Natural Lighting with Outdoor Photography

Lighting in photography can be rather tricky, and need planning and understanding of some basic techniques. Your focus subject or object may not necessarily be what you expect when captured, if proper light does not help to illuminate the area.

Light and Color

If we are using natural lighting sources like sunlight, we will be relying on the Kelvin scale to gauge the temperature of light, which in turn will affect the color of light. Warm light will be comparatively redder than usual.

A fair understanding of the Sun’s color scale, will help us too. Colors evoke different feelings. Softer colors arouse more emotions. A fair understanding of the suns impact on the colors will greatly help us find the correct time of day, for our outdoor photography.

In the morning wee hours, the sun evokes blue hues, while closer to noon we will find more neutral colors. Neutral colors can take away some of the definition we want in our printed images.

Outdoor photography depends greatly on time, especially for serious photographers.

Most experience outdoor photographers wait for the right timing before proceeding, as opposed to camera users who take pictures as and when they feel comfortable.

Light and Shadow

Light creates shadows and it is important to note the angle and direction of the sunlight. A silhouette is achieved when we are taking pictures of our subjects, against the light source.

Note the timing of the day, as it affects the light density and shadow density. We will get softer and more graduated shadow tones when the sunlight is broad and diffused; and harder focused shadows when the light is narrow.

To put it simply in summary, light creates colors and shadows. When we manipulate light, we control colors and shadows, which in turn will create different feels and moods.

When taking portraiture photography on a bright or overcast day, remember to activate and set your flash to FILL Flash. This will lit up any underexpose faces. Adjust flash compensation accordingly.

Sample Photos of Silhouette Photography:

Sample photos are retrieved and gathered from diverse photography groups/ individuals (Beginners, amateurs, experts, professionals) around the globe, taking silhouette photograph. - Disclaimer

Take charge of your photography with Seeing the Light..

There is a very good and affordable photography guidebook that explains the functionality of Light in photography and how we manipulate them to our photography needs.

Mitchell talks primarily about Natural light, Flash units, and Reflectors, all in clear illustrated steps.