Dallas Photographer: Creating Natural Light
Yes I realize that the title has a bit of irony to it. After all, how do you create something that naturally occurs?
As a Dallas photographer, it is important to be able to understand light in all of its forms, and to really understand lighting in general, even with, nay especially with strobes, you have to understand natural light.
Here is a perfect example: I remember listening to a prominent photographer a few years back who talked a lot about natural light. The interesting part was not that he was shooting in it but rather observing it. In watching how light acts in certain places and at certain times of the day, one can begin to understand how to create that same light. He even went so far as to create diagrams in a journal to document the precise look to replicate later with studio lighting. Having this type of lighting knowledge is something that every Dallas photographer should aspire to.
I guess it really comes back to knowing the rules before you can break them. If you study the light that is all around us, then you can create it on your own, and even branch out and bend it to your creative discretion. You can see where shadows should be, how high or low the light should be coming in so that it does look natural. This is something I do a lot with food and portraits. This Dallas photographer is a huge fan of shooting food with natural window light, and I am fortunate to visit a lot of great restaurants with plenty of available light. I’ve also had my share of getting to shoot in a space that has a few incandescent lights overhead, which does not make for good food photography. Thus I create my own window light. With portraits, clients generally want soft and flattering light (who doesn’t?). So, I make sure to give them that kind of light that also has the look of being in a window, even if they are sealed away in a conference room that is far from the outside world.
The other importance of knowing how to create natural light is that it ultimately gives you more control over your scene. In my work as a Dallas photographer I’ve seen plenty of natural light that looks amazing, but may have a bit of color reflecting in from something, doesn’t have the perfect amount of brightness, or the angle isn’t quite right. It inspires me as a Dallas photographer, and from there I can take the idea and create something that is consistent. After all, my strobes have never gone behind a cloud, and I don’t see that situation happening unless I get that elusive commercial shoot on Mount Everest.
Again I cannot stress the importance of knowing light as a Dallas photographer. Without a strong understanding of how natural light works you cannot be as well-rounded a photographer. However, you have to couple that with knowing how to make your artificial lights and strobes create the same effects. If you only know natural light, and the client needs you to create that kind of look in a scene where there is no natural light, you’re going to have a problem on your hands. So make sure to study up and know the light, then work like crazy to get it as close to what you see around you. The more experience a photographer has, the closer they will get to achieving this look and also know how to balance natural and artificial light to achieve a well-balanced harmony.
No matter your style, it is important to know the light.
