When you're outside, natural light nearly always makes or breaks a photograph. Fantastic natural light can transform even the dullest of landscapes into a magical photograph. There are various things that you can do to make the most of light and to help your camera to capture it well. Here are my top tips for achieving the best photography lighting.
- Shoot at the "Golden Hour." This refers to the hour around sunrise and to the hour around sunset. At these times, the light is much softer and more subtle which means less harsh shadows, and more tonal qualities in the image, creating some of the best photography lighting you'll find.
- Check your exposure and use your histogram to make sure that you haven't lost details in the highlights. Once detail is lost, you cannot fix it, even in post-production.
- Watch for "fleeting" light, when the sun just breaks through a series clouds and sends rays of light down to the ground. This can create beautiful images.
- Research your location, just to make sure the site has the best photography lighting possible at the time of day when you plan to shoot. By planning your photographs, you won't miss any opportunities for great lighting.
- Experiment with the sun. Most people shoot with the sun behind them, but shooting into the sun can create interesting results. You can shoot strong silhouettes this way. Alternatively, you can dial in some exposure compensation and potentially end up with a correctly exposed image with rays of light emitting from the sun. Shooting with the sun to the side of your image can create strong shadows and help lead a viewer into the image.
- Use your metering modes to help the camera expose the image correctly. For instance, using spot or partial metering can help make certain objects in a scene really stand out when the lighting is just right.
- Use your white balance settings. Help the camera out by choosing the right white balance mode for the particular conditions. Alternatively, you could experiment with different white balance modes to create different results on your image.