When I first started photography, I was kind of overwhelmed by good light.
Not only did I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that not all light was good light, but I really struggled because, after I started shooting in the golden hour (the time of day where everything looks yellow and magic and perfect), I couldn’t really imagine shooting at any other time. I mean, how could I? And maybe more importantly, why would I?
But! Then I started shooting weddings.
Weddings happen at all times of days and in all kinds of weather and in all kinds of venues. There’s morning weddings and afternoon weddings and night weddings and evening weddings and weddings where it rains the entire day and sunny weddings and blindingly-sunny weddings and weddings in dark rooms. When it comes to weddings, the possibilities are endless. I mean, yes. I schedule all of my portraits sessions around the golden hour. While my love for morning light rivals my love for golden hour light, I very much prefer the time of day the golden hour happens (I mentioned yesterday that I’m a night owl) and, because of this, you can easily bet that eighty percent of my portrait sessions are taken during the golden hour. I love that crazy light!
Here’s the thing though – not everything takes place in the golden hour. Sure, you can schedule all your sessions for the golden hour but real life also happens in the other twenty-three hours of the day, not just for that one (amazing!) hour. Beautiful things happen all day long – whether that’s an early morning wedding or a mid-day stroll with your children or an early afternoon photo session that had to be bumped up because of weather. Photography isn’t just about good light: It’s about light. And as photographers? We should be able to handle all kinds of light, not just the kind that frames our subjects perfectly. The golden hour is amazing, obviously, but it’s not the end all be all and, for me, when I let go of the idea that everything had to be photographed with a hazy glow, my photography skyrocketed.
So! Today! Here’s three tips that will help you break away from the golden hour and feel more comfortable shooting anytime and anywhere.
One: Look for Light
There is always a pocket of light somewhere. Maybe it’s a window or a doorway or maybe the sun has already set but there’s still dusky light left in the sky. Photographs do not need crazy light in them to be beautiful. While awesome lighting definitely helps, photographs with interesting lighting are just that: interesting. I find photographs with interesting, unexpected light absolutely breathtaking and, while it can seem hard to look for light that’s not shimmering and obviously gorgeous (which is doubly hard because gorgeous lighting = a gorgeous photograph), there’s nothing quite as beautiful as a photograph taken with deliberate intention – and that intention includes light. Some of my favorite photographs have been taken in the very middle of the day and, as long as you keep your eyes open and find patches of light (or even create light with something as simple as a flashlight), you can create amazing images.
Two: Turn Your Subjects Away from the Sun
The photographs taken below were taken in the middle of an August afternoon, at nine am on a November morning, and at a morning wedding in July. In each of these photographs, I turned my subjects away from the light and slightly overexposed my image to capture the detail of my subjects, not the background. If I had faced them towards the light, their skin would have had hot spots and dappled light all over them, making the photograph uneven. But! By turning my subjects away, I was able to achieve even lighting on my subjects which, in turn, created strong photographs. Backlighting isn’t just for the golden hour and, if you can turn your subjects so that the light is behind them, you can create magical images at any time of day.
You’ll also notice that, in the second photograph, the girl throwing leaves (my adorable niece!) is facing towards the sun enough that her face is a little blown out. And in this photograph, I love that! My brother, on the other hand, is totally shielded from the sun and, because of that, it was easy to expose him from the sunlight behind him. If this had been a portrait, I would have wanted both subjects looking at me with the sun to their backs but, because this was taken on a very sunny morning and Sophie was loving playing in the leaves, I loved being able to capture the sun on her face as she threw leaves at her father. Lighting like this makes photographs just a little more fun!
Three: Embrace the Light in Front of You!
There’s lots of ways to branch out of the golden hour and, for me, it was extremely helpful to just start shooting what I saw in front of me without thinking about light. If there was a window, I used a window. If there was golden light, I used golden light. If it was nearly dark, I used the darkness. If there was a street lamp, I used a street lamp. If I was inside and shot in yellow light, I shot in yellow light. While this sounds similar to my first point – looking for light – it’s actually the exact opposite. Rather than thinking about light, I thought about what was happening in front of me. And the best part? Nine times out of ten, these photographs have gorgeous light – not because I was looking for it, but because it was already there. There’s beautiful light everywhere, even when you’re not searching for the best kind.
So! In closing! Don’t be afraid to boost your ISO or to photograph someone in crazy lighting or to shoot at odd times of days or indoors on a snowy day. Photography, by definition, is about light but, as artists, it is so important to see what is in front of us, even if it’s happening in non-traditional light. The results will be beautiful!
You can read more tutorials on natural light (not by me!) here, here, here, here, and here.
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* Lissa Chandler is a creative portrait and wedding photographer in Northwest Arkansas who specializes in lifestyle family, senior portrait and wedding photography. Lissa is known for creative and emotive photography in Northwest Arkansas and currently lives in Fayetteville with her family: a husband who makes grocery store runs like a boss, a four year old with the cutest grin, and a two year old who is currently playing with race cars at his mother’s feet. Lissa is currently booking 2015 Spring Senior Sessions, 2015 & 2016 Weddings, and 2015 Lifestyle Newborn and Family Sessions in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and all of NWA. She is available for wedding work nationwide. *
What ISO do you usually use in full sun?
In full and bright sun, I usually shoot at 100 ISO.