SAME LIGHT. DIFFERENT LOOKS.
Manipulating Natural Light to Achieve Different Styles

These photos were captured in the same location, shot with the exact same lens and  settings only seconds apart. They were edited the exact same way as well. So why do they look so different? It’s all about the light – in the case, the quantity of light.  In the first image, I asked Basia to position herself directly behind the sun. I positioned myself at eye level and allowed the light behind her to flood my lens. This created the soft, hazy look you see in this image below.

Even though I do like this type of effect for certain scenarios, I tend to favor images that pop. So we made some few changes to add more contrast and clarity to our next shot. This time I had Basia turn another 45 degrees away from the sun ( I used a reflector to bounce more light on to her face). I also took advantage of my trusty step stool to shoot at an angle slightly above her eye level to avoid flooding my lens with light this time. You can still see the glow and warmth of the backlighting, but my subject clearly pops in this image. This shot is definitely more my speed, but there’s no right or wrong way to do things.  It’s all a matter of preference. However, it never hurts to try something new. The more you learn how to manipulate light (whether it be natural or off camera), the better photographer you’ll be!

Lens: 24-70mm • ISO: 100 • Aperture: f/2.8 • Shutter: 1/400