Natural light portraits are where most people start when they get into portrait photography. It is the easiest style to get into and master. You don’t need a lot of equipment, you don’t need to learn about flashes or strobes, you just need a subject and a nice day. If you are working with an untrained model, you have the advantage of spontaneity and unpredictability that keeps the shoot moving without having the intimidation of a studio which feels alien, and people find it hard to get relaxed. Before going into gear and lighting conditions, I will let you know the number one key to getting great portraits. Communicating and getting your model to feel at ease. This goes for someone getting their first shoot as a senior portrait to seasoned professionals. Have a good connection and getting it in the photo will overcome all other obstacles.
Let’s talk a little about gear. I say a little because you will not need much. A camera, lens (more on that), and I recommend always having a fill card/reflector with you. A nice day and subject, that’s all it takes.
Camera body is not a make or break. A 10-year-old Rebel T6or a new Z8 can both make great images. Lenses are more important. When you go to buy a lens, you want a fast lens, F/2.8 or faster (we call a lens a fast lens if its aperture opens larger, allowing more light to hit the sensor, thus,you can use a “faster” shutter speed.) If you want Bokeh (out of focus background) you will want a lens with a wide f-stop, f/2.8 to f/1.2. The longer the lens, the easier it is to get Bokeh as well. The combination of wide f-stop and long focal length makes for a great portrait lens. Unless you want an environmental portrait, the wider focal length around 35mm is a sweet spot where your subject will not be distorted.
When I’m talking about focal length, I’m talking about lenses on a full-frame camera, if you have a crop sensor, apply the correct crop factor for your camera body. There are two “styles” to consider when choosing your lens for portraits. A slightly wide angle like a 35mm (link to 35mm lenses) will allow you to put your subject in the environment. Then there is short telephoto between 85mm-135mm (link to 85mm lenses), the classical portrait or headshot focal range. Using a longer lens will make communications more difficult. If your voice doesn’t carry well, easy conversation levels with you subject can be harder. Carrying both a 35mm and 135mmgives different looks in the same photo shoot. I choose prime lenses for their speed, but a good fast zoom will work if you can only have one lens. 24-70mmf/2.5 is a lens everyone should have as their all-purpose lens.
Carry a folding 5 in 1 reflector (link to reflector) when every you go out to shoot.
The white, silver, gold, black and scrim options will give you everything you need for shaping the light. Go for a 36” or 42” reflector to get good coverage.I ask my models to bring a friend, this allows me to have a second set of hands to hold the reflector. It’s easy to give simple instructions so anyone can direct the light with a reflector.
Seeing the light. This may seem obvious, but a lot of people don’t take the time to learn to look. Someone tells them to only shoot during the golden hour or in the shade but never under full noon light. Once they learn this, that’s all they ever do. This can stunt your creativity and your growth as a photographer. All the conditions talked about here can be used to create stunning images.
Starting out I would recommend shooting in the morning or late afternoon. These are easier times of the day to get good light. You will still want to look at how the light is hitting your subject. One trick is to look at your hands. Slightly cup them together (see photo) then rotate and see how the light looks. You want it to be bright, not flat (flat light means no contrast, no highlights and deep shadows)You don’t want your subject to be lighted too flat or too contrasty (there are exceptions to every rule).
Not paying attention to your background is a common problem.From being too dark or bright, or a poorly placed telephone pole, all can ruin a great shot. Post-production can clean some of these issues, but that is more work. Aim to capture it right in camera and save time in post-production.
Another common mistake I see is lack of catch light and racoon eyes. Catch light is the reflections in the eyes, a bright “sparkle”. Without a catch light your subject will have “dead eyes”. They will not standout and draw attention. Racoon eyes often happen during afternoon shoots,but they can happen anytime there is not enough light filling their eyes.Simply having your model tilt their chin up a little or turn towards the light,even shooting down can solve these problems. Using the reflector to fill the shadows is another solution. Be careful with this. If the light is too strong,too close, or too low you can get some bad results. Just be careful. Play around a little, move the reflector and see how the light looks. You will not get a great shot no matter your subject or location if we don’t take time to look.
Here I’m going to break down the most common lighting situations with their pros and cons.
Golden Hour
Shooting during the golden hours is by far my favorite natural lighting condition to shoot under. The golden hour is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Blue hour is the time right before sunrise and after sunset. It is not always an actual hour, but will vary depending on your location, time of year, and weather conditions. Here in St. Louis it’s more like, half hour but when I go on location, like the islands you can shoot for almost two hours.
During golden hour the angle of the light is low so you will not get racoon eyes, and the light is a wonderful warm tone which makes anyone look better. You can use direct light on your subject or backlight them and use a reflector to balance the light (more on that later).
The main drawback to shooting in the golden hour is the time constraint. You need to be ready to shoot and shoot fast because the light is fleeting.
Shooting during the blue hour is great if you want to have a darker mood or cooler look. The blue hour is harder to shoot in than the golden hour because it last minutes and the light is changing second by second.
Window Lighting
This is my second favorite and really the best for indoor shooting. The feel or mood with this kind of light is great for make an intimate portrait. You simply shoot close to a window. I find the larger the window the better. Also, a window facing the north versus one facing the south will change the look as well. Moving your subject closer or further from the window also will affect the look. Even the color or brightness of the room. My natural light studio is all white so I can have more fill, and I have large4’x8’ black flats I can move next to my subject to get a darker, moodier look.
The advantage of window light is you’re indoors and you have more time, a few hours, depending on the windows location, to shoot. This is also more private than shooting outside.
I find the only drawback is not having access to a good window. This is easy to overcome. Rent a studio. A lot of public spaces have large windows. My favorite coffee shop has a great window, and it only cost a few coffees and asking permission.
Cloudy Days
This may be most people’s second favorite, after golden hour. It seems on the surface to be easy, after all the clouds work just like a big softbox. This is true and will have little issues with high contrast or blown outs highlights, but there are some issues you need to keep in mind and lookout for. The main issue is the lack of contrast making everything dull and the eyes dead, lacking in life, aka a catch light in their eyes. Paying attention to the subject’s head angle, looking up a little or using a reflector to add a little direction, contrast, and light in the eyes is an easy solution.
Shooting in the Shadows
Like a cloudy day, using a shadow area is a great lighting solution. Be careful not to go too deep into the shadows or you will end up with a flat, dead look like a cloudy day. Also, in this area, color cast can bea real issue, so pay attention if you have a large, bright area of strong color like green grass or a brick wall. I find having your subject a step or two into the shadow while they are facing the bright area works very well.
Noon or Mid-Day
Mid-day and backlit lighting conditions are going to be your hardest challenges. Using a reflector or scrim can really help in these conditions. You will also want to go with an editorial look over a beauty shot.Back when I shot fashion this was a good time to shoot because the contrast and colors really work well to show off the outfits, which is the goal in fashion photography. That and attitude.
Backlighting
At sunset, having a gorgeous sunset behind your subject is a win win. Use a reflector as a fill light. To be honest, I will normally pullout a flash to light the subject from in front but that not covered in this blog. Whether using a reflector or a flash as your fill, having it off center from the camera will help give shape and definition to your subject. You can also use backlighting to blow out your background and pull attention to your subjects.
This is getting longer than I planned and I hope I haven’t lost you. My recommendation is to just do it. Take a friend out and try different things. Take time to look. Even once you are going out to shoot senor portraits, engagement seasons, or whatever, plan a little extra time and play with new lighting scenarios. Get the shots, then try something new.
Problems to watch out for:
· Not paying attention to the background
· Shooting at the wrong time of day
· Avoiding midday sun, embrace the sun, make use of shade and backlight, shoot at the edge of shade, put subject in the sun withbackground in shade
· Top light, no racoon eyes, use reflector and or scrim – chin up
· Not paying attention to the direction of light –light hitting just tip of nose or chin…
· Not having enough fill light, big problem with backlighting
· Not paying attention to catch light
· Color cast, often green light bouncing off grass, cover with reflector or use custom white balance or edit out
· Relying too much on shade – when you start,spend a little time to play in different lighting condition
· Always scout out the lighting, focus on lighting more than background