Finding The Light
Lighting is everything when it comes to crafting a compelling visual story. It’s the paint we use to compose our scene and subject. What I love about shooting with natural light is it’s many faces, and it never lies. It always, without fail, reveals to you what is there and what’s literally lies in the shadows. If you are just beginning, natural light is your best friend. It’s abundant, ever-changing, and yet simultaneously unpredictable and predictable. Shooting and experimenting in different lighting situations is crucial to becoming confident behind the lens. It takes time to explore and discover what kind of light we are drawn to, maybe it’s the vibrant, bright morning shine through our kitchen window, or perhaps it’s the soft, golden glow with lingering shadows in the evening hours in our bedroom. I’ve always believed that if you don’t have good lighting, you’re not going to have a pleasing photograph. Sometimes, photographs of the simplest of subjects can be the most revealing about the importance of beautiful light. Take an apple on a table, for example. Try shooting it a different times of day and see how it feels. How does the light change? How does it feel in different light scenarios? I think learning how to compose a simple and singular subject like an apple on the table with beautiful light is an essential starting point. Another practice is to literally place your hand directly into the light - see how it falls or any shadows it cast onto the wall or floor. Is there an off-color cast? Is it too harsh? How does it look and feel? Notice how the changes when you pull your hand in and out of the light.
While we can’t predict the weather or how the light will change in our house or studio space throughout the day, we can take notes throughout the year and seasons. For example, I know that I have a very short window of time in my hallway between 4-5 PM during late summer to September, in which the lighting is just perfect for a specific look. Most of us aren’t fortunate enough to have an in-home studio, so we must simply make do with what light we have in our home (if we prefer to use natural light.) If you’re unsure of where to start, consider the orientation of your windows and open doorways. Are they North-facing? South? East and West-facing windows will have optimal direct light as the sun rises from the east to the west. North and South facing windows are more indirect sources and tend to be more evenly lit throughout the day. If you need more light in a North or South facing window, you can prop a reflector between the subject and the window. Try taking photos of each window or potential shooting area for future reference. If not, at least make a mental note of how the light changes. Use reflectors, white or black poster board, and hand or tape white or black curtains/fabric to the walls if necessary to block and reflect to achieve the desired look you’re after. In addition, note what kind of light you like in your home or wherever you shoot. What light are you drawn to? Sometimes, I wait all day for the perfect moment. Or I wait for what seems like forever for the clouds to pass, and then the sky opens and lights up the valley.
Waiting for the light takes patience, there’s no doubt about that. We can recreate and manipulate the effect we are after, but that’s another journal post. Also, have a backup plan if the light isn’t what you hoped it would be. It is immensely helpful, especially in a pinch when something didn’t go to plan and you need to pick up your props, etc., and set up in another area. Maybe you were betting on golden light streaming through your kitchen for long shadows, but it became cloudy. When this happens, I just go with the flow and let it unfold as it is. It’s frustrating, but there is only so much we can do and prepare for. Although, when it does unfold in the most magical and ethereal of ways, it makes the wait all the more rewarding.
