Getting good natural light for portraits is an easy concept to understand. It can often be difficult to find the perfect location, but once you know what to look for, it becomes easier. This post is dedicated to helping you take good portraits and learn how to see and use good natural light.
I recently posted a series of portraits on Flickr. I got a great response, so I though I’d explore why these portraits were successful. I was just playing around with a new camera and decided to shoot some quick pictures of a bunch of kids that I teach English to here in Taipei, Taiwan.
I use the term “quick pictures” very deliberately. All of the portraits were taken on a playground at playtime and I’m sure you know that 5 year-olds don’t stay still for very long.
What’s nice about this playground is that it’s got great light that is fairly even all over it. Before we talk about the light specifically, let’s look at some other things you need to remember to get a good portrait.
First, of course, you want an interesting subject. Cute kids, old wrinkly people, skateboarders, and monks are among my favorite subjects.
Learn more about natural light portraiture after the jump…
Sitting by a doorway and having an unlit room in the background is perfect lighting.
The light is coming from an open door to camera left. The plain wall helps keep the viewer's attention on the Tibetan Monk.
Second, you want a plain background. A plain wall or dark room behind the subject works well. A plain background means that the viewer’s attention will be on your subject, not what’s happening behind them. If you can’t find a plain background, check out the third step.
Third, shoot with a very wide aperture. It’s best if you shoot at f/2.8 or bigger. Remember that “bigger” means a smaller number and a wider aperture (f/2.0 or f/1.8, etc). A very wide aperture blurs out the background. If you couldn’t find that plain wall for a background, shooting with a wide aperture will blur out all the commotion that might be happening. Note that you have to be very careful of your focus point when shooting like this. You want to be sure to focus on the subject’s eye or the whole photo will look soft. Here’s an example of a busy background that I blurred out. (I shot all of the kids pictures with an aperture of f/1.4) Some people might say that this step is the most important. It’s true that just using a big aperture is enough to impress a lot of your average viewers, even if you don’t follow the next step.
Fourth and, in my opinion, the most important step is: FIND NICE LIGHT. In a single sentence, all you need to remember is: Find soft light coming from one side. Professional photographers will do this a number of ways using soft boxes or umbrellas, but you can do this just as well with a window, door or store front. Direct sunlight is the enemy of good portraits. It highlights skin blemishes, makes nasty shadows and often makes your subject squint an ugly squint. Standing your subject just inside an open door or window will throw nice light on them.
I took a few pictures of the kindergarten playground where I shot this series. See how the light comes in from the big opening to the one side? Now this opening is much bigger than a window or door, but it still does the trick.
A look at the playground where I shot the portrait series. Note that the sun came out just as I took this picture. It was cloudy for all the portraits. But also note that the light is fairly even all across the playground... Helpful when shooting busy kids.
The fifth step is probably the most subjective. Post processing. All the pictures from this series got the exact same post processing steps. I imported them into Apple Aperture. Then I adjusted the exposure and highlights, if needed. Then I added a vignette. That’s it.. The use of the vignette just accentuates step three, the wide aperture. By darkening the areas all around the edges of the photograph, you can bring the viewer’s attention to your subject.
So, can you take a good portrait without following any of these steps? Absolutely. But by following some or all of these points, you can turn a mediocre portrait into a winning one.
UPDATE: I wrote another article relevant to natural light portraits called “How to Shoot Travel Portraits.“
Great series, Neil. I really enjoyed it.
Wow! So Cool! Motorcycles, India, students, how do you think of all these different topics? Very special to see your blog here in Taiwan. Best of luck.
Thank you both! Debbie, I guess all these subjects just come from my head. These are the things I spend all day thinking about or doing!
OMG! Neil so COOL!
Home come on your blog you never say how old you are? Maybe I be your model some day! ha ha.
Debbie Huang
Hahaha, Thanks again! I have been wanting to do more contemporary modeling shoots and am always looking for subjects. Email me at kneelweighed@yahoo.com if you’re serious. (I also need to update my “About” page and put some more specific information!)
[...] Techniques #4 – Natural Light for Portraits « Neil Wade … – If you’d just like to look at some of my pictures, go to My Professional Photography Site. I’m new to blogging but have been enjoying it so far. Please feel free to comment on anything you like or don’t like. I’m trying to learn to be a … Share or Bookmark this post: [...]
Awesome photos Neil :)
Thank you Ashish!
[...] out of focus area” in a picture (See the first sentence of the tutorial). Remember my tutorial on taking portraits? You could use the method explained on this page to make small lights in the background appear to [...]
[...] and I’ll include all the pictures and stuff. In the mean time, have a look at the blog on natural lighting for portraits to get a preview of the first [...]
[...] Techniques #4 – Natural Light for Portraits « Neil Wade … – If you’d customarily similar to to demeanour during the little of my cinema, go to My Professional Photography Site . I’m brand new to blogging though have been enjoying it so distant . Please feel giveaway to criticism upon anything we similar to or don’t similar to . I’m perplexing to sense to be the … [...]
great portraits i used a couple of these techniques for an assignment in my photography class Thanks :D
Wow, thanks Tyler! That makes me feel good!
[...] in direct sunlight. Find some open shade or an open window. I wrote another blog talking about how to use natural light for portraits, so I’m not going to spend too much time on it here. All that said, don’t look around [...]
What awesome and invaluable tips! I’ve always love travel and portrait photography and this is EXACTLY what I need. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise.
Thank you Marlene!