Telling Stories with Natural Light

Light is often the main character in just about every photo I take. It’s the very first thing I notice before I even pick up my camera. Sometimes, the way sunlight touches the ocean or how a deep blue sky highlights a golden field stops me in my tracks. Before I even think about composition, I'm watching what the light is doing, its direction, intensity, and color. The magic often lies in the subtleties: noticing how side light at a 45-degree angle reveals texture or how light behind an object makes it look like it glows from within. Observing light and its interactions in the natural world is key to visual storytelling.

Try this: observe light at three different times of day—morning, noon, and late afternoon—and see how its mood and story change each time. These daily observations help you build confidence, and over time, reading light becomes the most valuable skill you have as a photographer. Even with the best gear, if you don’t understand how light affects a photo’s story or message, your photos won’t resonate with your audience.

To experience this firsthand, take a moment to step outside and observe the nearest shadow or highlight. Notice how the light falls, its direction and intensity, and how it interacts with the environment. Spend 30 seconds to do a 'light-sketch' with your mind, as if you were capturing the scene with a camera. This simple exercise will help you develop a muscle memory for recognizing and working with natural light. Learning to read light is a skill that can be developed over time with practice and observation. I do this often when I’m driving. I notice how it falls on the landscape, its color, or how it shapes the scene. Observe your usual hangouts, whether it's your commute, driveway, backyard, or kitchen. Notice how it changes from day to day and hour to hour, and how the weather affects the feel of potential shots.

I love natural light and only use it in my photography. It feels alive, almost like a subject in its own right. Natural light is always there, thanks to our beautiful sun, which gives life to everything around us. But it is never the same. Weather, colors, and objects in the environment all change how it appears. That's what makes sunlight so special to me. It is pure, rich, and always present, yet it has its own personality. I remember one afternoon on our farm in Vermont when the sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds. Just as I framed the shot, a thick storm cloud drifted over, changing the mood instantly. Moments later, the sun returned, illuminating the scene with a golden hue that danced on the pasture. It was such a stark color contrast that it was so eye-catching. This unpredictability, where sunlight becomes an active participant in my work, is what draws me to it. It's as though uncertainty is the secret ingredient of wonder in photography. It compels us to embrace the unexpected, constantly become active participants in the world, and discover stories anew.

Our glorious sun is actually pure white, but we see it in different colors throughout the day because of how light scatters in the atmosphere. At sunrise and sunset, light has to travel farther through the atmosphere, which filters out the shorter blue wavelengths, leaving behind the beautiful warm reds, oranges, and golds. Hence, the term “golden hour” is one that just about every photographer loves.

Because of its very nature, natural light encourages us to slow down, pay attention, and respond with intuition instead of trying to control every detail. To cultivate this intuition, consider a small ritual before taking a photo: take three deep, conscious breaths, observing how the light moves and changes in the moment. Allow these breaths to center you and bring an awareness to the subtle shifts in lighting, making the act of photography a mindful practice. This mindfulness not only helps you connect deeply with your subject but also results in more compelling images. By fully engaging with the present moment and the light available to you, you'll likely discover new perspectives and angles, leading to photographs that tell more meaningful and nuanced stories.

Light Shapes How We Feel

Light shapes more than what we see; it shapes how we feel. Harsh light with sharp shadows can evoke drama, intensity, or a sense of power, commanding attention and creating tension. Soft, diffused light wraps gently around a subject, evoking calm, romance, or quiet reflection, lending a tender, introspective mood. Bright, direct sunlight feels vibrant and alive, full of energy and movement. Golden hour light, warm and glowing, carries intimacy, nostalgia, or a sense of magic, while blue hour, cool and dim, invites contemplation, mystery, or quiet stillness. Every quality, angle, and source of light has its own emotional language, and learning to read it allows you to shape the story you want to tell with intention and feeling.

To really notice this, try being present even when you’re not behind your camera. Pay attention to how different light affects you: the intensity of bright, harsh sunlight, the softness of a cloudy, gray day, or the warmth of golden hour. Notice how shadows fall and where the light is coming from. Side light can feel dramatic and moody, backlight ethereal and uplifting, while overhead light can feel stark, unforgiving, and maybe even clinical. When you look at a potential subject, check in with your own reaction. What emotions rise? Does the scene feel vibrant and alive, quiet and contemplative, tender and intimate, or full of tension? By tuning in to how light, shadow, and direction affect your mood, you train your eye and heart to capture scenes that truly resonate.

When I'm in the moment with my subject, or maybe traveling with my camera, I always ask myself: What story is this light trying to tell me? What is the light doing? What emotion and energy is it evoking? How do I feel right now? Using the light I have, what is the best composition that tells my story? How can I work with the light and its emotional resonance to tell my story?

For instance, during a recent trip, I found myself on a quiet beach just as the sun began to dip below the horizon. The light was soft and warm, creating long shadows that seemed to breathe life into the surroundings. I began with a wide shot of the entire beach, but then noticed the light creating an interesting pattern on the lava rocks. To accentuate this, I adjusted my angle slightly, allowing the side-light to emphasize the rock’s texture. I experimented with different exposures, ultimately opting for a slightly underexposed shot to deepen the shadows and add contrast.

Reading light is a crucial skill. Here's my step-by-step method to observe my scene or subject:

Step 1: Observe the Light's Direction

Before you lift your camera, notice how the light is falling. Assess whether it is soft and diffused or harsh and direct. This initial observation sets the foundation for how you will proceed to compose your shot or the story you tell.

Step 2: Assess the Light's Interaction

Notice where the light is and what it’s doing; observe its interplay with your environment. Your hyper-awareness of light's interaction with your subject will guide your composition.

Step 3: Test Exposure

Once you've observed the light's behavior, choose whether to expose brighter to reveal hidden details or slightly underexpose to deepen the mood. Make your decision based on the story you wish to convey or the elements or details you want to capture. Generally speaking, when metering for light, use spot metering to expose for a specific subject or area of light, center-weighted metering for balanced portraits or scenes with even tones, and matrix (evaluative) metering when you want the camera to consider the entire frame for a well-rounded exposure. Sometimes I tap my finger on the LCD screen rather than just using my viewfinder to expose the area I want.

Step 4: Adapt and Adjust

Light is our paint as photographers. Continuously adapt and adjust to how it interacts with your environment and subject. This ability is key to creating a beautiful photo that captures the essence of the moment rather than falling flat. Work with the light you’ve got, not the light you wish you had (if you don’t have a reflector or diffuser and the like with you, which I usually don’t.)

Very soft, diffused light. You can tell by the lack of harsh shadows and even tone. It creates a more peaceful, serene feeling.

A sliver of direct light, acting almost like a side spotlight, emphasizes the texture of the boule and its scoring. I leaned into the drama of the rich shadows and highlights.

Taken in harsh, direct midday sun. Not my favorite type of light but I made it work by trying to avoid very heavy shadows in the frame.

Here are some other questions to consider:

• Is the light soft and diffused, like an overcast morning? These gentle days call for embracing softness and subtlety. Let the light guide your approach—expose a touch brighter to reveal hidden details, or underexpose slightly to emphasize the mood or shadows. Don’t stress about perfect settings; focus instead on how the light’s personality changes your image.

• Or is the light harsh and directional, like midday sun bouncing off the ocean with a clear blue sky? Here, I might use a polarizing filter to reduce glare and deepen the colors, while underexposing slightly to preserve highlights. Anticipate these midday challenges by asking yourself questions like: 'Where will my highlights blow out?' Before shooting in such harsh conditions, be proactive: check your metering settings and use your Histogram to ensure your highlights are preserved and not clipped. Same for your shadows. (But again, that’s all up to you and what you wish to capture.)

• Is the sun lower in the sky, radiating a warm and golden tone that creates intimacy, or is it cool and moody, adding distance? Adjusting the white balance (controlling how your camera reads the color of light to ensure whites look neutral) can dramatically enhance the mood by accentuating these tones.

• Is the color of light influenced by something in your environment, like a green tree or orange building, bouncing that color onto your subject? If so, I may adjust the subject’s position or color tones in post-processing to reduce a greenish tone on someone's skin, for instance, if it was being reflected on my subject's face due to a tree. However, before correcting, consider embracing these color casts as a storytelling twist. The unexpected green hue could add a unique atmosphere or narrative element to your photo, offering a creative opportunity rather than a challenge or hindrance.

Each light quality tells a unique story and creates a distinct mood. Recognize them, and decide how to work with the light you have, not against it. After each shoot, reflect: What about the light surprised you most, and how did it shape your story? How did the light available to you shape your story? Reflection deepens your understanding of natural light.

Because the light is coming through the tunnel from the back of the street, your eyes naturally follow its path, and it creates a moody quality. I wanted light to be the main subject here because of how it illuminated the scene.

I usually wouldn’t shoot portraits in the afternoon, but I leaned into it by using the blue sky to create a more airy feel with the bright sunlight coming from the left. I tried to eliminate as much harness as possible by shooting from below and having the model look upwards to create an atmospheric feel.

A few things to pay attention to:

• Direction:

  Direction refers to which direction your light source is coming from, be it the sun or a bright window. Side light sculpts texture and form, carving out the details with precision. It's my second favorite way to light a subject because it wraps around and reveals every nuance. Here, the light source is 45 degrees or perpendicular to the subject, sculpting the scene with a 3D look. Backlight is my favorite: it crowns the subject with a luminous, halo-like rim, adding depth and dimension. This is when the subject faces away from the light source; the sun is behind your subject. To illustrate, imagine the same portrait using each setup: side light chisels the textures and shapes with sculptural depth, while back light emphasizes the silhouette with an ethereal glow. Front lighting is my least favorite, since it compresses and flattens the subject, but it can work if the sun is very low or when filtered by clouds or tree shade, acting like a spotlight.

Miss Stella is lit from the side - my second to favorite way to light a subject. Side lighting adds depth and dimension, emphasizing texture, shape, and form beautifully.

Backlighting produces a beautiful glow. I often don’t use a lens hood because I do love the flares. When backlighting your subject, your exposure choice depends on the look you want. Exposing for the skin tones or midtones keeps your subject bright and natural, though the background may blow out slightly. Exposing for the highlights preserves sky and light detail but creates a silhouette effect. For a balanced image, find a middle ground and shoot in RAW so you can lift shadows later in post.

Front lighting is my least favorite way to light my subject because it compresses my subject and creates a flat, very two-dimensional quality. It can work if you want to highlight a specific area in a frame, acting like a spotlight or flashlight.

• Quality:

  The quality of light is so important to be aware of. It refers to the character or nature of the light in a scene —how it looks, feels, and behaves —rather than just its brightness. It describes how light interacts with your subject and its environment, and it significantly impacts mood, texture, and overall storytelling. Harsh light can be powerful and dramatic, creating a severe feeling and mood through the contrast between shadows and highlights; it evokes a sense of power, presence, boldness, strength, or joy. Imagine midday sun casting sharp shadows across city asphalt, making the scene feel almost electric, buzzing with energy.

  
  In contrast, diffused light from cloud cover acts like a natural softbox, feeling softer and more gentle. It evokes an entirely different feeling, perhaps one of reflection, quiet, romance, and a more flattering atmosphere. This can help you intuitively recall how various types of light are associated with emotion or mood.

Soft, diffused light has a gentle quality.

Filtered direct light through the branches creates a dappled effect that’s a bit softer.

Very harsh light, emphasizing shapes and shadows.

• Color:

  Even though the sun is pure white light, it takes on different characteristics depending on the environment and how light particles scatter. Warm light, such as that found in a sunrise, evokes nostalgia or romance; cool tones, which may come from a light window during midday, create calm, stillness, or melancholy, or even have a stark quality if it's harshly directional. Mid-afternoon generally has cooler tones because the sun is at the zenith with fewer particles to interact with, so it's more pure white, opposed to at sunset or sunrise. Also, your environment affects how light bounces onto your subject. For example, if a nearby wall is green or blue, that color will reflect onto your subject, sometimes in a beautiful way, other times not so much. It’s important to notice how light is bouncing around your scene and what tones it’s casting.

The light filtering through the green archway casts a greenish, blueish tone.

This is an old portrait but shows how the color of your environment affects the light on your subject. The greenish, yellow tones of the avocado tree bounced onto their skin making it a bit greenish.

Because of the golden, ochre color of the archway, the whole street takes on the same hue

Let Light Be The Main Character

Often, when I'm shooting, before I even consider what my subject is or will be — whether it's a portrait or a lovely building I stumbled upon while traveling — my most immediate thought is, What is the light doing? And I deal with what the light is, not what I wish it to be. Of course, you can have diffusers or reflectors, but if I'm being honest, that's not how I shoot, nor do I travel with those. I make do with what I have right now in the moment. If I see a beautiful patch of light, I follow it, I seek it out. Sometimes I'll wait for a subject to pass through the beautiful plane of light cast on the street. Light often becomes my main character. I see beautiful light, then I consider what's in the environment or what composition works best with the light I have. Rather than trying to make a composition work, I often lead with light first. I let light guide me to find the best composition. Light is a character; light can be the hero of your photograph. Let the light reveal a potential subject or composition to you. Light, I'd argue, is the most important factor in capturing a great photo, not subject matter or composition. Seek out beautiful pockets of light and work with what it’s offering, not the other way around.

Patience is key when dealing with natural light. Sometimes it just doesn't cooperate! Countless times, I’ve planned an entire shoot — prepping the food, styling the products — only for the weather and light to have a mind of their own. In those moments, I’ve learned to go with it and make the most of what’s in front of me. The story often ends up different from what I originally envisioned, but that’s part of its beauty. Rather than forcing or faking anything, I adapt. I’ll use a reflector, diffuser, or even a simple white or black card to shape the light a bit, but ultimately, I can only control my response to the weather and the sun.

Perhaps you were expecting a soft, beautiful, diffused light, but with the weather clearing, it's now harsh and direct. Rather than getting frustrated, what can you do in that moment to make the light you have work for your story or subject?  Can you return at a different time or move into the shade? Or maybe dive headfirst — or lens-first—into the harsh shadows and contrast?

The key to working with natural light is to be patient and resourceful, make do, think on your feet, and work with what the light is giving you rather than trying to force a story that isn't there. For example, suppose I took a photo of the beach and wanted to make it look so vibrant and tropical when it's overcast. In that case, it's just going to have a totally different vibe and feeling than if it were sunny and colorful out, so you have to make do with what the light is doing and work with it, not force a feeling or emotion.

Let the light choose your subject and story. It's a dance where you and your camera are dance partners with the sun. You can either be in harmony or entirely off the step. It's about being attuned to what the current light reveals, the mood it evokes, and the story or message you hope to capture. It's about learning to work with the available light to create the photo you envision. This forward-motion mindset will propel you from theory into presence, energizing how you cooperate with what the light is doing in the moment rather than trying to fight against it.

Challenge yourself: pick one subject and photograph it in three lighting conditions: soft morning, harsh midday, and golden afternoon. Watch how each version tells a slightly different story. That’s how light becomes your dance partner, and honestly, the musician too, guiding the rhythm of your storytelling.

The soft, diffused golden light is what first caught my eye, especially the way the leading lines draw you toward the sun and how the pavement reflects that warm glow.

I normally don’t take sunset photos, but I couldn’t resist this one because of the layers of color and the reflection on the water. Those do all the talking for me.