One camera, one subject, one location, and three totally unique pictures! Let’s learn how to mix it up.
Compositional variety can be hard to achieve with limited space and lighting. If you have one space with minimal equipment it can be pretty tough to feel inspired. Luckily, Joshua shares some tips and tricks on how you can use natural light and a small space without sacrificing your creativity.
Angle Variety
In this scenario, the sun coming through the window was too bright, so the first thing Joshua did was close the curtains halfway to rid the room of that harsh brightness. At this point, the subject is being lit by the window while the rest of the room is dark.
After setting up the lighting and maintaining the contrast, Joshua moved around the room to get pictures of the subject from a multitude of angles. Joshua was able to photograph many distinct compositions without ever leaving the room by capturing the bride from different points of view.
Create Falloff and Shadows
For another shot, Joshua closed the curtains even more and made it completely dark in the room so that the silhouette of the bride acted as the focal point. The sharp falloff from the sliver of natural light illuminates the bride just enough for a dramatic contrast effect. When photographing a subject in a half-lit room, see how you can experiment with the darkness and use it to your advantage.
Using Bright Natural Light
The last variation Joshua tried was using natural light to highlight the subject in a more traditional way. Joshua achieved the classic portrait look by posing the bride right next to the light source. In doing so, the subject was well lit, clear, and in focus. Joshua added visual contrast to the photo by blocking the view of the window with a curtain so that the bride was emphasized as the main focal point.
Now You Try
Make sure you watch the video to see the results of the whole creative process. As always, we hope these tips were useful in helping you become a better photographer. Practice, practice, practice! Get out there with your camera and see if you can find a space to create three unique portraits.
Here are three things we learned today to keep in mind for next time:
- Move around and capture your subject from a different POV
- Try experimenting with falloff and shadows
- Bright natural light can be effective in lighting up your subject
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