Use outdoor lighting to create striking images.
Outdoor photography lighting can add interest and depth to otherwise flat outdoor photographs. Photography is all about light and manipulate it. Light used in just the right way can provide for some amazing images.
Fill It In
A mistake made by some photographers is to not use that the pop-up flash on their cameras outdoors. This little, but often powerful flash can turn an average picture into a striking picture. Many outdoor photographs are taken with the sun behind the subject. This orientation offers very little lighting for your subject. Simply turn on the pop-up, or built-in, flash to provide that fill-in lighting that you need.
Working Off-Shoe
The simplest way to achieve the off-camera or off-shoe technique is to purchase an optical slave flash. This external flash will fire when it senses a flash from another flash source, such as your on-camera flash. This allows you the freedom to move that external flash around your subject and add fill flash from a variety of angles.
Reflect It
Don't forget about natural reflectors in your surrounding. According to world renowned photographer Joe McNally's book "The Moment It Clicks. Photography Secrets From One of the World's Top Shooters", never underestimate the floor as a light source. You can use a simple white sheet to add that little blast of light below your subject to offer an amazing glow.
Dappled Light
Avoid areas where the sunlight is coming through shade at varying intensities. This provides for uneven, unappealing lighting.
Quality of Light
Shoot your outdoor photographs when the light source is at the best quality. This is in early morning light and late afternoon light. Lighting at these times provides for the softest and warmest images. As an alternative, overcast days are usually good photo days. Overcast skies offer a diffuse light that leads to softer images.
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