Natural Light Portraits

Episode 175 - The do's and don'ts of Natural Light Portraits.

The Transcript page - https://photographysidehustle.com/175

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Transcript

Hey, how’s it going? I’m Andy Jones, and this is episode 175 of the Photography Side Hustle podcast.

Okay, in this episode, I’m going to talk about some things you need to address when shooting portraits outdoors in natural light.

The first is …
Good Light
You hear photographers talking about looking for good light. I used to wonder what they thought was good light because I didn’t know.

Well, instead of considering the light, think about the shadows. 

In the harsh light of midday, the shadows are sharp-edged, which makes your images too contrasty.

Good light is when the shadows are soft and feather-edged. That is what you want for the majority of your portraits. But a lot of photographers have made a name for themselves by shooting portraits in hard light, so don’t rule it out.

Now, there is a way to soften harsh light, and that is a scrim. It’s a translucent white material that you put in between the light source and the subject. In fact, the white material on the front of a softbox is a scim. When the hard light passes through the scrim, it is diffused and softened.

I’ve seen someone use a white sheet as a scrim. Anyway, remember, good light is diffused light with soft shadows. Bad or hard light causes harsh shadows. 

Next is …
Balance
That is the balance between the subject and the background.

If your subject is in a shaded area and the background is in full sun, the photo will be unbalanced. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the background is. If it’s blown out, then the photo won’t look very good.

You need to match the intensity of the light on the subject with the light in the background. If you have your subject in a shaded area, change your angle so the background is also shaded. 

Doing this one thing will save you lots of time when editing. Plus, your portraits will improve.

Okay, next is … 
Wrong Time of Day
I remember trying to take portraits at 1 pm and wondering why it was so hard. Once I got up to speed, I didn’t book sessions when the sun was at its strongest.

I would book portrait sessions at 3 pm or later. Even early morning gives you a nice, soft light. So, only book sessions when the light will make your life easier and allow you to take great photos.

If you’re a wedding photographer, it’s hard to pick the time for the session. So, think more about balancing the subject and background light.

Right lets look at …
Light Direction
Checking where the light is coming from is crucial. 

Have you ever taken a portrait and noticed a patch of sunlight on the subject's nose or chin? If you haven’t noticed this before, check out some of your work. When I learned this, it changed the way I approached portraits outdoors.

You might have the subject in a shaded area, but a few rays of sun get through and highlight the chin, cheek, or the tip of the nose. You don’t want this, and no, you can’t fix it easily when editing.

So, when you pose your subject, take a minute to check for stray light on their face. If there is, then change the angle you shoot from. Get the subject to turn slightly until the stray light is gone.

Portraits with stray light are distracting to the viewer.

Another problem is light hitting the subject from above them. It causes shadows under the eyes, nose, and chin and looks awful. If the sun is high in the sky, you can get your subjects to tilt their head back a little, but it’s not ideal. That’s another reason not to do sessions around midday. 

Fill Light
When shooting in natural light, it isn’t always possible to properly light the subject's face, especially if the subject is backlit. That is, sunlight is coming from behind the subject.

So, normally, I would advise you to use fill flash to light the subject's face. But, as this is all about natural light, I’m not going to say that.

So, what can you use to add light on to the subject? Well, it’s a reflector and it’s one of the cheapest pieces of kit you can buy.

Place it in front of the subject so the sunlight hits it and bounces back onto their face. If you’re taking a head-and-shoulders shot, you can get the subject to hold it out in front of them.

Another scenario is shooting a portrait indoors in front of a window. You can use the sunlight coming in through the window to light the subject's face. If needed, you can add a reflector and control where the light is going.

Okay, this next one can make or break a portrait.

Catchlights
Catchlights are the specular highlights found in a subject's eyes that are reflections of the light source used.

A portrait without catchlights doesn’t have any umph. This is something that a lot of backlit portraits are missing, and that is because the light source is behind them. 

If you use a reflector in front of the subject, you will see catchlights, and when you zoom in, you will see the reflector in the eyes. 

It’s just a small thing, but it makes a huge difference.

Color Casts
A color cast can affect all or just a tiny part of a photo.

This is caused by the light reflecting off a colored surface and onto the subject. Grass is a major offender, so check your images as you take them, especially if your subject is surrounded by grass.

I have put a reflector on the ground beside the subject and it stopped the color cast. I’ve heard of photographers laying a white sheet on the ground to stop it.

It’s much easier to stop the color cast as you take the photos than trying to correct it in editing. 
Too Much Shade
Now, shade can save a session, but too much can be bad.

When there is too much shade, your photos can look flat, which is not good for a portrait.

Yes, shade is good, but vary it a little. Don’t spend all of the session in full shade. When your customers look at the photos from the shoot, they want to see lots of different images. If all the images were taken in full shade, they would look flat and uninteresting. 

Okay, that is everything I can think of on natural light portraits.

If you have any questions or want me to look at your website, you can find me in the Facebook group, Messenger, Instagram, or Threads. 

I’ll be back next week, bye for now.