Natural Light Portrait Photography

Natural Light Portrait Photography Tips
Tools needed: Digital SLR Camera, a prime, or fast zoom lens, a light reflector, a good natural background, and a subject dressed right for the lighting conditions.

Photographer David B. Gibby, IDM Photos, 2012

This photograph was taken in a small canyon area at the SE corner of Balboa Park, in San Diego, This was a natural light shot taken with a Canon 7D digital camera, and a 70-200mm lens. The speed was set a 1/400 sec., f4.5, ISO 250. The lighting was shaded. The models name is Jane.

Photography is all about light. If your light source is to strong your cameras metering may blow out lighter areas creating "hot spots". If a strong light source is coming from behind the a subject, your camera's meter may miss evaluate the scene and you will end up with a silhouette. Strong light makes shooting softly lit portraits more challenge.

The principles of proper lighting are reactively simple. You don't need a magnificently sophisticated lighting apparatus to take softly lit portraits. The following are a few rules to insure you get that a great, well lit shot.

Photographer David B. Gibby, IDM Photos, 2005

This photograph was taken in a winery parking lot, near Portland, Oregon, This was a natural light shot taken with a Canon 30D digital camera, and a 28-75mm Tamron lens. The speed was set a 1/1200 sec., f4.5, ISO 250. The lighting was direct sun. A #6 Polarizer was used to even out the harsh lighting conditions.

1. Ask the subject to wear medium, to brighter clothing. Attire should be appropriate to the background chosen for the shoot. Ask female being shot to use flat foundation makeup
2. Locate an area that is shaded from the direct sun. It may require you plan the time of day shade is available. Face your subject/s towards the strongest light source. Make sure your subject has no streaming light crossing their face, or exposed body parts. Make sure that their are no objectionable items behind them (trash receptor, debris on the ground, purses, chairs, people not belonging in the scene, etc.). If you are lucky enough to have a cloudy day to shoot you can count on less shadowing  of eyes, skin, and clothing.
3. Use the appropriate lens for the portrait. I prefer a lens that can give me a shallow depth of field. I often will use a faster prime lens (f1.4 - f2.8) for portraits. Generally I will set my aperture no higher that f4. If you are using a DSLR camera a 30mm - 85mm work great. If you have a full frame camera 50mm to 135mm work great. You can also use a faster f2.8 to f4 zoom lens for portraits. I choose my lens by the distance I have available to shoot comfortably. 
4. Set your camera setting to aperture priority,  the shutter speed will adjust to the light available. If you are comfortable shooting in full manual, by all means do so. This will give you full control to your cameras metering for more precise lighting. Set your camera to ISO 100, or 200. To avoid "grain gain" avoid ISO settings above 400. Set White balance to auto, or shade. If your subject shows to strong of shading in the face you can use a reflector to lighten up shadows. have someone hold the white, silver, or gold reflector in a position to catch light from the sky and reflect it onto shadowed areas. Adjust it to the desired results. It may require getting close to the subject depending on the reflected light available.
5. Now it's time to get serious about taking a picture. I like to come prepared with posing ideas to show my client. Once they see a few poses (they like) it is much easier for me to work with them. After they have posed I take a few test shots, and check the camera for proper exposure, and sharpness. If my settings are correct I start shooting. I will have my client adjust their head with slight tilts, varying degrees of smiles, and slight body adjustments. Some where in that combination of different looks is hidden a money shot. It is worth dozens of average shots to get that "one" shot the client loves.
6. No photograph is perfect. That's why you need a good photo editing program. I spend more time cloning out pimples, scars, wrinkles, and softening skin than shooting. I work mainly in RAW format. I use "Lightroom" to color balance, and convert my files to be edited in "Photoshop". I fully edit my files, and then convert them to jpg files. It is amazing how much nicer a photograph can be after proper editing.

Photographer David B. Gibby, IDM Photos, 2006

This photograph was taken in a back yard in Salem, Oregon, This was a natural light shot taken with a Canon 30D digital camera,  a 28-75mm Tamron lens. The speed was set a 1/600sec., f4.5, ISO 200. The lighting was shade. Note the soft even light.

Photographer David B. Gibby, IDM Photos, 2012

This photograph was taken at La Jolla Shores beach, in San Diego CA, This was a natural light shot taken with a Canon 7D digital camera, a 70-200mm lens. The speed was set a 1/400sec., f5.6, ISO 250. The lighting was shade under a pier. Note white clothing is not appropriate for direct sun shots. Even under the pier it was a challenge to keep both contrast and detail.

 CONCLUSION

Taking great natural light portraits requires some skill, and allot of practice. The rewards for mastering that skill is numerable. I still look back at pictures I took eleven years ago and wondered how I got paid for that crap. I couldn't blame my sub par equipment. Now when I shoot I love what I shoot. A little knowledge went a long way with my determination to get things right. I would shoot for free if it wasn't for those pesky bill each month. If any of my readers has a legal answer to that dilemma I'm listening. If not, get out their and shoot (I mean photograph) someone you love.

David B. Gibby, Photographer
http://www.idmphotos.com
Senior Portraits, Family Portraits, Beach Portraits in San Diego, San Marcos, Escondido, Poway CA