Posts Tagged ‘lighting photography’

Natural Light Photography - Tips And Tricks

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

In a world of automatic cameras and built in flashes, it’s easy to forget how rewarding natural light photography can be. Although getting great results without studio lighting equipment can be more challenging, using natural light can make you a more skilled photographer and often creates some truly stunning images. Many of the best photographers preferred working with the environment rather than manipulating it with lights and flashes. If you are up for the challenge, here are a few things to remember before shooting:

Control Your Light
You may not be able to control the level of natural light or its clarity, but you can still manipulate certain aspects of the way it interacts with your subjects. For instance, when shooting in your home, you can open and close blinds or curtains to impact the level of light available in each room. This is also a great tactic for creating targeted directional light. If you’re in a room with two light sources like windows, you can always cover one side to get the focus and direction of light that you want. Try moving around buildings and structures to see how your movement changes the way your pictures end up.

Watch Out for the Sun
Though it sounds reasonable that the best time to attempt natural light photography is when the sun is brightest, high noon is actually quite the opposite. The bright and direct light in the middle of the day can cause high contrast, hotspots and stark shadows in your pictures. If you do happen to want the harsh look of direct sunlight, then noon may be a good time. However, if you’re looking for soft and even light for portraits, you’ll get much better results in the early morning hours. Morning air and light has a crisp clarity that is hard to describe, but you’ll immediately see the difference in your pictures. Additionally, youll find that overcast days are perfect for the natural lighting of subjects; images will be bright but free of harsh directional shadows.

Control Your Speeds
If you use regular film instead of digital, it’s advisable that you use a medium-range film speed (400 is ideal) to ensure that youll be able to shoot in most situations. High and low speed films are very situational and may cause you to work around available light rather than with it causing you to have missed shots. Its also good to choose a shutter speed for the day (you’ll get good at judging these as time goes on) and only adjust the F-Stop, or vice-versa. The less things you have to remember during your photo shoot, the more “in the moment” you will be.

Shooting with natural light can be one of the most fun or most frustrating experiences a photographer can have. As you use work more regularly in natural light photography, you will see more successes and less mistakes. By applying these tips, paying attention to detail and having fun, your portraits will soon be proudly hanging in a beautiful unique picture frame.

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Flash Photography Tips - A Guide To Using Your Flash

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Although flashes are just one type of photography light, they are also one of the most common. Nearly all cameras these days have a built in flash and most professional photographers use a flash regularly for their work. Just like cameras, flashes vary significantly in their construction, functionality and accessories. Here is how you can get the most out of using your flash.

Studio Flash

These are the flashes you commonly see on fashion shoots. They’re more powerful than traditional in-camera lights, held in place by light stands, and need an external power supply. Studio flashes are super useful photography lights. They can be easily moved around and have their output and duration adjusted so you have complete lighting control over your final image.

The first thing you should do is make sure that your flash is firing into your light umbrella or some other type of diffuser.  A direct flash will usually overpower your subject so it’s better to use a couple of reflectors and umbrellas to bounce light off your subject.  Studio flashes usually have a “modeling” light that will allow you to see the end result of your setup, so you should be able to plot this bouncing fairly well.

And, if you can, keep your subject away from the backdrop so you’ll avoid sharp shadows in your image. You have probably seen pictures where you see a “person shaped” shadow on the wall because the picture was taken with the flash directly center. Lastly, you should use more than one light source. The more photography lights that you have, the more flexible your light becomes.

The Camera Flash

Most camera flashes are built right in and function on a completely automated basis. While this is great for cost and convenience, an automatic flash is often a main contributor to terrible photographs.  However, there are some situations in which the light you need simply isn’t present and studio photography lights are out of the question (think weddings).

Just like using a studio flash, you’ll want to bounce your flash if at all possible so that it’s less harsh.  Though this may sound weird, think of the many things around you that can work as impromptu light reflectors – tablecloths, walls, ceilings, and menus will all work nicely.  As a good rule of thumb, you should never rely on a flash as your only light source.  The best time to use a flash is to use it to fill in the dark spots and augment the current light that you have- like using natural light. And don’t forget that your flash has an effective range so if your subject is too far away your photo will be underexposed.

Flash is a complex subject and requires years of practice to master.  If you’re looking to take your photography to the next level, you should consider adding some photography lights to your “photo toolbox.” With the right knowledge and lighting setup you really can make every photograph look like a masterpiece.

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Want Better Results? Photography Lighting Is The Answer

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

World wide popularity is what photography enjoys and by millions as a either a hobby or full time profession. Many photographers in there free time enjoy snapping shots of places and friends for personal albums. Some are avid photographers or pros who create those gemshots of sports events, glamour shots, and other images seen all over the media.

For photogs that are wanting higher quality results for there own personal shots or products shots. They can elevate the quality of photographic images with photography lighting equipment. The fastest and easiest way to create higher quality photographs is with the addition of photography lighting equipment accessories such as a light bank, bulbs, and a soft box on a light stand. For intermediate and professional photographers, proper photography lighting has everything to do with helping them produce high quality shots repeatedly.

For instance, with strobe flash accessories or photo lights a photographer can use a flash light with either a soft box or a photo umbrella on a stand and be able to capture a crisp and clean portrait or product shot in a much more dynamic way than simply relying on the small flash of there camera alone. The use of external photography lighting and accessories can increase any photographers image quality in the fastest and most productive way.

If you have been wondering how professional photographers can capture the images that they do and how they breathe life into them. Now you know that it’s in the lighting photography accessories and equipment that they utilize during photo shoots. Simply pointing a camera and hoping for the best won’t give you the same results as using photography lighting and angles for your shots.

Whether you are capturing shots of your family or friends or even snapping shots of products that you are selling on eBay. The quality of the shots can make all the difference in the world. For instance in product photography. If the photos of the Porsche in the information pamphlet were dull and lackluster, you wouldn’t necessarily remember the car. Visually stunning photographs with stunning detail will leave a lasting impression every time. Presenting high quality gem shots in marketing is a way to engage customers by stirring emotions.You won’t have to worry about forgetting that Porsche, the shot gave you such a great look of it that you can see yourself sitting in it. That’s the power of visual and emotional marketing displayed.

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