Natural light: see it before you shoot it
Filmed in Kiel, September. The sample images from the video are under “Your photos” so you can compare.
Most photos don’t fail because of the camera. They fail because nobody looked at the light. This lesson is about one question only: where is it coming from, how soft is it, and what does it do to the face in front of you?
Three questions before every shot
First: direction. Light from the front is flat, light from the side draws shape, light from behind separates the subject from the background. Second: the size of the light source relative to the subject – a big window gives soft transitions, the midday sun gives hard ones. Third: colour. Warm in the morning and evening, blue in the shade, greenish under trees.
The video shows the same person in five spots of one flat, within twenty minutes. Nothing changed except the position relative to the window. Watch the eyes: the moment the window appears in them, the picture comes alive.
Photograph one and the same object in three places in your home: right by the window, two metres away, and at the far end of the room. Same camera settings. Upload the three pictures under “Your photos” and note which one you like best – and why.
What’s unclear about this lesson?
Instead of typing a comment: just say it. Describe the situation where it doesn’t work – “the face is always too dark even though I’m standing at the window”. I’ll reply by voice, and the best questions go into the Q&A video at the end of the course.
Nina Hagedorn · course instructor. Replies usually arrive within two working days.