7 Essential Photography Lighting Tips | Mike Moreland

July 2, 2018

Your photography lighting choices can make or break an image and really separate the experts from the amateur crowd. There are many different types of lighting that can make an image beautiful, but you can’t just rely on one style. You need a wide range of lighting knowledge because you won’t always be fortunate enough to shoot in an open field with perfect sunlight. Sometimes you need to create your own lighting due to an imperfect location or inclement weather. No matter the situation, these seven tips can help you through it.

1. Soft Lighting

This natural lighting is absolutely beautiful in these examples. We are shooting in soft light in a garden that frames this expecting couple perfectly. Because this image was taken in the fall, there is some direction to the lighting which wraps around my client. When it comes to natural light, you need look at the light and really try to find it. Choosing the right time of day is crucial to avoid harsh direct light.

2. Using Natural Light Indoors

Window light is amazing and it is probably one of your only natural light sources when you are shooting indoors. The window size, where you place your subject, and the color of the wall will all make a difference in the way your image turns out. The larger the window, the softer the images will be. The smaller the window, the more dramatic your images can be. You can always reduce the size of a large window with curtains, fabric or anything to block out some of the light. The image of my client standing next to the window is very soft while the one of my client on the bed has much more direction of light. I used a reflector in both cases to bounce some light into the shadow side of their faces.

3. Off Camera Photography Lighting

Off camera lighting can make a flat and dull image 100 times more dramatic. You are essentially exposing for the ambient to make it as dramatic as you want and then adding an off-camera flash to light your subject. These two examples have the off-camera light to the side for wrap around lighting and they both are shot through a softbox. Once you get your exposure set for your subject you can darken the background by going to a faster shutter speed or brighten the background by going to a slower shutter speed.

4. Sunset and Sunrise Photography

Sunset or sunrise photography with people can be very challenging. Have you ever had the problem where you get a great sunset but your subject is way too dark? Or maybe your subject looks great, but your sunset is washed out? In these examples of a sunset and sunrise image, I have exposed for the background, did not change the settings on my camera, and used off camera lighting to light my subject. Once I got the background the way I wanted it I then adjusted the flash’s power until the lighting was perfect. I shot my off camera light through a softbox in both cases.

5. Dusk and Dawn Photography

Now, what about dusk or dawn photography? Instead of working with golden hour you are working with what is called blue light. In both of these cases I have changed by white balance to tungsten to make the background go even more blue. The image at the beach and the one at the waterfall were both shot on a tripod, white balance at tungsten and a LED video light with a gel converting it to tungsten. On the image of our client that wanted to look like Sailor Moon by the lake I shot it with a studio strobe with a gel converting it to tungsten and overpowered the daylight making it look like dusk. Then we added a couple smoke bombs to complete the fantasy look.

6. Sillhouettes

Silhouettes are always a striking creative photography lighting option and very easy to shoot as long as you have a background that does not interfere with your subject. A sky or water often work well but there are many more creative options. What is of main importance is to expose for the background and make sure that there is not much light on your subject. At least a four F stop range is ideal.

7. Backlighting

This list of creative photography lighting tips wouldn’t be the same without backlighting, my favorite natural light choice! Shooting into the sun and in both of these examples I am using a reflector to bounce light back on my subject. Always make sure to be careful of sun flare, so using a lens shade is helpful. If the sun is very low in the sky then shading your lens with your hand might be necessary (unless you want sun flare).