natural light

It's been a few days now since I've last posted, but I finally decided to get back on the horse again and take a few pictures. I took this one today, in fact, as an example of natural lighting. I know it may seem a little obvious to some of you, but natural or available light does not rely on any intentional artificial lighting (flashes, strobes, lamps, etc). There are indeed many professional photographers who never use anything but the light they can harness naturally on location. I used the word "harness" here intentionally.

Sometimes the light is shining a little too brightly and creates harsh unflattering shadow on or behind your subject (not unlike what a flash often does!). In cases like this you can diffuse the light causing it to spread more evenly . A white bed sheet or translucent window drapery, for instance, could serve this purpose quite well. Ask just about any wedding photographer and they will agree that cloudy or overcast days are far better for outdoor pictures than those with bright, direct sunlight. Why? It's because the clouds themselves are acting as celestial diffusers!

There are occasions when the available light doesn't shine into some of the more shadowy areas as much as you'd like. In cases such as these, you could use a reflector. Readily available at photo stores, these devices allow you (often with the help of an assistant) to redirect some of the available light into those darker areas. Even though they work very well and fold away neatly into a little pouch, you don't really need one of these reflectors to achieve this effect. In fact, a sheet of paper or bristle board can often perform quite well. And it doesn't have to be white either--many reflectors are gold, silver and even various colours to achieve different lighting effects and casts on skin tone.

You can probably tell I'm a fan of natural lighting...and it's because it's just so...well...natural. There's no other way to put it, I'm afraid. A picture that uses the available lighting conditions has the ability to transport you back to that memory much better than a "deer-in-the-headlights" flash shot, in my humble opinion. It just seems a little more real to me. I do intend to further learn the subtle arts of flash and studio lighting photography some day, but for now I guess I'm content being au natural.