LESSON 8: Natural Light Photography is defined as “ the art or process of producing images by the action of light on a sensitive surface”. Without light, there is no image but more importantly, it’s the QUALITY, QUANTITY, and DIRECTION of light that transform an average photograph into a stunning image. No matter how skilled and educated the photographer, and no matter how amazing the subject, without the right light, it is impossible to create a perfect picture.

Canon 28-70mm@70mm, f/22, 1/4sec

Qualities of Light

With natural light, we are talking about a single source, the sun. Even though the sun itself remains the same, it gives us many different qualities of light to work with. We can describe the qualities of sunlight as hard or soft, and warm or cool. Hard light is seen on clear days and creates a lot of contrast, shadow, depth, form, and direction. It is considered “warm” when coming from low in the sky such as in the morning or evening and “cool” when directly overhead. When the sun is low in the sky, it is passing through much more of the atmosphere and takes on the warm orange/red colors we so often see in sunrises and sunsets. Not only time of day but even the time of year effects the color of sunlight. Soft light is created by clouds, fog and mist and produces little to no shadows, contrast, or direction as it appears to be coming evenly from all around the subject. Soft, diffused light will have a cooler, bluer color no matter the time of day. When shooting with film, you can use color correcting filters or specific film types to overcome unacceptable color qualities. With digital we have the joy of selecting a specific white balance setting or even changing the white balance of an image in post processing afterwards.

Canon 70-200mm@70mm, f/16, 1/2sec Shot at sunrise to take advantage of both the color and angle of light.

Quantity of Light

As with quality, the time of day and time of year effect quantity of light as well. Morning and evening provide less intensity than mid-day, just as high, thin clouds and fog provide more light than when it’s about to or is pouring down rain. It is more difficult to control the quantity of light from the sun than with artificial light sources but you can use diffusers or move into the shade of a tree or building if the light is too strong for the subject you want to shoot. If it’s too dark, you will need to wait for the right conditions and return to where you want to shoot. I always recommend that you carry a pad and paper so that you can make notes of locations and certain times of day, year, and weather conditions when the lighting will be perfect.

Canon 100-400mm@100mm, f/4.5, 1/13sec Sunset not only provided the warm glow but the correct intensity of light for this shot on the coast of Maine. If taken in the middle of the day, the harsh overhead light would cause too much glare as well as a lack of color.

Direction of Light

Direction of light not only refers to the angle of the sun in the sky but also the relation of subject and camera position. Most of us probably were told at some point to have the sunlight coming from over our shoulder and hitting our subject directly from the front. This type of lighting is the worst for showing form and depth and usually leaves us with an uninteresting, 2 dimensional snapshot. This is my least favorite direction of light to shoot with.

In this group image from a photography workshop in Maine, the camera was placed on a tripod with the sun coming from directly over the camera. We had about 15 seconds to get the group together and shoot before everyone jumped into taxis and headed for the airport. This actually makes a great example of what NOT to do unless you are really striving for that “Kodak Moment” snapshot!

Side lighting will produce much more contrast and shadow in an image thereby creating the illusion of depth as well as showing shape and texture. Think of the face of a clock and the light coming from between 2-4, or 8-10, with your subject at 12 and your camera at 6. I would say that 60-70% of my photography is shot with light coming from these angles while the other 30-40% is shot using back lighting and diffused light.

Canon 28-70mm@55mm, f/16, 1/15sec Using the soft light from a large sliding glass window on a rainy day, I set up this shot of fresh habanero peppers so that the light source was at 4:00 in relation to the subject. The peppers were placed on a mirror and black foam core board was used as a background.

Back lighting, as the name implies, is when the light source is coming from behind your subject. This type of lighting can be very difficult to shoot in but also can create some very dramatic images. You can create silhouettes, rim light (create an almost glowing halo effect), and even make translucent subjects glow beautifully.

Canon 180mm, f/8, 1/40sec Walking through the kitchen in my house one day, I saw the sun shining through this decorative glass jar and new I had to shoot it. I set the jar in front of a large window at sunset for back lighting that was strong enough to shine through the subject. Using a 180mm macro lens, I moved in close to fill the frame with the glowing fruit.

Diffused lighting is a much softer light that literally surrounds the subject and appears to have no particular angle that it is coming from. There will be little to no shadow or contrast and the image will have a much flatter look. Overcast days create this type of light as well as large diffusion panels or “light tents”. Subjects such as jewelry, glass, water, and flowers all work well with diffused light.

Canon 28-70mm @58mm, f/22, 3.2sec Shooting waterfalls requires fairly long exposures and diffused light is perfect for getting the “cotton candy” effect of the running water without blowing out the highlights completely. A circular polarizer really helps cut down on glare and a ND filter can extend shutter speeds if necessary. Now that we have discussed quality, quantity, and direction, let’s look at some ways to use this information to our advantage. We can’t control the weather and therefore we need to learn how to use what’s available at any given point. One of the biggest complaints we hear from students is that they couldn’t shoot their assignment this week because it was raining, or snowing, or too foggy, etc. If you know how to use light, ANY light, then that no longer becomes a reason not to shoot. I mentioned earlier about making a “shoot list” that includes subjects and locations and when the right time to shoot them or there would be. I can not emphasize enough how important this is! If you have this list handy, you will always have something to shoot no matter the weather or light. For example, if you have a particular waterfall on your list, you know that an overcast day is a perfect time to shoot it. If it’s a beautiful sunny day, find a window and experiment with back lighting. Raining? No problem. Set up a still life image by a large window and stay warm and dry while shooting all day. Snowing? Great! Get your boots and coat and go for a walk. We are only limited by ourselves when it comes to shooting opportunities. Here are some of my favorite images from one of my “secret” shooting locations where the lighting is always perfect for one subject or another.

Canon 28-70mm@43mm, f/22, 3.2sec. Shot during a torrential downpour. Notice the shutter speed. Of course, the camera was on a tripod!

Canon 28-70mm@53mm, f/22, .5sec Same location. Different day, different light.

Canon 28-70mm@70mm, f/22, 1/4sec Same spot!

Canon 28-70mm@45mm, f/22, 1/3sec

Canon 28-70mm@47mm, f/11, 1/2sec

Canon 28-70mm@36mm, f/22, 1/2sec You guessed it, same location. You might be thinking I live in some tropical place with perfect weather and an endless supply of flowers and fruit but I don’t. In fact, I live in Washington which is best known for rain (and coffee)! So, where is my secret location that always seems to have perfect light? I’ll show you but don’t tell anyone or laugh!

Surprised? Everyone one of those images was shot in my bedroom next to a large, west facing, sliding glass door. Whether it’s pouring down rain or the sun is out, it doesn’t matter. I can ALWAYS shoot in this spot and have perfect light. Now, I might have to shoot at a certain time of day, but I can always count on the light here being just right somewhere between sunrise and sunset. I am willing to bet that at least 90% of you have a similar location in your house if you take the time to study the light at different times of the day. You might also have noticed that I used my 28-70mm lens for all of those. Working in the limited space I have here, it seems to be the perfect range of focal lengths. If I need to get closer, I just add extension tubes which you can see on the floor in the above image. I also have my handy “pruning” scissors and lots of foam core board for backgrounds and reflectors. It’s about as low tech a studio as you can find but it works great all year long. This is also my secret spot for backlighting with natural light. A quick rearranging of the furniture and I have this:

Obviously I need a clear day and have to wait until afternoon to get the light intensity needed for this type of shot but it works! This is the setup for the backlit fruit image at the beginning of the lesson. And just in case you were wondering, I have a very patient and understanding wife….. to a point!

The following images are great examples of shooting in the same location with different light at different times of the year.

Canon 100-400mm@250mm, f8, 1/10sec Winter fog on Bear Paw Lane.

Canon 100-400mm@100mm, f/8, 1/60sec Spring Snow on Bear Paw Lane Quick Quiz…… When is the best time to shoot a vertical image? Right after the horizontal of course!

Canon 100-400mm@100mm, f/8, 1/60 Spring Snow on Bear Paw Lane

Canon 24-70mm@70mm, f/3.5, 1/80sec Summer on Bear Paw Lane

Lensbaby 3G, 1/40sec Summer Fog on Bear Paw Lane

Lensbaby 3G, 1/200 Fall on Bear Paw Lane.

As you can see, it really doesn’t matter what time of year it is or if it’s sunny, snowy, or even foggy. We always want to make the most of the available light.

We can use quality, quantity, and direction to make an incredible difference in our images. Transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary is simply a matter of waiting for the right moment. Once we really start to notice the light around us and how it is constantly changing, we can begin to see how timing is everything when using natural light. When we want to show shape, texture, depth and form, we need to use strong light that is coming from the side or back of our subject.

Look at the images below and notice how important the TIME they were shot is to the image. If they had been shot at mid day instead of early morning or late afternoon, they would not have the visual impact that they possess.

Canon 70-200mm@200mm, f/10, 1.3sec, sunrise

Canon 70-200mm@70mm, f/16, 1/60sec, sunrise

Canon 24-70mm@63mm, f/22, 20sec, sunset

Canon 24-70mm@28mm, f/16, 1/6sec, sunset

Canon 70-200mm@145mm, f/8, 1/25sec, sunset

All of these images are shot using strong sidelight that occurs either early in the morning or late in the evening. Not only does this lighting show great texture and shape, but it also adds a nice warm glow that is only present when the sun is low in the sky. The shadows cast by the angle of light are equally as important to these images as the subjects themselves and would not appear under any other lighting conditions.

There will be times when we do not want the strong contrast, shadow, texture, and color of early morning or evening light for the subjects we are shooting. The softer light of an overcast day is perfect for flowers and portraits.

Canon 70-200mm@200mm, f/5.6, 1/50 An overcast day is perfect for portraiture. The soft, diffused light wraps itself around the subject without creating harsh shadows under the eyes or around the nose.

Canon 70-200mm@145mm, f/2.8, 1/400sec Soft light is much more flattering to the subject as well since it does not emphasize lines and wrinkles in the skin nearly as much as hard lighting would.

Canon 70-200mm@200mm, f/5.6, 1/125sec With lighter overcast, we can still get slight shadowing, direction, and depth while still maintaining the qualities of soft light. The outline of the sun was visible through the clouds so I placed the model with the sun just over his left shoulder to give a little more contrast without heavy shadows.

Tamron 180mm, f/3.5, 1/1000 Soft, diffused light still shows great detail and the true color of the subject without providing any distracting shadows.

Tamron 180mm, f/5.6, 1/60 Just as above, notice how the light wraps itself around the subject.

Tamron 180mm, f/5.6, 1/125 Just as with portraits, a lighter overcast will give more contrast without the harsh shadows of a hard light source.

There are certain subjects that are delicate enough to backlight with diffused lighting but it can be very tricky. Again, we get the same properties but you do need to watch for the much lower light levels on the front of the subject and use a small reflector if necessary to bring out the detail without overpowering the qualities of the soft light.

Tamron 180mm, f/5, 1/100 The soft diffused light works wonderfully with this delicate cosmos but notice how dark the base of the flower is with the camera shooting from this angle.

Tamron 180mm, f/5, 1/100 By using a small reflector, you can fill in the darker area to show the wonderful detail while still maintaining the beautiful glow that the backlighting produces. As you can now see, the many different qualities of natural light can be used no matter the season, weather or even time of day. Once you really look at the available light and can recognize its properties, you will be able to shoot amazing images year around in any conditions with very little equipment or effort. Take the time to study the light around your house and in your neighborhood as you carry out your daily activities and I think you will be surprised at the dramatic changes in light that occur around each of us every day. Make notes on your observations and use this information to your advantage. You might even find yourself hoping for a rainy day in the near future.

Ron