Natural Light: Direction Matters

Even when you put your subject in the shade, the light can be unpredictable. You have to play around with where you want your subject to stand. Try putting him in one position and take a few pictures to test and see if you actually like where the light is falling on his face. Then try another position and repeat until you find a sweet spot where the light is brightening his face and not causing shadows.

In this first image, I had her lay down in the shade with the sun slightly behind her. The background is too bright and the light coming from behind makes her face dark in some places.

In the second image, she is in the same position but I moved her so she was facing the opposite direction. Now the sun is lighting up her face instead of making weird shadows.

Always play around with which direction you want your subject to face. Light can be so unpredictable that many great pictures can be accidental. You never know exactly how the light will look on someone, so finding that sweet spot takes practice and lots of moving around.

Natural Light

Taking pictures of other people outside can seem difficult, especially when you're not taking them during the Golden Hour (right after sunrise or right before sunset). Most people will say that the worst time to take outdoor shoots is at noon, where the sun is at its highest and can create weird shadows on your subject's face. The problem with this though, is that your subject isn't always available during the Golden Hour. So what do you do when you have to take pictures of a person at noon? You have to use the natural light to your advantage.

I had my subject in the shade at all times because she is not only more comfortable in the shade, but also out of direct sunlight. When the sun is strong, light will bounce off of other things surrounding the subject, thus creating softer lighting that flatters her. In different places the light will look different, so experiment and explore. My subject was under shade in both the pictures above and below, even though one has a warm glow and one has a cool tone.

Ordinary pictures are just as good

When you go on trips (vacations, school/work-related trips, or really anything outside of your home), you would initially think of taking pictures of things that wowed you. Things that are impressive, like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Grand Canyon, and the Golden Pavilion (below), are definitely beautiful and awe-inspiring, but unless you bring your own style to the image, these kinds of pictures can end up looking like postcards. I went to Japan two years ago to meet up with family and we went sightseeing. I took pictures that I am proud of because they are visually appealing, but I have no personal connection to them.

On the other hand, I took pictures of an average Japanese road with generic houses and average people. This picture (below) speaks to me on an emotional level because I can remember walking down these streets to get to train stations, restaurants, and malls. I feel nostalgic looking at this picture, but I feel virtually nothing looking at the picture above.

The next time you go on a trip, whether it be out of your country or out of your town, take tons of pictures of the huge amazing things, but don't neglect the little ordinary things. The ordinary things are usually the ones that speak to you on a personal level.