3 Tips For Taking Great Pictures Using Natural Light

In a world of automatic cameras and built in flashes

, it's easy to forget how rewarding natural light photography can be. Although getting great results without studio lighting equipment can be more challenging, using natural light can make you a more skilled photographer and often creates some truly stunning images. Many of photography's greatest minds swore by working with the environment rather than manipulating it. If you are up for the challenge, here are a few things to remember before shooting:

Control Your Light

You may not be able to control the level of natural light or its clarity, but you can still manipulate certain aspects of the way it interacts with your subjects. For example, when you take pictures in your house, you can open or close the curtains or blinds to change the amount of light coming into the room. This is also a great tactic for creating targeted directional light. If you're in a room with two light sources like two windows, you can cover up one window so you can control how the image turns out. Try moving around buildings and structures to see how your movement changes the way your pictures end up.

Dodge the Sun

Though it seems like the best time of day for using natural light would be when the sun is the brightest at high noon, that is actually the worst. The bright and sharply directed light found in the middle of the day can lead to hot spots, high contrast, and stark shadows. If you do happen to want the harsh look of direct sunlight, then noon may be a good time. But if you want a more soft and even light for your portrait, you're better off shooting in the early morning hours. Morning air and light has a crisp clarity that is hard to describe, but you'll immediately see the difference in your pictures. You will also find that overcast days are great for natural lighting of subjects as your pictures will be bright but lack harsh directional shadows.

Control Your Speeds

If you use regular film instead of digital, it's advisable that you use a medium-range film speed (400 is ideal) to ensure that you'll be able to shoot in most situations. If you use high or low speed films, it can cause you to work around the available light rather than using it to your advantage which will cause a lot of wasted time and missed shots. It's a good idea to choose a shutter speed for the day (you'll soon get good at judging this with some practice) and only adjust the F Stop or vice versa. The fewer things you have to worry about during your shoot, the more "in" the moment you will be.

Shooting with natural light can be one of the most fun or most frustrating experiences a photographer can have. The more you practice using natural light, the less mistakes you'll make and the better your pictures will turn out. As always, remember to keep it fun and everything should turn out just fine.

by: Autumn Lockwood

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