Whether it’s direct light, backlighting, or the often-overlooked blue hour lighting, understanding how to use these natural light effectively is a key skill.
Coming to you from Chelsea Nicole Photography, this practical video explores how to work with direct light, backlight, and blue hour light to craft more polished portraits. Direct light, coming straight from the sun, is often avoided because of its harshness on bright, cloudless days. However, the video explains that by carefully managing the direction of light, you can make it work to your advantage. Turning the subject's face toward the light and slightly raising their chin helps reduce unflattering shadows and evens out the light. This technique is especially useful when shooting in harsh midday sun. On overcast days, it’s a common misconception that light is omnidirectional. As Chelsea points out, light still has direction, and understanding this can be the difference between a missed image and one that glows with clean, professional quality.
The video moves on to backlighting, a favorite tool for soft, glowing portraits. This method is ideal for wedding and portrait shoots, particularly when natural shade isn’t available. By positioning the sun slightly off-center behind your subject, you can reduce lens glare while still creating a soft rim light on hair and an even tone on the face. Chelsea shares tips for achieving controlled light and even demonstrates how to add creative flares intentionally. Proper exposure is emphasized to avoid blown-out highlights. Balancing the exposure ensures that both the subject and background are retained in a refined and cohesive way.
Blue hour lighting, often overlooked, is a hidden gem. This brief window occurs just before sunrise or after sunset, offering vibrant tones of blue, purple, and pink. The soft, dreamy quality of this light requires no artificial enhancements and is ideal for capturing natural tones and stunning skies. Chelsea explains how turning the subject toward the light source enhances skin tones and highlights the background’s deep colors. Planning is essential to maximize this light, as its short duration—about 15 to 20 minutes—leaves little room for improvisation. She also shares a preference for sunset blue hour shoots, noting they give clients more time to warm up before the session. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
