Create flattering portraits using natural light
In this mini creative project for photography beginners, I am going to give you my top tips as a professional photographer of 20 years. I'll show you the best way to use natural light to achieve flattering portraits.
It's a common misconception that bright sunshine is the best light to take a good photograph. This is very often not the case - especially with portraits. Harsh, direct sunlight can be very unflattering and uncomfortable for your models eyes.
As a portrait photographer myself, I rarely photograph at midday on sunny days. I instead opt for shooting much later in the day when the sun is lower in the sky which gives a much more atmospheric effect and offers much more flattering light.
But what happens if you have no choice than to shoot a portrait at this time of day?
There are things you can do and in this project I am going to talk you through a couple of very simple steps you can use to get flattering light in bright sunshine.
What You'll Need
• Your camera or camera phone
• A willing model or an object
• A doorway in your home
Let's talk about 'open shade'
Open shade is an area out of direct sunlight but still offering an abundance of even filtered light. When in an area of open shade, your subject does not have direct sunlight falling upon them, so the light is less harsh.
When the sun is blazing down, open shade can be found in the shade of large walls or buildings for example. In this project I am going to show you a simple area of your home that can be used to achieve beautiful open shade.
The simple doorway.
My portrait set up
The midday sun was very harsh and was falling on the front of this building. Far from ideal for portraits and there were lots of areas of very bright and lots of areas of shade.
Here's a top tip.
When you are experimenting with things like light, practice on an inanimate object. No one needs the stres of stroppy child or an uncooperative pet when they are trying to learn! I am speaking from LOTS of experience here.
So, let me show you using a toy. I found it in my son's bedroom!
This shot was taken in full sun. Can you see how harsh the sun is on his face? The light is directly above him and, if he was real he'd be squinting. The areas of light are high contrast too. This means that the light bits are very light and the shadows are very dark.
Super unflattering!
For the next shot I moved the little fellow back a couple of feet into the entrance of the doorway.He's now in open shade. He's still 'looking' out at lots of light but there is no direct sunlight hitting his face. So much softer and more flattering, don't you think?
Can you see that there is light reflecting in his eyes? Even plastic toys can have catchlights!
Feeling a little braver now that I had found some lovely light I decided to attempt to photograph the my dog. I grabbed a chew, took a deep breath and tempted her into position. First I took a couple of images of her in the direct sun on the front of the steps:
Then I moved her back a bit, into the doorway and the open shade.
You can see that she's squinting and the shadows are harsh.
So I moved her back about 2 feet into the shade of the doorway. Not too far back that the daylight isn't shining on her face but far enough that she's not in the direct sun:
Give it a go!
Remember, start with an object before moving to an organic being!
When you feel you’ve got your sweet spot of light, bring in your model. There aren't many people who LOVE having their photo taken so unless you want to have a still and uncomfortable model, you'll need to make them feel less self-conscious. Get them to sit down, lean against the wall and have a chat with them. Try and make them laugh. Have fun.
Try different angles. Get them to move until you get the right light on their face. Why not shoot from above and get them to look up a little. Try shooting profiles. Shoot details.
Throughout your experiments try not to block the light too much with your body, keep looking to check the light is right and most importantly ensure they have those catchlights in their eyes.
What you have learnt
This project has taught you about the best natural light to use for portraiture for beginner photographers. There are, of course many other ways you can use different types of natural light to get alternative effects but this is a great place to start.
The more you train your eye to look at the way light falls onto subjects, you will become more confident with taking your photography skills to the next level. Begin to look around your home at different times of the day. Observe how light falls of the faces of your family in different parts of your home.
Start looking at other places where you might find beautiful diffused light such as windows etc. Look at light hitting faces from different angles and in not time at all you will be on your way to creating beautiful an atmospheric portraits, at home, with natural light.