The importance of good lighting

After you master framing your subject in a portrait to enhance their looks and features...which most of you guys do well already...lets face it, that's way you want to be a photographer cause you have a "great eye." the second thing that takes your photos to the next level is lighting. I have struggled with lighting as much as anybody and have learned a few things. Please PLEASE comment and share the things you have learned about lighting too...or post a question about lighting by replying to this post. And we can have a discussion about truly one of the most important techniques. Now the topic is so broad I will definitely not be covering it here. But for the sake of brevity and the fact that we are all busy and its Christmas time...here are a few tips.

TIP #1 Natural Lighting

Finding good natural lighting can be tricky but it is your new best friend. For most of us, we don't have professional lighting systems other than the flash on our cameras or possible an external flash. So How do you find good natural lighting?

- When you are outdoors - Wait for the sun to start getting soft in the afternoon. Do not position your subject facing the sun, instead position them to the side or behind the sun and use your flash to balance the light.
- When you are indoors - just about any time of day is okay to take photos as long as you have nice "indirect" light coming from a window. You might still need your flash but if you have an external flash position it toward the ceiling or a wall to bounce the light back onto your subject. That way the lighting will be much softer.
- Learn lighting patterns. This link shows the major one in a very simple way.

www.timesphotojournal.com/Feb2006/tutor.html

You can use the window as your light source and practice using these different patterns.

TIP #2 Accessories That Can Help

- Get a set of reflectors. They are inexpensive and really help out when the lighting is not cooperating. Most sets come with black that absorbs light, white that reflects a bit of light, a silver reflector that bounces white light and a bronze reflector that bounces golden light. They also have a diffuser which is like using a lamp shade. It takes away all the harsh shadows and hot spots you can get sometimes from the sun. Now the only trick is that most reflector sets are not big enough to use on full length shots or groups. And they usually don't operate by themselves. You need an assistant to adjust them as you move the subject and as the sun moves. I've used them very successfully though and recommend them highly.

- Get a large white umbrella. This acts just like the diffuser that comes in the set I just discussed. Now I have one that is regular umbrella size but an instructor I had used one that was the size of an umbrella you would use for a table. And it was heavy! But it rocked! And WAS large enough for full length shots and groups. Catch here, is it was expensive and hard to find. I would buy one if I could find one. She got hers at a trade show.

- Get an extended flash. Now it is an investment but one worth making. An extended flash allows you to take awesome indoor/poorly lit photos. As long as you have a ceiling or wall to bounce off you get a beautiful diffused light instead of the harsh flash look you get when using the flash on the camera. Also, if you are lucky enough to have a Nikon :) (perhaps Canons do this too...someone needs to let us know if they know) You can with many camera models (check your manuals) use the extended flash off your camera...across the room and trigger it to go off just like studio lighting. Now it is no where near powerful enough to use solely for studio lighting but it allows you to create some pretty cool lighting effect without the cost of $1000's of dollars. I own the SB800 and I treasure it. Here are a few pics I took using the flash off the camera.



And the cool thing is you can combine all this stuff! You can combine the window with the flash with the reflectors to get amazing shots.
Using whatever you have...PRACTICE! Send me the photos and I will post them for others to see!

Can't wait to hear from you...be sure to comment and give us your tips too or post a question.