This post comes from our January client newsletter due to hit the streets this next week. Enjoy.
There is nothing quite like the look of a natural light portrait. The images we create outdoors, be it a high school senior, a family or child, are always some of my favorites.
Controlling natural light can be a bit more of a challenge than studio lights but once you learn a few tricks it can yield some beautiful results.
You may be thinking, “Hey cool Dave, but it’s the middle of January, what good is this article to me right now?” Well grasshopper, you can also utilize natural light indoors, and I’ll tell you how.
The key to good portrait lighting is to look for “light direction” and “light quality”. On a bright sunny day (if there ever is another one) look at the sunshine coming through the window (light direction) hitting the floor in your home—notice how defined the shadows are—it’s either light or dark with a very definite edge. Now lock that vision away (or better yet take a picture of the floor with your digital camera) and then on a cloudy day look at the light again and notice how soft the transition is between light and dark, no definite edge—compare that in your mind (or on your computer screen) to the sunny day image. Hard or soft—light quality.
Next you want to make yourself a simple light control device. You may recall, if I did outdoor portraits of you, my fancy-dancy foam-board reflector. I use 3/4” insulation board you can find at Home Depot—it’s covered in silver foil. Even easier would be a piece of white foam-core you can get at any office supply store. This is your reflector and you’ll use it to fill in or open up the shadows on your subject.
Now you need a subject. (If it was me I’d use a newly minted grandchild but not everyone is as lucky)
Move the clutter out of the background, sit your subject on the floor in front of the patio door and look at the light on their face. Now hold that reflector on the shadow side of their face and slowly move it closer and then farther away. What happens to the shadows? Cool huh?
Now take pictures. Experiment with reflector distance, with types of reflectors and with subjects. And no, you can’t borrow my granddaughter.;-)
