Yesterday, I shared on Instagram the reason most people are struggling to create images that they love.

The reason?

They aren’t spending enough time finding and photographing in the correct LIGHT! Being able to recognize and manipulate the RIGHT lighting does the following:

Helps you to create images that are beautiful and consistent.

Your work will become known from this signature style AND you will love ALL of your galleries! -It will help you to be more CONFIDENT in the work you are creating!

Confidence is huge in this industry because it means that your clients will trust you more, be willing to pay more, and be more willing to send referrals your way! It’s a win-win!

You will save tremendous time on post-processing…I’m talking HOURS of your life back! I know what you’re thinking: “Okay, Raegan…I get it. How do I do it?” In today’s blog post, I want to break down the BEST lighting scenarios to find at every natural light shoot

.#1: OPEN SHADE Open shade is every photographer’s BEST friend! It creates even light on your clients and prevents the not-so-cute sun flare/fuzzy look we can sometimes get when shooting directly into the light source (or the sun).

• Open shade is when both you AND your subject are standing in the shade! Instead of you standing in the sun and the client in the shade.

• Try searching for covered porches, the side/back of a building, lots of tree coverage, etc.

• Shade that is NOT splotchy: it is evenly lit with no patches of light where your subject is standing.

#2: SPOTTY SHADE Spotty shade is easier to find when the sun is high and the light is harsh.

• Your priority here is to ensure that both YOU and your SUBJECT are in the shade. You want to ensure that the light is never hitting your lens directly – this causes the image to lack clarity and be overexposed.

• Find an area of shade where your subjects are completely shaded – this may take some moving around, and that’s okay! Check to be sure there are no “hot spots” or light spots on their faces or bodies.

• Try to ensure that the light source is coming from BEHIND them!

#3: BACKLIGHT (or “THE GLOW”) This is my signature (and favorite!) type of lighting for my images! The backlight or “glow” creates gorgeous light beyond your subject!

• This lighting scenario works best when the sun is low – closest to sunset! I recommend saving your client’s favorite outfit and location for last so that you can have this gorgeous light and create the BEST images from the shoot!

• When the sun is behind your client, you need something BLOCKING the light from hitting your camera lens directly. This can be your client’s head (if the sun is low enough), trees, buildings, or floral branches!