Understanding how to effectively utilize natural lighting allows you to capture striking images without complex equipment. Here's what you need to know.
Coming to you from Kyle Cong, this practical video breaks down seven ways to expertly find and utilize natural light. Cong immediately addresses direct sunlight, which many dislike due to harsh shadows. However, rather than dismissing direct sun, he suggests positioning your subject to use sunlight as a key light from the side and slightly below eye level. This clever positioning softens shadows naturally, yielding appealing contrasts that highlight facial features without additional gear. Cong's accidental discovery of this technique reinforces the value of adaptability in photography.
Another valuable insight is using urban environments as natural reflectors. Cong demonstrates placing subjects close to city walls, bouncing sunlight off walls and the ground. This creates soft, balanced lighting, minimizing post-processing. He highlights that even ordinary, non-reflective surfaces can effectively diffuse and enhance natural light, suggesting opportunities to experiment creatively in various urban settings. The practical advantage here lies in simplicity, bypassing the hassle of traditional reflectors or softboxes.
Moving indoors, Cong explores the versatility of window lighting, emphasizing subtlety in capturing shadows and highlights. He advises against common angles that produce predictable, overly flat portraits. Instead, shifting your camera angle slightly can dramatically alter the character of the lighting, creating appealing short lighting effects. Short lighting, Cong explains, naturally emphasizes facial structure and contrast, enhancing your subject's features without appearing artificially manipulated. He encourages experimenting further by adjusting the model's position relative to the window, ensuring variety within limited indoor spaces.
Cong also tackles challenging indoor scenarios, such as direct sunlight streaming through windows, typically avoided by many due to stark shadows. Rather than diffusing this harsh light with curtains, he suggests embracing its potential. By positioning your subject with the sun behind them and strategically using reflectors—such as walls or even small handheld reflectors—you achieve appealing backlighting effects. Cong carefully emphasizes using reflectors indirectly, feathering the light to maintain a natural appearance, avoiding overly intense reflections that can make portraits look forced.
Cong’s video emphasizes visual intuition in portrait photography. By observing subtle lighting changes directly through the viewfinder, you gain immediate visual feedback, unlike the trial-and-error often required with flash setups. This immediate, visual learning process accelerates mastery and confidence, helping you consistently produce high-quality portraits across varying conditions and locations. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Cong.
If you would like to continue learning about the art of portraiture, be sure to check out our range of tutorials on the subject in the Fstoppers store.
