There are times when the natural light is simply so gorgeous you have to shoot it. And there are times when the natural light is very nice, but something can be done to make it a bit more, well, perfect.

We are going to look at 4 examples of using modifiers to create an image where we are using the natural light as our main source, but add a little something with our modifiers. Simple shots with simple solutions.

Our first shot is Kymmy at the Detroit workshop.
We found this cool entryway facing south with the sun still pretty high in the sky. Placing Kymmy just under the eaves put her into the shade with some wonderful light giving a soft, wrapped look to her. it made her skin nearly glow and gave some nice modeling to her shape.

However, we saw that the interior of the doorway behind her was way too dark. It made her stand out against the black background with an un-natural look to it. We added a speedlight in the corner on a ledge and aimed it at the back of the entryway. It was zoomed out to wide angle coverage and we fired it with a wireless trigger. The power was very low and it only opened up the shadowy area. I didn’t want a ‘blast’ of backlight or highlights on the painted wood, just a little bit of light to fill in the darkness and make the image look more natural.

Next we have Stacia standing with the light coming behind her. She is mostly lit by the large white building behind me, but a wink of fill-flash was all we needed to open up her eyes and add some light to her skin. Since the speedlight was set to only add 1/3 stop over the ambient natural light, no shadows result, nor is it looking like a harshly lit ‘Fill Flash’ image. Gently using the flash at minimal power can make wonderful little tweaks to the already lovely natural light.

Here we have Briana on the Freeway. I am not going to go into the story that this image led to, but suffice it to say that it was a tense moment with us and a cop who had been lied to by a ‘concerned citizen’ with a filthy mind. Let’s talk light though.

The point of this shot was to make Briana look like a natural part of the landscape, not a ‘hero’ or somehow to light her with artificiality. I took the ambient reading and set the flash to match that. That is all you need to do on shots like this. Just set the flash to match the soft overall light, and when it flashes it only affects the darker and shadow areas of the image, opening them ever so slightly to give better skin tones. You can see the reflection of the light on the pole, as there was a resulting natural specular, but it is nealy un-noticed at all on Briana and the surroundings.

Lastly we have Malisha in Sunnyvale at the workshop. I was loving the way the wind was whipping her hair around and giving it that soft, sexy look. She was standing under an awning and being lit by the sky and the buildings behind me. That’s it. I loved the fact that her makeup and coloring matched the color behind her, so I had one of the workshop attendees use the Gold reflector to shine a bit on the background. This gave the image a gradient on the background, making Malisha pop a bit more, and it also added some depth to the image, taking out the flat look that open shade can have.

When you are setting up a shot and it looks like natural light may be the way to go, think about whether or not adding a little modification could make the shot pop even more without even being noticed. Whether it is to make the background more interesting, or to open up the eyes, add sheen to the skin or make the soft overcast ambient have bit more punch, a little modification could make the difference.

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Understanding natural light, finding it and using it is also a very important part of every photographers arsenal. Because it is free and ubiquitous does not make it less of a challenge, or less of a lighting choice. Many incredible photographers use natural light, and some of the biggest names use it almost exclusively.

We are going to look at an example or two of serendipitous light. Where light was doing something different or unique in a setting. Sometimes we can use that light make a photograph that is different than standing in bright sun or shade.

First up a photograph from Evan Romine taken at one of my workshops.

1. We had started to set up a different shot when Briana walked up the stairs and I saw her face briefly light up. We were in total shade so I knew we were getting something unique. what was happening was the sun was reflecting off of a piece of something on the roof to camera left and bouncing a shaft of light down onto the shaded area. It looked like a little curved railing as the edges were quite soft on the bounced light. You can see a tiny bit of it on the bricks on the left of the image. It moved very fast and the shooters worked Briana like crazy to keep her face in that light. Within a few minutes it was gone.

2. The next example was also at the same workshop. We had found a location that we wanted to shoot and while the models were changing I noticed the dappled, interesting light coming through the trees out of camera left. Something about the old apartment building and the symmetry of the sidewalk and the trees made me grab my camera. I don’t shoot much at the seminars, but I saw something I wanted and grabbed it. I had Mercedes take a very non model pose and simply look toward the light. I was going for a quiet portrait because the light seemed almost serene to me. As with the first shot, things change very quickly and by the time I got her into place I was only able to get a few shots before her face became blocked by the trees and moving her didn’t work.

3. We were on location down in the South Mountain Park and were trying to make a shot where one didn’t exist… LOL. We took a break and when Briana sat down, I noticed how the light was coming through the trees and causing light and shadow on her body. I had been trying to do something with the strobes and it wasn’t working and here was this gorgeous light just existing right in front of me. I had to keep moving her as the sun would move and create different patterns and such, but I got so many good images that it was difficult to edit them down. The light was intense and that created it’s own mood.

4. This shot was added today (Feb 16) and it is a perfect example of serendipity at play and being ready to make a shot. I had jusf finished shooting her on the ground when I asked Briana to step gingerly through the flowers so as not to crush them. She turned to me to ask me a question and I saw this shot. I told her not to move and raised the camera and fired… wrong… I was still on manual and the exposure was different. I told her to hold that look for a moment and changed quickly to AV, 2.8 and overexposed 1 stop… 3 shots and this one worked perfectly. I almost missed it because the camera was on manual from the previous shot. I usually turn it to AV specifically for this type of thing, but had forgotten. Luckily the model knew how to hold a pose and make it fresh after the photographer screws it up… This is pure natural light. The bounce in front is off of a large card being held by Don, a forum friend that came by to spend the day with us. He was luckily on that side of the shot and saw what I was doing. This whole thing took about 15 seconds… and it turned out to be one of my favorites of the day.

Be aware of the light around you. There can be some amazing things happening that would work well with a shot you want to do. Taking time to step away from what you are doing and looking at the light around you can deliver a whole new shot, one you hadn’t seen before.

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I keep the umbrella as low as possible and if I raised the camera an inch you would see the bottom of the umbrella.

In this shot, we simply removed the fill card and let the shadows go under the chin and nose. It is a bit more dramatic, but with a face like this it is simply amazing.

This light is not condusive to every face, for instance if there are lots of blemishes. It would not be a good choice for heavy people or those with lots of lines their faces. The increased contrast would bring out the wrinkles and lines instead of diminishing them with the fill card.

Below is the Diagram for doing the lighting yourself. The squares are 1foot and the set is very close to scale.

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Enjoy

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