back lighting is produced during the early morning or late evening.
The Color of Natural Light: Light constantly changes color all day long and this will effect the color of the light in your photographs which can effect the mood of your photographs. The three color palettes to consider are neutral, warm, and cool.
Neutral: No strong color cast or hue to this light. Works well when you want the natural color of your subject to come through. A sunny mid day usually produces neutral light.
Warm: Warm light is pleasant, inviting, comforting, cozy, romantic, dreamy and flattering. Early morning or late evening produces warm light. Yellows, reds, earth tones.
Cool: Cool light is calming but can also create a feeling of cold. A cloudy sky, shade and early morning just before sunrise or late evening after sunset produces cool lighting. Blues.
The Magic Hour : This is a time of day when the quality, direction and color of light all come together to work their magic. The colors are warm and saturated, the quality is soft, and the lighting is directional rather than over head or straight on. The Magic Hour can be found early morning or late evening. If it is cloudy or hazy, the color will be cool rather than warm.
White Balance: White balance is about color temperature. And temperature gives light its color. Normal daylight has a color temperature of about 6,500K. Warm light has a lower temperature and cool light has a higher temperature.
To truly capture the color that you want for your photograph, you need to understand White Balance as well. I suggest you do a search to learn more and read your camera's manual to understand the specific white balance options available on your camera. There are many white balance options. Auto white balance is a good all purpose choice. However do experiment with different white balance settings and even custom white balance.
Feel free to ask questions and post pictures.
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