6 ways to explore light

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1. Shoot Portraits in bright light

When taking portraits in bright sunshine it’s nearly impossible to avoid harsh shadows on the face without retreating to the shade. You can use fl ash or refl ectors to fi ll in the shadows, but that can leave light looking fl at. The best option is most often to position the model with the sun behind them and shoot towards the light. 

2. Freeze action with flahguns

In this example it was fl ash that froze the moving subject, not the shutter speed. By setting the manual fl ash power output to 1/32, and shooting in a dark room, it’s the short duration of the fl ash that freezes fast movement. The fl ash duration is so fast, in fact, that it beats the fastest shutter speed possible several times over. Low fl ash power equals super short fl ash duration. 

3. Polarise light for saturated skies 

Polarising filters are one of the most versatile filters available. They’re best known for their ability to saturate blue skies and remove reflections depending on how they’re set. Once attached to the front of the lens you have to rotate the front of the filter until the desired effect is reached. Just be careful not to overpolarise skies because it looks fake. 

4. Enhance the sky with coloured grad filters 

You’re already familiar with ND grads, but have you ever seen coloured grads? These can be used to accentuate the colour of blue skies, and to enhance sunrises and sunsets. The most popular colours available are cyan, yellow, magenta and orange. They’re not to everyone’s taste, but used well they can make a good sky look great. 

5. Capture atmosphere in exotic locations

Backlighting is a technique that can be used for practically all subjects. It’s even used in studio photography, although in a different way to outdoor shots. Travel photography is as much about capturing atmosphere as it is recording a moment and reflecting a culture. Backlighting is the perfect technique to pull these elements together. 

6. Use flash for wildlife shots

Used well, flash is one of the most creative lighting options available. Not least when it’s used in ways you wouldn’t expect. This shot of an arctic tern is the perfect example. Exposure was set to 1/250sec at f/22 in manual mode with ISO set to 200. The narrow aperture is what creates the sunburst. The flash was fired using an off-camera cable, and the manual zoom was set to 18mm for wide coverage. The result is a very different kind of wildlife shot.

Credit Matthew Hamilton

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