In a world full of built-in flashes and cameras with automatic everything, 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 always be able to control the clarity or level of natural light, but you can always change how it interacts with your subject. 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 windows, you can always cover one side to get the focus and direction of light that you want. Try moving around buildings and structures to see how your movement changes the way your pictures end up.
Watch Out for the Sun
Though it sounds reasonable that the best time to attempt natural light photography is when the sun is brightest, high noon is actually quite the opposite. The bright and sharply directed light found in the middle of the day can lead to hotspots, high contrast, and stark shadows. If you're looking for these qualities in your images then noon may be a good time to shoot, however if you're interested in soft portraits or subtle color scales you'll find much better results 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. Additionally, you'll find that overcast days are perfect for the natural lighting of subjects; images will be bright but free of harsh directional shadows.
Control Your Speeds
If you use a film camera instead of digital, you should use a medium range film speed like 400 to make sure you'll be able to shoot in most lighting situations. High and low speed films are incredibly situational and may end in your working around available light rather than with it, which can be time-consuming and cause 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. As you use work more regularly in natural light photography, you will see more successes and less mistakes. As always, remember to keep it fun and everything should turn out just fine.
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