A post by: Andrew s. GibsonPPIMG class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-67062″ alt=”Natural light portrait” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wpid-natural-light-portraits-1.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″/PPWith all the attention given to the art and craft of shooting portraits using flash, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is the only way to a portrait. The truth is that while fashionable Speedlites all attention, there are photographers work almost entirely in natural light and creating beautiful portraits without a softbox or light stand in sight./PPOne of the most prolific is Eduardo Izq, a photographer based in the United States who has built an impressive portfolio of natural light portraits taken using local models and dancers. Eduardo takes natural light portraiture to an extreme, often photographing his models without makeup. He may not be the creation of beauty portraits in the usual sense, but by focusing on character is he portraits that nicely in a deeper, more fundamental way./PPTake some time to look at Eduardo of website, you will learn a lot from it. For another insight into his work, you can also read my interview with Eduardo about his ballerina portraits./PPIntrigued? Here are five reasons why you should take some natural light portraiture:/PPMake the most of natural light that you need to be an observer of the light. How does the quality and quantity, of slight change from hour to hour, and season where you live? How the light is affected by weather and location? To take of good natural light portraits that you need to work in the most flattering light, and which usually means finding the shade or going out and take portraits at the end of the day during the golden hour and twilight (my article The Magic of natural Light: Twilight will help). Doing so will help you appreciate the quality of light in your area. This knowledge also helps you in other areas of photography./PPAs you become more aware of light you will come to see that the quality of light is associated with the location and season. When you take a portrait of someone outside, a link between the subject and the light contains the position in, tying together the two. Light, location and topic are intertwined: it was only possible to get a picture of that person in that place with that type of light at any given time. It is almost impossible to reproduce the effect afterwards-the uniqueness of the light is part of the image. That’s something else (not necessarily better, just different) of the effect of the use of flash, which is easily displayed./PIMG class=”size-full wp-image-67063″ alt=”Natural light portrait” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wpid-natural-light-portraits-2.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″The soft light of the setting sun connects the portrait of the woman with her horse to the location. Both are ignited by the same light, a kind of light that occurs naturally in this location in certain conditions at the right time of the year./PIMG class=”wp-image-67064 ” alt=”Natural light portrait” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wpid-natural-light-portraits-3.jpg” width=”325″ height=”488″Daylight is also ideal for black and white portraits. The light here is formed by the gates on the right.PPFlash is not complicated for everyone, but it takes time to master and that can get in the way when you start. One of my friends told me a story about a portrait shoot that went wrong. She modeled for a photographer who work outside the home was, and he spent so long set his lights and measuring the light that the shoot never really got going. She was not satisfied with the results and I think neither was the photographer./PPDaylight is different because it’s simple. In fact, I often go on a portrait shoot with just one camera and a single lens. This simple approach to equipment you can concentrate on the composition, lighting, and building rapport with your subject. Another advantage is that it’s fast and easy to move from one place to another, you do not have a lot of gear. It is much harder if you Flash because you must also move the extra equipment./PPThe number one thing that determines the success of your portraits is your relationship with your subjects. Building rapport is essential, especially if you’ve never worked with your model. Simplify your approach means that you have more time to focus on building the relationship. This is essential. Your model pose and expression are the key factors that determine the success of the portrait./PPA portrait shoot is a collaboration, two people working together to create a beautiful image. If you have your model at the expense of setting up lighting ignores, the results will suffer. It takes real skill as able to set up your lighting quickly and effectively, while building a relationship with your subject. That can come later. If you start with natural light, it gives you the time to learn how to build rapport, and you can introduce flash at a later stage. Master a skill at a time./PIMG class=”wp-image-67065 ” alt=”Natural light portrait” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wpid-natural-light-portraits-4.jpg” width=”325″ height=”488″The subject of this portrait is illuminated by the extremely soft red light that briefly appears after the Sun has set./PPIt’s hard to beat the beauty of the natural light at best. The photo on the right is a good example. We take portraits on the beach at the end of the day and the light became more and more magical when the Sun disappeared over the horizon. For a few brief minutes we experience the beautiful red afterglow of the sunset, and I used to take it the last few portraits of the session. Moments like this don’t come often, but the results are worth it. Shooting in light that is beautiful but volatile and hard to find, lift up your portraits to another level./PPWhat is your experience of shooting portraits in daylight? Do you choose the simple approach to equipment and lighting? You can view all portrait photographers who work in natural light? Let us know in the comments./PPSTRONGIMG class=”alignright” alt=”The Natural Portrait ebook” src=”http://www.photo-natural.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wpid-The-Natural-Portrait-ebook.jpg” width=”196″ height=”250″The natural portrait/STRONG/PPMy ebook the natural portrait you will learn how to taking great portraits in the daylight. This 240 page ebook, published by Craft vision, takes you through the whole process of natural light portrait photography by means of finding a model, decide where to shoot, work with natural light and after processing of your images. Click on the link for more information or buy./PIMG class=”avatar avatar-78 photo” alt=”” src=”http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f87dd50c44f1ee0fb5cf9699de68484c?s=78d=blankr=G” width=”78″ height=”78″PAndrew s. Gibson is a writer and photographer living in New Zealand. He is the author of more than fifteen photography ebooks and he gives two of them away. Sign up for his monthly newsletter to receive additional copies of the creative image and use Lightroom better./P
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