With the right approach, natural light can provide unparalleled visual effects, with gorgeous tones and vivid contrasts.
However, with poor technique, frustration and lackluster results are almost inevitable.
Many people mistakenly believe that natural light provides an easier shooting experience, but this is not the case. While there may be some tactical advantages to shooting in natural light—namely, less gear and faster setup time—with it comes more complexity.
Controlled lighting allows you to adjust contrast and color balance with scientific precision and capture exactly what you have in mind…or at least something very close to it.
In natural light, things get trickier. The elements are out of your control and everything is in a constant state of flux. Changes in sun angle, cloud cover, ambient lighting (causing temperature changes), etc. can all complicate your process significantly.
My rule of thumb is always the following –
The time natural light saves you during production will be compensated for in pre-production and post-production.
In other words, shooting in natural light may make the on-set experience less cumbersome, but it doesn’t make the process any easier. You still need to make up for the shortcomings in pre-production to ensure you plan for every possible scenario and fix any potential errors in post-production.
But today, we’re not here to talk about prepping for a shot or colorizing an image in post – although these are key factors in a successful natural light production.
Instead, we’ll explore what the optimal field workflow looks like under these conditions.
Below, I’ll share the exact strategies I use to evaluate natural environments and visualize shots to make the most of the available light.
Everything I share here can be applied to the most basic of setups – even for those shooting alone without any lighting equipment, bounce boards or on-set assistance.
Any shooting situation is controllable if you know how to make natural light work for you, and environmental challenges can often lead to creative opportunities.
So here’s a step-by-step breakdown of my natural lighting workflow on set –
Step 1: Assess the environment
The first thing most people do on set is turn on their camera, look through the viewfinder and take some test shots. But almost always, this should come last.
The first step should simply be to assess your environment with your naked eyes, which will give you an idea of how natural light will suit your needs.
Let’s use a hypothetical example, let’s say we are shooting on a sunny beach that is partially obscured due to a large cliff on one side.
Once we arrive, we will first identify the brightest area around us (probably the sky) and the darkest area (probably the edge of a cliff or some nearby bushes).
We then ask key questions about the quality, source and intensity of ambient light to assess which areas best suit our needs –
How much range is there between the darkest and brightest parts of the beach? How much natural contrast do I see? Are there other unique ways that light is reflected?
Jotting down these things quickly is always the best place to start. It gives you a comprehensive understanding of your work environment and all its challenges and opportunities, and moves directly to the next step –
Step 2 : Determine the best comparison point
This is probably the most important step and the hardest skill to master. But once you have it, it’s like a secret weapon.
You want to develop the ability to observe your environment and instantly know where to shoot based on the natural contrasts you identified in the previous step.
A key factor here is to have a strong vision for your shoot beforehand. You have to know what you’re looking for, otherwise you’ll be wasting time in trial and error when you could be capturing the best light of the day.
Do you want a soft, low-contrast look? Or something more intense and high contrast? Do you want to outline your subject? Or is a glamorous look more your style?
You may have less control over your images in natural light than with proper film or studio lighting, but that doesn’t mean you still don’t have creative authorship rights. You just need to know what you want.
The more discerning you are, the easier it will be to recognize what I’m talking about. best contrast point For your image.
It’s the specific and precise location within your location that (through natural forces) is creating a lighting dynamic that meets your creative intent.
Let’s continue with our beach scene so I can give you a more specific example.
Let’s assume it’s broad daylight with almost no cloud cover, and that you’re trying to photograph actors or models (not just landscapes). You’ve just arrived at the location and quickly assessed the ambient natural light. Where are you going next?
It all depends on creative intent.
If you want a silhouette look, you need to find the focus maximum contrast. Your subject can be standing somewhere in a dark area with a very bright background. Maybe the cliffs on the beach cast heavy shadows, which would allow you to expose the sky/background and underexpose the subject.
Or maybe you want a softer, dreamier aesthetic. This can be a challenge in the middle of the day without gear, but is certainly possible. Ideally you would find an area ease By comparison, it’s like a point in the sand partially obscured by trees. Soft shadows may work like silk overhead, taking away the harsh edges of sunlight while still allowing you to illuminate your subject. Or you might find a corner of the beach with a cliff wall that reflects light everywhere, acting like a natural softbox.
As a third example, let’s say you want to capture a semi-light aesthetic, where one side of the subject’s face is exposed and the other side is in shadow. This can be quite a challenge if the sun is directly overhead. However, if you can identify something in your environment that acts as a natural bounce (or negative fill), you’re in luck. Maybe you place your talent next to a structure painted white and have them stand facing the camera at a 90-degree angle. Or do the same thing but next to a dark dense area providing negative fill. In both cases, strong contrast can be achieved even with bright sunlight overhead.
Of course, these are just a few examples and are not meant to be an exhaustive list. In natural light, no two productions will ever be exactly the same, so you’re always at the mercy of your environment…another reason why planning/pre-production is so important.
Step 3: Develop your talents without using a camera
Once you’ve completed the previous step, you’re almost ready to start shooting. But before you actually pull out your camera and get lost in the technical details, I highly recommend placing your subjects in their environment to see how they look to you.
If you land at your location and just pull out your camera to take a test shot, you will inevitably slow yourself down.
It’s easy to tell yourself you’re just going to take a test shot, and then before you know it you’ve spent 10 minutes adjusting settings and troubleshooting camera issues. Then you finally solve it, but the lights have changed and you need to start from scratch.
Don’t get caught up in the camera until you actually start shooting.
The goal should be to do 90% of the heavy lifting/decision-making before you look through the lens. This involves not only finding the best place to shoot (as mentioned in the previous step), but also finding the best position for your subject.
So really, this part is pretty easy –
Just place your talents and observe them. What do you see?
Is the contrast too great? Maybe isolate the difference between where you’re standing now and a lighter (or darker) area.
Not enough contrast? Maybe you have to rotate the subject a little to really offset the light to one side.
By making small adjustments to your talent’s position, you may be able to adjust your “lights” in a minute or two. If you try this while also adjusting your camera/monitor/device, adjusting settings, etc., you may never be able to capture a photo before the light changes.
You’ll still need to adjust your camera settings before you actually start shooting, but at least now you have an ideal starting point to work from.
Step 4: Compose your shot with camera and make technical adjustments
After completing the other steps, you can now actually launch the camera and view your footage. Once you do this, your camera’s limitations will be exposed.
Your eye will always see a greater dynamic range than a camera, and the same goes for color contrast and other key variables. So when you look through the viewport, you’ll start to see some issues that need adjusting – maybe the shadows are too broken, or the contrast of the image is still too high.
At this point you can start adjusting your camera settings, exposure, and picture profile to get it just right. If you completed step 3 (and are comfortable enough with your camera), this part should be completed in no time.
This is also the time to make final framing adjustments before starting to shoot.
As a side note, I highly recommend shooting with a zoom lens in natural light. Unless you’re shooting at night and need the fastest prime lens possible, or you plan on shooting everything with a single prime lens (so you don’t have to stop and switch), a zoom will always let you move faster.
Step 5: Shoot quickly, move to next location, repeat
Once you take your first photo (or maybe before you’re done), the lighting will change. Maybe the clouds will move or the sun will set a little. Or, the beach sign you used as a makeshift reflector is no longer at the perfect angle, and now you’ve lost the light.
This happens about every 20 – 30 minutes when you’re shooting during the day, and becomes more extreme at sunrise/sunset.
This is another reason why speed is a friend on set. The quicker you get what you need, the better.
Let’s say that when you set up your shot, you only have a few minutes to actually capture what you need. When shooting film/video, be sure to avoid unnecessary extra shots, or if you shoot stills, limit yourself to a certain number of shots so you don’t run around unnecessarily.
Once you’ve photographed a specific area of your environment, quickly move to the next area and start the process from the beginning: Scan the environment to find the best contrast point, place the subject, adjust the framing, and shoot, repeat.
The great thing about working quickly like this is that it creates a sense of urgency that drives new ideas, despite the limitations it creates. You don’t always capture exactly what’s in your head, but sometimes what you find is even better.
That’s part of the fun of shooting in natural light. If you need everything to be 100% planned and controlled, you can shoot in a light-controlled studio where all the gear you need is at your fingertips.
But personally, I have more fun working this way…
And you? Please leave a comment below.
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