Posted under Lighting
Outdoor lighting is booth a blessing and a curse. I have developed a love/hate relationship with it. But in the end, love conquers hate.
The hate comes the fact that you can’t control outdoor lighting in the same way you can control studio lighting. I can’t control whether it’s going to be sunny or overcast, for example, but I can learn how to shoot in these capricious weather conditions.
CLEAR SKIES AND SUNNY
Most amateur photographers have the misconception that the best day to do portraits is when is the sun is out, shining full blast, in the middle of the day. How do I put this lightly? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
The worst possible condition for shooting portraits is in the middle of day when the sun is at its strongest. This is because:
1.The bright sun creates harsh, unflattering shadows on the subject(s). These shadows are the worst under the eyes and nose. This makes the eyes look hallow and your subject look like a character from a B horror film.
2.This same harsh lighting causes the subject to squint, make funny faces, and feel uptight. Everything you don’t want. Your subject will feel uncomfortable and awkward.
These issues cannot not be resolved. You can’t just fix it later in Photoshop, nor can your just whip out a fill flash or bounce card.
When the sun is directly overhead, there is little you can do.
If you’re shooting mid-morning, you may be able to work around the bright sun by moving yourself or your model around to see how the light and shadows fall on the subject.
But, you don’t always have the luxury of shooting in the early morning or early evening, or postponing the shoot until tomorrow. If you are shooting in full sun, here are some ideas of things to try to make it work.
1.Set up the shot so the person’s face isn’t the focal point, such as the subject laying on her stomach at the beach, hair falling forward. She is parallel to the camera, so the interest is in her entire body, the sun bouncing off her skin, her bright bikini. Since her hair is falling forward, it doesn’t really matter that her face has weird shadows on it.
2.Don’t photograph the face at all. By having the person turn around the their back is in full sun, you can capture the lines of her shoulder blades or a big chunky necklace.
SUNRISE, SUNSET
When shooting outdoors, it’s best to shoot either at sunrise or sunset. The simple reason for this is that the light produced by the sun at these times is much more flattering.
By taking advantage of the low position of the sun, you get a direct, even light with no harsh shadows. It also allows you to get that wonderful Rembrandt lighting by turning your model so light hits them at a 45º angle.
Side lighting is a wonderful way of creating a dramatic portrait, with half of the model’s face in the shadows. Something to keep in mind when using side light is to be aware of the shadows cast on the face. For example, a long strand of hair could be casting an ugly shadow against the subject’s face.
Take advantage of back-lighting your subject. By placing the subject between you and the sun, a wonderful golden rim of light will surround your model.
OVERCAST, CHANCE OF SHOWERS
An overcast sky is my favorite type of lighting for doing portraits because the clouds act like a giant lightbox, creating even, soft lighting. This diffused lighting casts no shadows on the model’s face and bathes everything in flattering, low contrast bath of light.
One thing you shouldn’t do is shoot the subject in the shade with a sunny background. This will underexpose the subject, and overexpose the background.
THE BACKGROUND
The background of an image is just as important as the subject matter. It should complement your image, not distract from it.
Just as you took the time to plan and arrange how to photograph your subject, the same needs to be done for the background. If a lot is going on behind your subject, it will be distracting and ruin the shot.
When looking at the background, you should ask pay attention to shapes, lines, colors, lighting, and objects. Ask yourself, What are the shapes doing? Are the colors harmonious with my subject or distracting? How are the lines leading the eyes through the image? It is important that you begin to training your eye to pick up on the things going on in the background. The obvious things to look for are lines (such as poles) intersecting with the subject in a distracting way, such as a branch which appears to be sticking out of the person’s head.
Colors do the same thing. A splotch of red in the background when everything else is neutral will stand out like a sore thumb.
Adjusting the depth of field is also something you should be aware of. Leaving the camera on Automatic mode gives all the decision making control to the camera, which you don’t want. Make some decisions about the background – how much of the background do you want in focus (depth of field, controlled by aperture) – and then put the camera on Aperture Priority. It’s important to keep in mind, also, that having a narrow depth of field does not mean you can ignore the background.
