If you're a photographer I'd say it's safe to say that you may be a tad obsessed with light.
You know that one raging ball of fire that is mysterious and incredible and honestly when setting indescribable...yes...I'm obsessed with that. I cannot look at a sunset and just think something so detailed, gorgeous and big happened by chance...I look at it and see a great Almighty and Powerful God behind the bold colors of pink, orange, blues, purples, yellows and reds.
As a photographer if you're not obsessed with the light that radiates from the sun...consider it...study it...it may change your business ;).
Light is also a preference in photography. Some photographers are all natural light photographers and some use artificial lighting because they don't like shadows. In MY opinion and in MY business I let shadows define you. The light creates shadows and sometimes they are harsh and ugly but other times they are dramatic and tell a story. You can control these shadows by what time of the day you decide to get out and start shooting!
When a client comes to me I try to communicate when the best time for shooting would be. In the summer and in the morning you need to have really ambitious clients that are willing to get up and get at 'em...you should start shooting no later than 8 but to get that gorgeous morning light in a big field...you better be ready by 6:30AM! Obviously this time changes as the days grow shorter as does the sunset time. It also depends on weather...is it cloudy or clear? All things to consider. I wanted to give you my tips and visuals when shooting for sunset light on a clear day. There is a big difference in time and I think you'll see it ;)
I had my boat mini-session's not too long ago. The first family started at 6:30
At 6:30 in the summer in Michigan the sun is still pretty high. You can work with it but you will have shadows...if the shadows are harsh then you'll want to position the sun behind your subject. The sun is high causing some "blow outs" in the picture...
These images are still gorgeous and you still have some sunflare but there is also a blue hue in the trees and the water is a little too bright and there is a harsh ring of light around the subjects if you zoom in real close. Not things to worry about too much but things to definitely consider if you plan on shooting in an open background.
If I were to get in the front of the boat and have my subjects look at me the entire right side of their faces would be white from the sun...so I move around them and even above them to avoid a blow out on their faces (which you can kind of see on their legs).
So we move to a shaded area and still back light (meaning the sun is directly behind your subject). This is my favorite. Yes I love big open fields and beaches with a pretty sky and beautiful light...but I love to find where the light is peeking through the trees and capture it!
This session took place from 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm. Still too high for me!
Around 7:30 the sun was at that perfect height to give you haze and sun flare in every single picture. Not every client likes that so I try my best to get away from that as well but here are some examples with it...
This is one of my favorite looks...sun flare everywhere!
But just to appease the clients I moved them to an open shade area away from the sun. The sun is now basically behind me and to the right in this next picture...
As you can see too at this time...the lake isn't as blown out and the trees are greener and more visible.
Now...8 o' clock. On a clear day in Michigan 8 o'clock is a great time to start shooting...however with young kids it's extremely hard. This is also only a good time to start with an hour session...not a senior session or an extended family session that will take longer than one hour. The sun is golden, softer and starting to hide behind those trees just a tad but not enough where it still offers a gorgeous sun flare.
Here the sun is behind them and to the left...you can see it towards the left of the picture on the girls' hair...
In these two pictures the sun is behind them...giving these pictures a pretty glow!
In this image above the sun is behind me again and to my right...this is the PERFECT light in my opinion because it lights my subject but there are no bright blotchy light speckles on him and the lake and trees are their true color!
Again...moving into the trees to find that perfect sun peeking through to shine on my subject. I personally like to get low and sway from side to side until the light hits them perfectly...I don't mind blowing out the subject a little to let that light truly come through..like the above picture her hair is blown out a little...
Gorgeous...the sun has finally peeked behind the trees...highlighting the tops of the trees with a gorgeous orange light and back lighting the subjects with the same breathtaking glow.
...just my opinions on light.
Maybe next time I'll get into silhouettes ;)
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