Skip to main content

 

Photograph in natural light


Earlier, I mentioned the value of natural light, but it’s so important that it deserves its own section. You see, there is something so pure and clean about photographing in natural light. It looks great, it produces beautiful photos, and it’s always available.
I love morning and evening light because of its golden hues and soft, flattering effect. Overcast light is nice, too. And even high-contrast light produced by the harsh sun can look amazing (especially in black and white).

If you shoot in heavy shade or at night, you can still use natural light, but you’ll need to use a tripod to prevent image blur. (Fortunately, there are plenty of high-quality yet relatively cheap smartphone tripods to choose from!)

This next image, of a foggy morning out on Lake Michigan, shows the beauty of soft natural light:


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  Tap the screen to set focus Typically, when you point your smartphone at a subject, the camera will guess what you want to photograph. For instance, if it recognizes faces, it’ll focus on the faces; if it recognizes a person, it’ll focus on the person. This method of autofocusing can work well, especially if you’re photographing a clear scene with an obvious main subject. But when the scene is more complex – you’re photographing a bird surrounded by trees, for example – your smartphone may get the focusing wrong, and the shot will turn out blurry. So what do you do? Instead of letting your smartphone’s algorithms determine your point of focus, simply tap on your subject, and then – voila! – you’ll get a sharp result. Note: If you want extremely fine control over your smartphone’s focusing – such as when you’re doing close-up photography – there are a variety of camera apps that allow you to focus manually so that you can rack the plane of focus back and forth until you get the re...
Post a Comment
Read more
  Process your images using an editing app The work doesn’t stop once you’ve captured a nice photo – because with a little post-processing, you can turn a good image into a great one. And the best part? You don’t need to be a Photoshop wizard to do it. Most smartphones come with a range of easy-to-use editing apps that can help you enhance your pictures. I’d recommend starting with the basics: Crop your photo to improve the composition, then adjust brightness and contrast to make the image pop. You might also tweak the white balance or add a bit of sharpening. Don’t be afraid to play around with these settings. Often, a little tweak here and there can make a world of difference. Many of these apps also offer filters and presets. These are ready-made settings that apply a particular look to your image with just a single tap. They can be a fun way to explore different styles, but be sure to use them judiciously. Sometimes, less is more. If you want to dive a little deeper, some apps ...
Post a Comment
Read more
  Manually set the image brightness Did you know that you can set image brightness (i.e. image exposer) manually?  It’s true, and you can use this function to control the level of detail that will appear in the final photo. The details depend on your specific smartphone model, but try tapping on the screen, then look for some sort of exposure symbol (such as a sun). Swipe up (or drag the corresponding slider) to brighten the exposure, and swipe down (or drag the corresponding slider) to darken it. Note that the general goal is to keep as much detail as possible in the final image. However, you can also deliberately brighten or darken an image for creative effect, like this:
Post a Comment
Read more