Natural Light Photography Tips

It is so easy to rely on your camera’s built-in flash when you snap your pictures.  But, have you ever considered natural light and all it has to offer?  You can achieve great photographic results without the use of studio equipment and flash by relying solely on natural light.  Using nothing but natural light may be a challenge, but it will open up a whole new photographic experience, strengthen your photographic skills and result in some amazingly beautiful imagery.  If you are ready to move from your automatic flash and see what results you can achieve with natural light, these tips will help you on your way.

Light Control
Even though you can’t control natural light, you can manipulate aspects of it and how it interacts with your subject.  If you are shooting indoors, you can control the amount of light that comes into the room by either opening or closing curtains or blinds.  You can also direct the light to your subject by adjusting the light source to mute or to brighten your subject.  Play with the lighting to create the image you want for your photograph.  If you are outdoors, move around trees or buildings to change the amount of light that is directed on your subject.  Experiment with natural lighting to create the perfect picture.

Timing is Everything
When shooting in natural light, it makes sense that the best time to photograph would be when the sun is brightest, like at high noon.  In reality, the opposite is true.  The bright sunlight in the middle of the day can be harsh with high contrast and stark shadows.  If you are looking for contrast and defined shadows, midday may be the best time for your image, but if you prefer less contrast and softer shadows, midday will not achieve the look you want.  Sunrise or early morning air offers a clarity that you can see in your image.  Soft portraits or subtle color in your photograph is best achieved during early morning hours.  Overcast days provide fantastic natural lighting for subjects.  There is enough brightness for your image, but you are free of harsh shadows.

Speed Control
If using regular film, it is suggested you use a medium range film speed like 400, which is ideal for most situations.  Be careful of high and low speed films as they have requirements that you may not like.  You may end up working harder or missing shots because you are working around available light rather than with it.

With practice you will learn preferred shutter speed for natural light and know what is good for the image you want to create so you aren’t continually adjusting the F-stop.  The more you practice and learn about speed control when shooting in natural light, the fewer things you have to think about while shooting.  Your focus will be on producing the image you have in your mind’s eye.

The more you shoot in natural light, the less frustrating it will become and the more fun you will have.  Stretch your photographic experience and open yourself to a whole new world of photography using natural light to create beautiful framed images you will be proud to share.