What You Need to Know About Light

As a photographer you are constantly on the search for the best light!

Photography and light are basically synonymous. A good photograph requires good light. But you have to know where to find and how to use that good light! When first starting out, and even once you have lots of practice, natural light is a great place to start. While using lighting equipment can give you lots of control over the feel of your photograph, natural light is free and easy to use, it just takes a little bit of knowledge and practice.

There is a lot of things to take into consideration when thinking about lighting, so here are some of the things you need to know about light!

Golden Hour

Golden hour happens twice a day and can produce some really beautiful images!

If you’ve ever heard much about lighting you’ve probably heard about golden hour. The two most perfect and magical times of the day to get the most beautiful and dreamy photos. There are three main reasons we all love golden hour. The light is soft, warm, and directional, which makes for some really stunning photos!

But you probably have some questions about all of this. The first being, when even is golden hour? If you want to get these well lit photographs you’ve been hearing so much about there are two times of the day you can find it. These times are the hour after the sun rises and the hour before the sun sets, but make sure you give yourself enough time!

Another thing people like to do is backlight their photos. This is when the light source is behind the subject. Having a backlit photo creates a sort of hazy look which a lot of people really like! During golden hour, backlit photographs look even better.

Golden hour is amazing! And you are sure to love it. It takes a little practice (and dedication if you plan to go at sunrise), but it can set you on the right path to getting the light you are wanting.

Cloudy Days

Include a pop of color in cloudy day photographs to balance the flat sky in the background.

A lot of photographers have mixed feelings about cloudy days. Personally, I love them! But there are definitely pros and cons. Cloud cover creates nice even shade that spreads the light beautifully over your subjects. Another great thing about cloudy days is that if you are taking portraits, there isn’t any harsh light to cause your subject to squint.

However, clouds can create a boring background. If you are taking photos on a cloudy day there are a couple ways you can combat the flat and boring sky. You can work to not include the sky in your photo, or you can embrace the flat backdrop as an integral part of your image.

Open Shade

Finding open shade is a great way to eliminate the harshness of direct light.

Shade is similar to cloud cover. It creates more even light and keeps your subject out of direct and harsh light. But there are a couple kinds of shade. Open shade means your subject is standing in the shade so direct sunlight is not hitting them, but that they are looking out of the shade toward the light source. Closed shade is when the subject is facing the shade with their back toward the light source. Closed shade makes the background lighter than your subject, which isn’t what you are wanting. But open shade lights the photo well and helps you achieve that really good portrait photo that you are wanting.

Good light is key to good photographs! When you learn about light and how to implement it you can really take your photography to the next level.

Is there a lighting condition that you are scared to try to shoot in?