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Many photographers occasionally (or often) find themselves outdoors having to shoot a portrait. We don’t want to lug a ton of light gear around, so we rely on the available natural light to give us what we need.
Usually, it feels like the sun has a vendetta against us, though. In this video – a video whose title does not do it justice – Jay P Morgan shows us four ways we can shape natural light using just a single modifier. The 5-in-1 reflector.
I’m always asked why I use flash outdoors and the answer is quite simple. The natural light doesn’t always give me what I want. Sometimes I want to complement or augment it and sometimes I want to override it completely. There’s nothing wrong with natural light and I use that too when it looks good, but yeah… It just doesn’t always look the way I want it to.
But how can you work with flash outdoors and still have it look natural when shooting things like weddings or portraits? Well, in this video from Vanessa Joy, we look at several different ways you can light a subject with flash, balancing it with the natural light to create a natural look. And, yes, there’s more to it than simply adjusting the power level to even out the brightness.
The phrase “natural light” is usually seen as a dirty word amongst flash photographers, but the light that already exists on a scene can often be just as pleasing as anything you can make with flash – if not more so. I’ve found that it helps to know how to work with both because flash isn’t always available when you want to shoot a photo.
In this video, photographer Emily Teague serves up six tips for shooting portraits outdoors in natural light on the streets of Brooklyn. Like many portrait photographers, Emily started out using just natural light for a few years before picking up a flash for the first time. So, she goes back to her photographic lighting roots for this one.
Golden or magic hour is the favorite time of day of most photographers who love using natural light. The only trouble with it is that it lasts, well, an hour, so you have to be at your location at a very specific time. Guys at Inkifi have created The Golden Hour Index, a tool that lets you determine the exact moment when the magic hour starts and ends. It works wherever in the world you are and lets you get the most of this time of day.
Many photographers love using natural window light, and I must admit I’m one of them. But when the weather just isn’t cooperating, you have to rely on artificial lighting. Still, you can recreate that window light that you like, and in this video, Barry Mountford shows you how.
Simulating daylight with artificial lighting is not a trivial task. You’re faking a light that’s 93 million miles away. That means it’s an extremely tiny light source with light rays that flow almost parallel to each other, which has a huge effect on the shadows. But that’s not the only factor in daylight. There’s also that blue sky.
So, how can we set about reproducing it realistically? Well, Matt over at DIY Perks has a solution which, naturally, is a DIY one. And it does it by recycling an old satellite TV dish and combining it with a high powered LED (he recommends this one if you want to try it for yourself). It’s an absolutely fascinating approach that looks a lot more at the actual science of daylight than most photographers and filmmakers do.
When we talk about professional headshots, it often involves a studio and using at least one light. But if you’re on a budget or out of the studio, you can still get professional-looking headshots without using any artificial lighting. In this video from Adorama, David Bergman will show you how.
Shooting in bright sunlight can be tricky, even though there are ways to make fantastic photos using nothing but natural light. Still, you may need to add some strobes to even out the light, and there are some tricks that will make it look more natural and appealing. In this video, Dan and Sally Watson host Miguel Quiles, who shares four helpful tips for everyone who want to mix strobes with sunlight.
Shooting outdoors with natural light only can be demanding and tricky, especially if you’re shooting on a sunny day. But, although it’s challenging, it’s definitely not impossible to take impressive portraits even in the harsh midday sun. In this video, Miguel Quiles teams up with Dan and Sally Watson to bring you four quick and useful tips for shooting when you’ve got nothing but sunlight available.
Sometimes the hardest lighting setups to achieve are actually the ones that look the easiest. For years I’ve wanted to emulate that dappled lighting you see through leaves on a sunny day, or that rippled light you see at the bottom of a swimming pool when the wind catches the water. Like I said, this should be relatively easy to recreate in a studio in theory, as every natural light setup is only ever one light. How hard could that be? (<- photo-nerd pun)
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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