Composition, color and posing are so important when taking a photograph, but one of the main things that separates a great photo from a mediocre photo is the lighting. Learning about light direction and quality of lighting will help make your photos stand out.
The tips I provide in this article are applicable for the everyday person using any sort of camera (though shooting in Manual on a DSLR or Mirrorless cameras will produce a better result).
First, I want to touch on taking photos on a sunny day. Positioning your subject directly into the light isn’t always the best idea. It makes the subject squint, typically creates harsh shadows on their face, and the face may be overexposed. Below is an example of frontal direct lighting.
One way to easily remedy this problem is to move your subject into the shade. Do be careful when you look for shady places, because trees DO move and sometimes will create unwanted shadows on the face.
An easier option is to keep turning your subject until the light is on their back. This way, the face will be evenly lit.
Not sure how far to turn your subject? An easy way to figure this out is to look for their shadow on their ground. Have the subject turn until they face their shadow.
Do keep in mind that positioning the subject this way takes most of the light completely off their face. A good way to counteract this is to utilize natural reflectors. Sun reflects easily off LIGHT surfaces (i.e. sidewalks, light colored buildings, etc.). If you choose to backlight your photo, keep that in mind when picking the photo location.
Ok now, let’s talk about taking photos on overcast days. This is much easier because clouds act as a natural diffuser. If it’s cloudy enough you can take photos from any direction and have them look halfway decent, but I recommend trying to find the sun and turning your subject all the way until the small amount of light pours onto the face. Below is an example of frontal lighting during a cloudy day.
Now here is a photo with the same exact lighting conditions, but this version is backlit.
As you can see, the first photo looks best!
I could touch so many more lighting principals, but understanding cloudy vs sunny light conditions is step 1. Try these tips out, and if they make a difference for you, post your photos or write a comment! I would love to hear about it.