Four Types of Light to Master for Landscape Photography

Perhaps one of the key things that an aspiring photographer needs to learn is that the quality of light is one of the most important elements in making a great photo. Often, it's the light that makes or breaks the photo.

I like watching Mark Denney, because he always presents his material in an easy-to-understand fashion, and even when you might know all the material he is covering, he's still enjoyable to watch.

In this video, Denney describes four types of light that you should learn to master for landscape and outdoor photography. I really like how he not only covers the four most common types of natural light that one might encounter, but he explains how to best photograph with each of these conditions.

His numerous examples show not only the different lighting conditions but also how to identify those conditions and how you might go about using that particular type of light to best capture your scene. Starting off with a nice graphic showing golden hour and blue hour, Denney then explains how each type of light affects the mood and look of the photo.

I typically like shooting golden hour and blue hour, but after watching this video, it makes me want to experiment more with flat lighting conditions.

What's your favorite lighting condition to shoot in?

Mike Dixon's picture

Mike Dixon is a Muskegon Michigan based landscape and nature photographer who's passionate about anything photography or tech related.

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2 Comments

Great video, well presented and accurate. The basic 4 are true, I think direct mid day could be mentioned although less desireable in most cases. Btw when did the term blue light start ? Remember dawn and dusk? Suppose blue is a better term.

You mean "blue hour"? AFAIK it originated from the french phrase "L' heure Bleue" used by painters.