Like all photographers, I love light with my whole entire heart. I mean, it’s just beautiful.
When I first started photography, though, light thoroughly intimidated me. I wasn’t sure where to find good light or how to use good light when I found it and, basically, I didn’t even know what good light was. I mean, light was light, right? Wrong! While being a wedding photographer has taught me to embrace (and truly, truly love) all kinds of crazy lighting conditions, it took me a long time to figure out what kind of light I liked best and, after I figured that out, it took me just as long – if not longer – to learn how to comfortably shoot in all kinds of lighting situations. Light is so interesting to me and, the more I shoot, the more I whole heartedly love the challenge of trying out new lighting situations wherever I can – whether that be shooting an engagement session at one o’clock in the afternoon or framing my subjects with my car headlights after dark or photographing my kids at an aquarium – I love so many different lighting scenarios and, today, I thought it would be fun to talk about my three favorite kinds of light. Read on below to learn more about light!
One: Backlight.
Backlight was the very first kind of light that I fell in love with. I love backlight because it wraps around the subjects of your photographs in a warm, cozy way and, for me, it really just enhances the magic of photography. To achieve backlight, the photographer needs to place their subject between themselves and the sun. There’s a ton of diagrams online that show this (google them!) but, put most simply, to achieve backlight, the sun needs to be behind your subject when you take your photograph. Backlight can lead to seriously magic photographs and it is, hands down, a type of lighting every photographer should know like the back of their hand. I love it!
Backlight Advice! | When shooting backlight, it is incredibly important to pay attention to your shutter speed. A shutter speed of 1/100 is going to let in a lot more light than a shutter speed of 1/1000 and, because the technicalities of backlighting is so versatile, a photographer can create totally different backlit images with shutter speed alone. I love backlighting because there are so many possibilities – if I overexpose a backlit photograph, the light in the finished photograph will look totally different than it would if I had overexposed the photograph in camera – and, for creative exposures, the options are limitless. The next time you take a backlit photograph, take a few of the same setup (or pose!) with three different shutter speed settings. You’ll be so surprised at what a difference shutter speed can make!
Backlighting can be used all times of the day but both the golden hour (one to two hours before sunset) and early morning (one to two hours after sunrise) provide the best light for backlit portraits.
Two: Difficult Indoor Light.
For new photographers, difficult indoor light is one of the very scariest parts of photography. Indoor photographs are hard! When I first started out, I thought that all of my indoor photographs would either A) need to be in black and white or B) never see the light of day. I could not have been more wrong! Once I took some risks and started embracing indoor light, my photography work skyrocketed.
Indoor Light Advice! | Do not be afraid of your ISO! If you are just starting out, you have probably seen a lot of articles telling you not to go over 800 or 1250 for your ISO, even if you are shooting in extremely dark circumstances. This is entirely a personal preference. I have shot at crazy high ISOs with my personal work – like, as high as the ISO will go on a Canon 5d Mark III – and I’ve never regretted it. I also frequently shoot at high ISOs in my client work and, again, I never regret it. The colors at high ISOs are totally different than colors at low ISOs and, for that reason alone, shooting at high ISOs can really help expand your creativity. Next time you are shooting indoors, bump your ISO as high as your camera can go and see what you think of the results. You’ll be surprised, especially if you love grain!
When shooting indoors, it’s also important to look out for ambient light sources. Whether that’s a night light in your kids bedroom or light filtering into the room from a hallway, there is always a way to use interesting light in your photographs.
Three: Window Light
Window light is this cool hybrid of indoor light and outdoor light and I love it. It can be used any time of day – I love shooting indoor light when the sun is super high between 11am and 2pm – and it can add a huge punch to your photographs. And best of all? There are windows everywhere! Some of my favorite backlit photographs I’ve ever taken have taken place inside of hotel rooms and living rooms and wedding venues. Window light is the best light.
Window Light Advice! | Windows are everything. They add so much drama and interest to photographs and they also add so much softness and romance to photographs as well (totally conflicting things, I know!). If you are looking for a soft, romantic photograph, it’s best to have your subject face a window where light is softly filtering in. This is not the best tactic if the light is coming in super harsh – just if it is coming in softly – and, when you do so, you’ll achieve soft, beautiful portraits. If you’re looking for a dramatic portrait, find a light pattern coming through the window – whether that’s a splash of light on the wall or on the floor or even just harsh light coming through the window – and use that light as a compositional tool to take your photographs to the next level. Window light is very much so an exploration – there is so much you can do with it! – but it definitely takes practice and it also requires the photographer to step back and carefully compose the photograph.
When shooting with window light, don’t be afraid to move! Since window light is so dynamic, a portrait will look completely different if your subject stays in the same spot and you shoot from different angles – no matter if you’re aiming for a soft portrait or a dramatic one.
And that’s a wrap! Get out there and find out what kind of light’s your favorite! And if you already know? I’d love to hear all about your favorite light – and WHY it’s your favorite light! – in the comment section below! Hope y’all are having the best Tuesday! xoxo.
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