Light: Finding It and Using It

In this lesson: where the light is coming from, and how to place your client so it flatters them. Why it matters on an HNC shoot: you cannot choose the time or the place. A client books an hour and a location, and you have to make good light out of whatever is there. Learning to read light is the skill that makes that possible.

The rule that fixes most photos

Put the light on your client's face, not behind them.

A camera records the brightness of a scene, and it can only handle so much difference between the brightest and the darkest parts. If the brightest thing in the picture (the sun, a window, a sunset sky) is behind your client, the camera adjusts for that bright background, and your client's face goes dark. If the light shines on the face, the camera adjusts for the face, and the face looks bright, clear and healthy.

The easiest way to do this is to ask yourself one question before you shoot: "Where is the light, and where is my client's face?" Then move yourself or your client until the light is coming from behind you (or from the side), landing on their face.

Golden hour: the best light of the day

The first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset are called golden hour. The sun is low, so the light is warm, soft and coming from the side. Skin looks glowing, shadows are gentle, and you do not need any tricks. If you can steer a booking toward this time, do. For a sunset shoot, face your client toward the sun, and let the warm light fall on their face. Ask them to look slightly away from the sun to avoid squinting.

Harsh midday sun: what to avoid

When the sun is high overhead (late morning to mid-afternoon), the light is hard and it comes from above. It makes dark shadows in the eye sockets (the "raccoon eyes" look), under the nose and under the chin, and it makes people squint.

What to do instead:

• Move into open shade. Under a building's shadow, a tree or an awning, with the open sky still in front of your client, the light turns soft and even. This is the best fix and it works almost anywhere.
• Turn your client so the sun is behind them, then tap their face so the camera brightens it, and take care that the face is not too dark. This works best with a little light bouncing back from the ground or a wall.
• Shoot close to a wall that is lit by the sun. The wall bounces soft light up onto your client's face.
• Never ask clients to look straight at the sun.

Backlight on purpose

Sometimes a backlit shot is exactly what you want, such as a glowing edge of light around the hair or a silhouette. This is a creative choice, so make it deliberately: tap the face and slide the brightness slider up until the face is clear, and check the result. If you only meant to take a normal photo, move to put the light on the face.

Light indoors

Indoors there is usually less light, so a phone will lengthen its exposure and everything gets softer. Make your own good light:

• Find the window. Window light is the best light indoors. Put your client at about 45 degrees to the window, so the window lights one side of the face softly. Face the window directly if the light is very soft.
• Turn off mixed lights. Overhead lights, lamps and window light together make a patchwork of colors. Switch off the overhead lights you can, and use the window.
• Do not put the client with a window behind them. That is backlight, and the face will go dark. Turn them around.
• Avoid using the built-in flash for portraits. It flattens faces and creates red eyes. If it is dark, ask whether another lamp can be moved closer.
• Raise the phone's brightness slider after tapping the face if the room is dim, and hold very still (remember lesson 1).

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Not looking at the light before shooting. Ask the question first: "Where is the light, and where is the face?"
• Putting the client in front of a bright window or sunny sky. Turn them around so the light is on their face.
• Shooting at midday in full sun. Find open shade.
• Tapping the sky or the background. Tap the face.
• Mixing lights of different colors. Choose one source, usually the window.

Key takeaway

Put the light on your client's face: look for light before you pose anyone, and when in doubt, turn them toward it.