16. THE DIRECTION AND YOUR POSITION
ONE THING THAT differs between natural light photography and the artificially lit studio environment is your ability to manipulate the position of your light source(s). It’s quite easy to move an artificial light, but impossible to move the sun.
With natural light portraiture, two considerations are the direction from which the light source is hitting your subject and your position relative to the light source. When you started out in photography, you probably thought that as long as the light was behind you, you’d make a decent image. However, the direction from which the light source hits the portrait subject is one of the primary determinants of the light’s dimensionality. When the light is over your shoulder, you are essentially using what is called on-axis lighting. All of the shadows will be thrown behind the subject, nowhere to be seen in the image. This effect flattens the depth of the subject, and it can be quite unappealing and undynamic (Figure 16.1 and Figure 16.2).
One of the most interesting aspects of using light specifically is the ability to create and utilize shadows. Therefore, be sure to consider the direction of the light source as it hits your subject. Right before a shoot starts, when the subject is on location, imagine what the light will look like as if it were moving around him. Better yet, make the subject spin around slowly as you visually study the way the light hits him. No matter your position, making the subject turn to or away from the light source will reveal different shadow detail (Figure 16.3 and Figure 16.4). Do the shadows become more noticeable? When do they tend to recede or disappear? Take note of how the shadows fall. Shadows pull the viewer’s eye into the image, and aid your photograph in telling its narrative.
Remember your spinning subject? What if you spun around, too, always facing your subject? Not only would you see a change in shadow characteristic, you would also see dramatic change in the amount of shadow and background in the image (Figure 16.5, Figure 16.6, and Figure 16.7). For example, when you turn to a point where the light is hitting your subject at a 45-degree angle from behind and to the side, the shadows will become evident on the face. Depending on how high the sun is in the sky, the light might create a classic loop or Rembrandt style for your portrait. At 90 degrees to the side, you will notice the light covers half of the face, leaving the other half in shadow. This hatchet lighting is popular when conveying naturally dramatic, sometimes aggressive characteristics. At 180 degrees, the light is simply behind the subject, and in front of you. When the camera is positioned appropriately, this is useful lighting for a silhouette.
16.1 On-axis lighting throws shadows back from the subject, eliminating depth and dimension. This shot was made with direct sunlight that, although behind me, was at a high angle in the sky, providing shadow underneath features such as the nose, chin, and arms.
ISO 100; 1/3200 sec.; f/2.8; 125mm
16.2 Turning the subject and myself nearly 90 degrees off-axis (away from the sun) created dimensional shadows on the subject’s face.
ISO 100; 1/3200 sec.; f/2.8; 140mm
16.3 Positioning your subject relative to the light source will determine where shadows fall. In this portrait, the light source is hitting Preston nearly straight on, so his shadow is straight back and a bit toward the camera.
ISO 100; 1/800 sec.; f/4; 64mm
16.4 Simply rotating Preston’s head toward the camera changes how the light hits his face. Now, it’s hitting him from the left, and a new arrangement of shadows adds different dimensionality to the face.
16.5 Visualize the light by looking at your subject as you rotate with them, changing your own position relative to the light source. On-axis, over-the-shoulder light lacks definition, but is useful when the entire front of the face needs to be lit.
ISO 100; 1/1600 sec.; f/4; 64mm
16.6 Positioning your subject with the light behind them makes for soft light on the front of them and great backlight behind them. However, depending on your background, you may have issues with exposure.
ISO 100; 1/400 sec.; f/4; 64mm
The point is to be extremely cognizant of the direction from which the light source hits your subject and your relative position to it. Pay attention to how the shadows appear and what they are saying about your image. To create dimension in your portraits, position your subject and yourself so you’re using off-axis light. Off-axis light does not come from straight over your shoulder to hit your subject square in the face. Off-axis light creates visible shadow, and as a result, creates contrast and emotion in your imagery.
On-axis light has its appeal, but for the most part, you are probably better off using some form of off-axis light, in which a lit side and a shadowed side of the face are evident. You can turn a portrait subject’s face away from the light source, letting the shadows fall toward the camera (we call this short lighting), or use light that is just off-axis from center, where the shadows fall away from the camera (we call this broad lighting). There are varying degrees to how short or broad the lighting for a portrait might be, but ultimately, it’s about creative appeal and storytelling.
16.7 As your position changes relative to the light, as well as to your subject’s position, the shadows in the portrait will convey a great deal of meaning. This hatchet (side) lighting, created by placing your subject at a 90-degree angle to the light, is considered a dramatic way to use the light to convey intrigue, attitude, or undefined edginess about your subject.
ISO 100; 1/640 sec.; f/4; 64mm
Use Golden Hour Light
The golden hours—the hour after the sun rises and the hour before it sets—is often the light photographers want to work with. This light is naturally warmer and somewhat softer than midday light since it’s diffused by atmospheric debris (dust, smog, moisture) that exists closer to the earth. Daytime light between the golden hours shines at a different angle and cuts through less of this debris, and is often more intense than the camera’s sensor can handle, making over- or underexposure more likely (Figure 16.8).
Golden hour light is also the most dimensional light. Take a look at the shadows the next time you are shooting during the last hour of the day. Since the angle of the sun is lower in the sky, the shadows it creates are elongated, and thus have more depth. Light from this angle also helps us avoid distracting shadows on the eyes created by the subject’s eyebrows. For that matter, any shadow created by the protrusions of the human face look more natural and less problematic during the golden hours than any other time of the day.
I like to describe golden hour light as tangible. It helps provide the appearance of a third dimension in the image while using a two-dimensional medium, and its warmth is extremely attractive. It doesn’t hurt to scout a location before a shoot to see the potential such warm light will have for your portrait subject. Although you only have approximately one hour of really great direct light to work with, a bit of preparation and vision can make that golden hour a productive one!
16.8 The warmth of the light hitting the children is a result of the sun’s rays passing through the densest parts of the atmosphere near the earth’s horizon. This golden hour shot was made 10 minutes before sunset, when the sunlight was near its warmest and softest.
ISO 100; 1/1000 sec.; f/2; 50mm