Tips for Using Natural Light in Portraits
Well, figured it was about time to share a few more tips, cause I just can’t seem to help myself.
For many years, I shot exclusively with natural light . . . no flashes or lights or reflectors . . . just me, my camera and the light my situation gave me. Obviously, through this, I’ve learned through trial and error what works and what doesn’t when shooting portraits with natural light. So here are a few tips about using natural light effectively in your photographs.
To begin with, when using natural light, you need to constantly be aware of the strength and angle of your light source. This is, for me, the most difficult part of using natural light in portraits. You really need to study the light and truly “see” how it’s affecting your image. It's really the same as using studio lights . . . except that you can't control where the light comes from or how strong it is. But you still use the light source as you would use studio lights.
So for example, when you're shooting outside, the sun shines from above for most of the day, even on cloudy days. If you just put someone outside and take a photo with the light source coming from overhead, no matter how diffused, you will get what I call racoon eyes . . . . the light will shine down your subject’s face, emphasizing the shadows underneath the eyes. You can see this on my son’s face in the shot below. This was shot on an overcast day. I attached this image SOOC just so you can see how bad the shadows are right out of the camera. Also note the brighter spots on his upper forehead and cheeks. You can clearly see how the light is skimming his face from top to bottom. It's not a flattering photo of him and there are no catchlights in his eyes, making them dark and dead.
So in my lovely drawing below (you can see why I never made it as a painter . . ha-ha), you DON’T want your light source to come from overhead (A) or from below (D). You will get funky shadows on the person’s face if that happens. You want your light source to ideally be at about a 45 degree angle to the face (B), but any light source between B and C below will give good results. So in the photo I posted above of my kids, you can see that the light is good on my daughter’s face. That’s because she has her head turned toward the sky and the light is hitting her face at a 45 degree angle. Notice that the light is even on her skin . . . there aren’t any funky shadows or hot spots.
So how do you get the light right when shooting outdoors?
Well, the simple answer is to make sure that you have something over your subject’s head to force the light to come in from the side. A tree, a doorway, a reflector, a porch . . . any number of things can fix the problem. So here is another shot of my son taken in a doorway. Notice how the light comes in from the front, not overhead, and how that opens up the shadows on his face. The light is smooth and even on his face and there are beautiful catchlights in his eyes.
So when taking portraits with natural light, look carefully at the face before taking a portrait, and then move around the person or move them into a situation where the light comes from the side or front.
Sometimes, however, it just isn't possible to move somewhere where there is something overhead. In that case, assuming that it's an overcast day, I put the person's back to the sun (wherever it may be in the sky) and place myself above them (easy to do with a child) and have them look up at me. This puts the light at 45 degrees to their face and they shouldn't squint as long as the sun is at their back. It results in a photo like the one below.
Well, these are my tips for the day. I hope to add to this and continue with more advice on using natural light.
