We are completely, utterly and wholly enamored by light. Morning light, twilight, soft light, and even harsh light. Throw some dramatic shadows in the mix and we’ll give you our whole hearts. The combination of the two has substantial power to elevate the emotional connection between the subject(s) and the viewer, but it’s not always easy to navigate behind the lens. As wedding photographers, we have to be able to work with what we have – there’s no such thing as rescheduling due to poor conditions- and it’s important to learn to see the beauty in all circumstances.
Below is our thought process behind creating beautiful imagery with different, and sometimes-difficult natural light conditions.
High Noon:
We know. The idea of the very term “high noon” is probably sending chills up your spine. We used to be terrified to shoot during this time of day, but now that we know how to use that harsh sunlight, we’ve come to adore it for its uniqueness.
You have 2 options when working during this time of day in the great outdoors. One is to find shade (bonus for shade that frames, like the bush in the first two photos) – just be sure to check that there aren’t sun-spots on the face. A few sun sprinkles in other places is ok and can be really beautiful as long as it’s not too distracting or completely blown out.
Two, is to manipulate the subject so the sun isn’t casting dark shadows on their face. Here, we directed the subject to look toward the light and gave her a point above to look at. We had her close her eyes as she lifted her face to the sun, and when we were ready to shoot, instructed her to take a deep breathe and open them. Here, we exposed for the highlights so the shadows would fall off and create a dramatic effect under the canopy of trees.
Using Shadows and direct Sunlight:
We are always looking for unique shadows, especially during golden hour when the sun is softer.
If we’re in a more rural area, like in the first photo, we look for spots where the light is shining through the trees and place our subjects directly in the sun, exposing the image for the highlights. Sometimes we will instruct them to look toward a certain area (never directly at the sun), to get the light evenly splayed across their faces, or we will pose them in a way that they can interact together while keeping with the shadows.
You can really have fun with shadows when shooting in urban areas. Look for shadow lines created by buildings and bridges. In this second photo, we placed the couple intentionally so they would be split by the diagonal shadow, exposing for their faces. In the third photo, we placed our subjects in a light spot created in the gap between two bridges so the light pointed directly to them.
Hazy, Almost-Gone Light
When there’s not much light to be had, it can be a little bit trickier to see where it’s hitting your subjects. However, just because the light is subdued, does not mean it can’t be used to create dramatic results.
The first two photos were both taken with the couple standing in the exact same location. In the first photo, we knew that if we placed the subjects in front of the forest on this path, the light would fall off behind them, especially with it being the hazy dark evening that it was. On the contrary, we knew that the woods were dark, and that by standing on the opposite side of the couple, we could achieve a really beautiful shot of them framed by the trees and soaked in the haziness of the outside light.
In the third photo, we moved the couple around until we found where the light was hitting them, explaining what we were doing. We also took a few test shots to make sure the light was hitting where we wanted it since the cameras eye is less sophisticated than our human eyes and our human eyes can gloss over such subtle light situations. We then directed him to put his hand on her upper arm and for her to grab onto it. In this image, we wanted the clasping of fingers to be the focus, so we left that in the light, and exposed just for that so their faces would drop off slightly while still drawing the focus to that connection.
Reflecting Light:
The above shot was taken just before golden hour when the sun was beginning to fall out of the highest point in the sky. We saw as it began streaming through the trees and placed the couple directly in front of it, shooting toward the sun. We wanted to reflect what was happening above them, to the bottom of the image as well to create a whimsical and romantic feeling – like they were floating, so we used a prism to bring that speckled brightness down to the bottom of the image.
These are only a few lighting scenarios that you may come across, but the key is – don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of light. We hope this encourages you to fall in love with light, because when you embrace and look for the beauty in what you’re given, you’ll start to see new and magical things.
Ashley and Ben are the artists behind Rosey Red Photography. They are a husband and wife team located in the heart of Ohio, but adore traveling – especially when it involves a good love story. They are lovers of light, authentic emotion, and each other, and are always up for a good adventure.
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