Natural vs. Artificial Light

The Nature of Light

Photography really is the art of light. There are so many things to study, from the 7 basic properties, to colour theory, to invoking psychological impacts through the use of modifiers or its selective creative exploitation. However, at a very foundational level all light is light - natural and artificial. It operates in electromagnetic radioactive wavelengths emitted from a source in photons, traveling subject to the same laws of physics as all light - magnetic waves perpendicular to electrical, blue waves moving 33% faster than red. Light is light. That said, for the purposes of understanding how to easily work with it light can be classified into two distinct categories: natural and artificial. I want to be clear, in this lesson we won’t be exploring diffusion, colour temperature, or a myriad of other subjects tied to the manipulation of light; to find those topics you’ll have to look to the other lessons. This lesson is (despite the confusing technical sentence earlier) an introduction to the concept of artificial and natural light sources and the considerations for each.

Though with all of the technical jargon up there I’m sure it sounds very simple and straightforward at this point. It’s actually not that hard to attune to and advance quickly. Yet, that said, I assure you that there is much to truly mastering either one of these. If you are to dabble with the interplay of the two, then the dynamics can be rather complicated and often really require a lot of a photographer when it comes to understanding more complex control of the exposure triangle or their equipment - depending on what their aims, subject, and environment might be. Let’s dive right in by talking about the most readily available (at the right time of day) source: Natural light.

Natural Light

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: natural light is light that comes from any natural source. That means that it might come from the sun, it might come from fire, lightning, stars, heck even bio-luminescence. Pretty much anything that’s not man-made.

Learning in natural light environments is critical. Photography is a PERISHABLE SKILL, meaning if you don’t actively practice it you’ll lose your ability over time. That extends not only to your technical grasp of things like the exposure triangle, but also your memory and speed on editing software, workflow, and even your artistic vision. You need to practice looking at the light in your scene. Envisioning the final shot, its composition, how your camera sensor will react with the light given to it, where you might struggle and need to consider modifying the light, your scene/angle, or your settings in some manner, etc. Also, you will forget the theory that you study over time, so keep brushing up and challenging yourself - theory matters! From time to time it is great to pick a classic approach like shooting a natural light Rembrandt (a name we’ll explore in both the Art History and the studio lessons) as a personal challenge to keep you fresh and adaptable.

CONs

Here are some of the negatives for shooting natural light:

• No Control (Hard/Soft Light, Angle, Time)

• Exposure Changes

• Colour Temperature Changes

Artificial Light

If natural light represents anything which comes from a natural source like the sun, stars, bio-luminescence, fire, etc., then artificial light is best categorized as anything which is man-made. This would include things like camera flashes, ceiling lightbulbs, flashlights, studio strobes, Christmas lights, LED’s, lasers, fireworks, etc. While from a physics perspective light is still light, we differentiate because it’s so much easier to identify and adapt artificial lights to meet the levels (or counter the effects of) natural light depending on our needs. What does that look like? Let’s consider some situations.

When would you use artificial light?

Scenario 1

You’re a staff photographer taking passport and family photos inside a store like Walmart or Costco. Ever notice how those studios never seem to have windows? Given that photography is the art of light, it’s better to take photos in an environment where light sources are contained and controlled. The last thing you need is a sun setting directly into someone’s eyes making them squint uncomfortably. Also, as we’re going to discuss in the next lesson, the colour of the light outside can be drastically different depending on many factors than the light inside, making it difficult to achieve even colours in an image. There are many more reasons, but let’s move on. Surely a photo studio isn’t the only time you’d consider using artificial light, right?

Scenario 2

The sun is admittedly one heck of a huge source of natural light. It’s hard to go wanting for light on a sunny day when it lights up more than half the world’s surface directly and indirectly. Yet there you are, standing in a field and there are some REALLY dark shadows cast on someone’s face because they’re standing with their back to the sun. That’s a great time to use a bit of artificial light to brighten up the shadows! Something like a flash or other bright light will do a lot to fill those shadowed areas in and give you detail again!

Scenario 3

You want to create an effect! Perhaps you’ve seen some really edgy and dramatic photos of a new car and you want to try the same lighting effects to highlight the curves along a fender on your own. Or maybe you’re into modeling photography and you’ve seen a technique like butterfly lighting, so now you’re eager for a beauty dish (don’t worry, you can make them yourself for REALLY CHEAP) to try getting those results in your portfolio. Maybe you’re into portraits, you fancy yourself the next Annie Leibovitz or Joe McNally, and you just want to adjust your main-to-fill ratio of light to shadows on your subject’s faces with a bit more control than a reflector would offer you. All of these reasons and more are great opportunities to explore artificial lighting as a compliment to your photography gear!

When would you use natural light?

Scenario 1

You’re a new photographer and you simply don’t have the funds to invest in lighting equipment, not even the homemade variety (which I heartily endorse when you’re starting out - so long as it’s safely constructed!) Photography can be an expensive field to enter into, you can accomplish quite a bit with things like reflectors which can be as simple as cardboard and paper. In those situations natural light and entry-level/homemade are really the only choices. There’s no shame in keeping a budget, and I assure you that you can achieve professional level results with homemade modifiers, the lighting equipment industry is (in my opinion) one of the biggest scams in this field. Don’t fall victim to G.A.S.

Scenario 2

Sometimes you’re in a scenario where artificial light would be inappropriate. In my time with the military I routinely deployed to cover events that featured burials and other such solemn ceremonies. You may not be at a funeral, but you may find yourself at a wedding, in an art museum, a children’s play, or a church, and perhaps the bright distraction or sound of a strobe or a studio flash may not be appropriate. You have to consider your environment, and those around you, every bit as much as you do what’s in your frame. There may be some precious natural interactions and moments between subjects even that you’ll miss entirely because you’re caught up with snapping bright lights off and missing what’s unfolding.

Scenario 3

When the light is just absolutely beautiful the way it is! Sometimes you just don’t want to mess with a good thing. I would argue that the biggest part of photography is training your mind to recognize the opportunities in any given moment, the way the light is naturally landing and interacting with everything around you. When you start to pay attention to that and get comfortable being in a mindset where you’re exploiting the natural opportunities that are presented to you, you become more versatile as a photographer. It may require you to move the subject, diffuse through a curtain, block light in some manner like using a BOGO (we’ll talk about them in later units), but you need to practice simply assuming the mindset of watching light. Remember, photography is a perishable skill! Practice as often as you can, and challenge yourself!

One last thing…

Photography is a bit more fluid in some instances, so don’t feel like you have to be completely committed to being in one camp or the other - natural or artificial. You’re almost always better to learn how to control the artificial options like strobes and aim to master them, as you have the option of NOT using them if you feel you don’t need to. However, if you get stuck in one mindset and only practice that one, then you’re really only limiting yourself and your own ability to create and produce imagery. Get out, capture images, and have fun!

Personal growth challenge

Challenge yourself to take 20 images where 10 of the images are entirely natural light, and 10 of them feature artificial light as either a strong element filling shadows, or is the primary source of light. After you’re done doing that, seek some constructive criticism from someone who you trust to be entirely honest in what they say to you - the more experienced they are, the better. Take some time pondering the feedback you receive and consider adapting moving forward.