Taking Better Pictures: Lighting

Lighting is probably the one aspect of photography I have struggled most to perfect. Its an ongoing process, and the more i experiment, the more I progress with understanding light and how to use it in my favor. Lighting can be the main factor in a beautiful photograph, or the reason a photograph turned out terrible. Being able to manipulate light, and truly understand its effect on your photography, is a key skill you must learn if you want to take better pictures.

I am not a seasoned expert on lighting, nor do I claim to be. I have however, spent countless hours over the past few years practicing, and studying lighting. I would like to share with you some of the tips and tricks I have learned along the way.

Photo taken with natural, morning light for amazing results and beautiful light.

Lighting Tips

1. My favorite lighting is either in the morning right after sunrise, or in the evening right before sunset. The light is soft, and not as harsh as mid afternoon, direct sun.

2. Shoot with the sun behind you. This will prevent lens flare, and bad reflections.

3. When shooting inside with an external flash, manipulate the direction your flash is facing so that it is bouncing off something and landing on your subject. This makes a huge difference when photographing anything indoors.

4. Read awesome lighting articles like this one by digitalphotopro.com. It perfectly explains and diagrams the family of angles which is a must to know for lighting.

5. Get Creative : A piece of tinfoil, or even a car sun reflector will do as a makeshift light reflector. Learing to reflect light off of your subject will aid you in eliminating nasty shadows that like to pop up when your shooting outside.

6. Spend lots of time on strobist.com... An AMAZING resource for all things lighting.

7. Get an external flash. If your really serious about taking beautiful pictures, I personally think its a must have. I never knew how much of a difference it made until I borrowed my dads. If your unsure, remember you can rent one and try it out before committing to shelling out the cash for one of your own.

8. The best lighting your going to get is natural light. Even if you cannot go outside, try and shoot with as much natural light as you can. Open all the windows, and shoot in front of one with the natural lighting behind you.

9.Join a lighting group or forum. There are tons online and on Flickr. You'll be surprised at how willing people are to answer your lighting questions, and provide helpful information. i have resorted to this so many times, and have learned so much!


10. PRACTICE! I know I say this at the end of every article, but seriously, practicing is the only way you will truly learn and progress. Its so key, don't get frustrated, just keep shooting!!!!!!