How to shoot a beautiful portrait in natural light?

Learning to use light effectively is an important step for every photographer. Learn how light works and how to use it to help you shoot. When taking portraits, especially indoors, natural light is generally used. But working in natural light is not easy. In order to avoid mistakes, we need to know many aspects.

1. Why did you shoot?

Before shooting the camera, you need to determine what kind of shooting method you want. Is there a purpose to shoot?

Maybe it was taken by an actor, a company, a fashion, a family photo, a network promotion, or just for friends. Carefully consider the setting and shooting style according to the purpose. Does it take extra time to dress and make up? What should a portrait look like-a portrait of someone who works in a familiar environment or at home?

2. Shooting position

Once the shooting purpose is determined, it will be easier to choose the appropriate shooting position. Think about what is suitable for the general shooting style, such as scenic spots, rivers, lakes, hills or parks.

Maybe you want to conceive your theme in modern architecture, endless traffic and crowds? You can also use this room indoors. Larger rooms are usually brighter (because they usually have multiple windows), which gives you a relative sense of freedom at work. Smaller and darker rooms are suitable for shooting with dark shadows and dark atmosphere. Don't forget to use things around you, especially things in the house, which involve doorways, windows, stairs and columns. Everything can create the necessary support for the overall composition in the picture.

3. Determine the quality of light

The most important thing to consider when shooting outdoors is the shooting time. It is recommended to work in one day, because direct sunlight and bright light will only complicate your work and it is difficult to avoid overexposure of the frame.

It is best to shoot earlier or later until noon or afternoon, so that there is enough light to use and the light is not too strong. In addition, you can try shooting in cloudy or cloudy weather. But in fact, this cloud works like a diffuser and can work under a constant light source all day.

Basic knowledge of contrast between light and shade. Dazzling light can produce serious shadows. If this is not your goal, you can let the direct beam directly illuminate the whole object. Soft light can make things look flatter, but it can help you reduce the fear of losing details in bright or dark spaces.

If you work indoors, you can let enough light into the room as needed. Knowing the location, you can easily determine which time of day provides the best lighting effect according to which side the window faces (north, south, east or west).

Step 4: Correct positioning

One of the main advantages of studio artificial light is that it can freely move and adjust the height and inclination of the light source according to its own requirements. Speaking of natural light, this is obviously impossible, so as a photographer, you can make the best use of light. When shooting location, it is necessary to determine the exact position of the model and the position of the sun in the sky at this time. It is important that the model can't look directly at the sun, otherwise her sight will be askew. A good technique is to rotate the model 360 degrees and observe how the sun shines on the model at a specific point.

Make full use of light

There are several ways to get the maximum lighting effect. When using natural light, taking portraits is very useful, because you can reflect light to highlight key features of your face without dazzling your face or making them look straight at the sun.

On sunny days, please try to put the technology in the sunshine behind the main body. Similarly, when trying to emit warm light around the shape of the subject, the mirror will also come in handy, and the mirror will not darken the face.

You can choose to use different shadows. For example, when the direct sunlight is too bright, the shade under the tree may be interesting, but in this case, it is necessary to check whether the shadow is evenly distributed to avoid being too deep.

Shadow is a good way to emphasize the characteristics of objects, which can be easily realized by aiming the light source directly at the objects.

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Using the sunshine outside the window can create excellent photos with dramatic effect, which is my favorite method. Soft light through the window is very suitable for strong shots, especially when the light only protrudes from one side of the face and the shadow is on the other side.

The basic rule is that the closer to the window, the more light is used, which means that the contrast between light and shadow will be stronger. In addition, if the light through the window is too bright, you can use curtains or blinds to disperse it slightly at any time.

7. Camera settings

As with any portrait, here are some tips to help you get what you want. First, pay attention to your eyes. When we look at photos, the first thing we notice is our eyes. Make sure your eyes are in the center of the picture and use manual focusing, so you don't have to worry that autofocus will let you down!

Another good idea is to use a large aperture (low F value) to blur the background so as not to disturb the subject.

8. Communication plays a key role

It is very important to interact with the model. Please make sure there is communication between you before shooting. Dialogue and discuss the concept of shooting-this must ensure mutual understanding, otherwise the goal cannot be achieved.

Practice really helps, although some objects can't tell them how to finish the work!

9. Lighting types

Don't expect to use natural light under any circumstances. The quality and color of the light will change according to the time of day, the time of year and the weather.

This is where white balance comes into play. You can change the camera settings to suit the new lighting conditions and still get the desired effect. Personally, I like RAW shooting and editing white balance during post-production, but the option of direct adjustment during shooting is also very good.

10. Try shooting

Now you can shoot in natural light. Don't be afraid to ask your family or friends for help. This will provide you with an excellent opportunity to practice your shooting skills and teach you how to shoot certain topics. I hope it helps you.