If you’re planning a photo shoot or a wedding in the near future – this blog is written to you.
I’m a natural light photographer. I love to shoot using the sun as my primary light source – giving my images that soft, even, golden light that I love so much.
I also LOVE shooting when it’s cloudy outside – the clouds provide a perfect natural soft light because they act as a diffusor from the sun’s harsh rays. The two images below were taken this last week at the “golden hour” on a cloudy day.
But during the summer – achieving this aesthetic is not always so easy. Why? Because these shots are taken at what is lovingly referred to as “golden hour” by us in the biz. And when is that perfect shooting time? Right now it’s about 6:30-8pm, which can be a little late for little ones (although you’d never be able to guess by Ethan’s sweet little smile featured above that it was way past his bedtime!). When families call me to schedule shoots and I tell them “Yay! I’ve got x-date at 6:30pm available” and get the “is there any earlier time…?” response … Well, I figured it was time for a blog post about WHY I shoot in the hour before sunset.
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from brides that “they wish they had known” about golden hour. Many brides and grooms don’t even think about it when they are planning their wedding day – they think, oh it’ll be gorgeous and 75 degrees outside at 2 in the afternoon! What they don’t realize is that it is the WORST possible time for natural light photographers who are shooting solo. Mid-day sun casts shadows – shadows under the eyes, shadows from trees and other objects … and I won’t even get into squinty-eye-Magee photos!
Am I saying that it’s not do-able to shoot in mid-day sun? Absolutely not! All I am saying is that for me, at least, it’s not preferable. That being said, sometimes shooting in full strength mid-day sun is a situation I can’t avoid – like yesterday I had two mid-day sun shoots. The first was a HUGE family reunion shoot (19 people!) and literally 1pm was the ONLY time we could get together this entire week.
First – you can find an evenly shaded spot.
This image was taken yesterday afternoon at about 2:15pm. I placed Caeden in the shade and exposed my cameras settings for her skin. Make sure to adjust your white balance accordingly since shaded light can be on the cool side.
The other shoot I did yesterday was at the United States Air Force Academy, because the junior cadets were celebrating their Ring Dance (when juniors receive their class rings and become senior cadets). I didn’t have any assistants with me, so I prayed for cloud coverage. Ask, and (sometimes) ye shall receive. The image below was shot around 4pm, full day sun with a cloud that happened to pass right in front of the sun. Ryan and Melanie were such sports with my “okay – CLOUD!” posing style, haha!
Another option? Get yourself an assistant and use a reflector (I wrote a whole blog post about Why I Love Reflectors recently).
The above image was taken about 4:30pm in April using a ginormous 5-in-1 reflector held up by my lead second shooter/assistant for weddings. Just a head’s up – reflectors create a LOT of heat for the subjects because it’s such a direct reflection of the suns rays – and it can be a little blinding sometimes. So use reflectors with care!
Want to get even more fancy and technical? Bust out some OCF (off camera flash) equipment. I use RadioPopper JRX triggers and Nikon Speedlights (this one and that one) for OCF.
OCF is not for the weak-hearted. It takes a LOT of practice and skill to do OCF and it’s something I’ve been working on for the last year or so. The above shot was actually taken last year right after the sun had gone down (about 8pm), while visiting my friends Brittany and Evan out in Coronado, California.
So basically – the point I am trying to get across – is to trust your photographer and to ask them for their opinion about what time is best for shooting. If you saw a shoot that you absolutely LOVED – ask the photographer what type of lighting was used (all natural, reflector, OCF, studio lighting) and if it was natural light – what time of day the shoot was done at. Here in Colorado, everyone knows that one day it can be snowing and the next it can be sunny and warm – so sometimes shooting during the middle of the day is absolutely do-able without having to find shade, an assistant or using OCF if there’s enough cloud coverage … But it’s never guaranteed to be the same one day to the next.
If you want that golden hour light, shooting right before sunset is your best bet. This goes for family sessions, and weddings too! Lighting is EVERYTHING in photography – it’s what can take an image from drab to fab!
xoxo,
