Photo Tip Friday~ Find Beautiful Light

Photography: The study of light.

The greatest painters knew where to find great light. They'd position their subjects by North-facing windows. Light shouldn't be too harsh- natural, indirect light works well. Natural light creates beautiful highlights and dramatic effects on your subject's face. Light, either flat, or bright, at different times of day or year, creates a difference in skin tones and shadows. A porch or doorway, window or garage entry are great places for portraits. (Turn off your flash and use a higher speed ISO to get the full effect of natural light.)

Notice in this first picture, the light is coming from behind Seth... it gives the picture visual interest, because his face is highlighted from the left side, and gradually grows darker. Notice the beautiful catchlights in his eyes as well. That highlight helps to create depth and contrast.

In this second picture... there's nothing like a beautiful sunset. In a setting like this you want to fix your exposure on the subject, so as to get the deepest colors. I my case, I over-exposed.

In this last picture... LOL, its just lil' ole me. But it is an example of a natural light portrait taken on a front porch. The porch roof filtered the light, so as to not make it too harsh. Again, notice the range of highlights and catchlights.

One of my personal Photo goals this year is to catch what is called a "Sunflare." This is usually done when the sun is setting and you actually capture the beams of light. I LOVE this effect!

The Photographer Detra is a master of capturing beautiful light. Check out her galleries for some inspiration!

Photography by Detra

The first photo in her maternity gallery is a prime example of a sunflare.

I absolutely believe that light makes or breaks the photo. Experiment with different lightings and positions.