The Magic Of Natural Light!

Updated: Sep 26, 2021

The most basic light source is and the most important is natural light which refer to sunlight. Ambient lighting meaning the available light in an environment can be considered as natural because it isn’t directly influenced by the photographer’s lighting equipment. This usually indicates natural lighting from outside that lights up a room through a window.

Natural light is available daily and free of charge. By learning how the sun behaves throughout the day and in different weather conditions, you will learn to see light better, maximize its potential, and apply these basic techniques to your photography.

The 4 Characteristics of Natural Light

Color Temperature

The various shades of colour produced by light during a day with the amount clouds changing at different times of the day. At dawn, the sky appears light blue. At sunset, the sky appears orange (this is what photographers refer to as the golden hour or magic light); and at dusk, the sky appears violet-blue. This is known as the “Kelvin Scale” which measures from the cooler, blue-tinged end of the spectrum to the warmer, reddish-colored end.

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Intensity

Intensity is sometimes referred to as “quantity of light.”

Light is usually most intense at noon when the sun is directly overhead. Contrast at noon, therefore, is high and tends to make shadows more pronounced. On the other hand, light and contrast are less intense early in the morning or evening.

Direction

The direction of the light is based on the sun’s movement. Because the sun is below the horizon at dawn and twilight, almost horizontal at sunrise, and is highest and nearly vertical midday, you will find that photographing at these different times of day produces largely different images.

Quality

The quality of light is either classified as “Hard” [direct light] or “Soft” [diffused light]. The more direct the light towards the subject, the harder the quality, as the light spreads and becomes bigger, the quality also becomes softer.

In reality bad light does not exist the light you decide to use depends on the type of images you want to create. What I do is go to the location at the time of day I am planning to shoot and check out the Natural Light.

When working with natural light, we must work with what nature gives us. I try to concentrate more on creating an interesting image using the available light rather than being technically correct.

Now that we understand the 4 characteristics of natural light, lets look at some ways to use light.

Reflected light -- the light source bouncing off of an object, creating a softer color cast or glow. Keep in mind that the colour cast, or glow will be the same colour as the object you are reflecting off.

Dappled light -- sunlight that has been filtered through tree leaves and projected on a nearby surface. It casts interesting shadows on your subject and could make your image more compelling.

So, we now understand Natural Light is affected by the sun, but how do we position our subject to take advantage of the light. Remember without light there is no photography. As a photographer, you have the option of choosing artificial light or natural light as your light source.

A subject is Front Lit if the light is behind the photographer and is directly hitting the subject. Light coming from this direction will partially or fully eliminate shadows. Keep in mind that Front Lit photos give you the most certain results but may seem flat.

A subject is Side Lit if the light hits the subject from the left or right side, adding drama and emphasizing texture. This technique is great for eye popping portraits.

A subject is Back Lit if the light is coming from behind the subject, which can produce a glow, silhouette, shadow, or light flare. This technique will create dramatic photos.