Photographer's Delight: Using Natural Light

As the peonies pop and the scent of sweet honeysuckle wafts through the air, a photographer’s thoughts turn to outdoor photography and capturing photos of our loved ones cradled in nature’s beauty. Ensuring that these photographs capture the essence of your subject requires an understanding of how to effectively use light, specifically natural light. As a general rule of thumb, early morning and late afternoon light are wonderful because of the softness that theses hours offer, but chances are that you won’t always be shooting during these hours, so the following are three key items to focus on when shooting using natural light.

1. Understand aperture and how to use it on your camera. Aperture is the diameter of the lens opening. The higher the aperture, the more light will be let in to the lens. (Conversely, the lower the aperture, the less light will be let in.) This means that if you are shooting a picture during a time when there is less light, it is important to increase the aperture to allow more light to be captured by the lens. Additionally, as you increase the aperture, you decrease the depth of field, so your photo will better emphasize your subject, blurring the background a bit in the process. Notice how the trees in this photo are not crisp and this accents the young lady. Spend some time learning how to increase and decrease the aperture on your camera so that you can better control how much light you are letting into your photos.
   
2. Examine the harshness vs. the softness of your light. Harsh light will create strong shadows with dark, differentiating lines. Softer light will disperse more evenly over the subject, balancing out the colors and creating a gentler image. This is the reason that many photos are created in the early morning or late afternoon. Often times, however, a setting will have a variety of different types of light. In the middle of a field, you may notice the light is harsh: moving the subject into the shade with the field behind it could produce the desired softening effect while maintaining the integrity of the moment. In this photo, you can see that the background has quite bright, harsh light, so we’ve moved the young boy just forward enough to allow the light to tickle his hair without detracting from the natural beauty of his face and body. The key is to really study the environment to know in advance where the light will be too harsh and where the light will be gentler. In the event that you struggle to find a suitable option, you may consider learning to use a reflector as this will help to balance out the light and eliminate shadows on checks and around eyes.
   


3. Pay particular attention to shadows. For the most part, you will want to avoid having shadows on your subject. But, as you learn to tune into the shadows, you will recognize how they can help to sculpt a photograph, highlighting the three-dimensionality of the subject and surroundings. For instance, in this photo, we don’t have shadows on the subject’s face, but you can see the shadow of her folded hands, which really makes the clasped hands come to life instead of sitting flat on the page.

As you develop the habit of noticing and playing with the light in your setting, you will find yourself creating even more graceful and lifelike natural light photos.

Kim's work is on display in her gallery at http://www.kimcrenshaw.com/.