Available Lighting

Available lighting is something that I think a lot of photographers take for granted and I am guilty of this as well...

As photographers, we buy all these cool gadgets, gizmos, light modifiers and whatever else and totally over-complicate our setup.

More stuff = more problems.

This is one of the big reasons why I am downsizing all my gear for 2011. I used to think that golf had a ton of wacky gizmos but now I am thinking that photographers have them beat!

One of the things that is available to us, free of charge, is available light:








I have always tried to not book multiple outdoor portrait sessions in one single day. If you do then rock on! I prefer to shoot when the light is under that "golden hour" when the sun is setting and the light becomes softer and more easy to work with. My client gets that full hour of my time then and that light is theirs and theirs alone.

If you have ever tried doing a photo shoot under high noon sun without any overcast or shade (or worse, in a park with trees) and you will know what I am talking about! It takes A LOT more work to even out that light that you simply don't have to put yourself through. Sure you could cart along studio strobes, large diffusion tents, a staff of 12 assistants to shield the light but why bother if you don't have to??? Good luck if you are photographing children... Try moving at their speed with all that equipment!

When I was starting out I had a Nikon D100 D-SLR, two entry level lenses (variable aperture of like f/3.5 to f/5.6) and one speedlight (Nikon SB-800). I didn't have millions of things to work with yet I still got the job done. I did this by being prepared and booking my portrait sessions at logical times when the light was right.

guess what? YOU CAN TOO!

Just put your subject in a shady area or use window light to your advantage for amazing results. If your shooting outdoors, add a little fill flash (-1 ev to start) to create a catch light in the eyes for good measure.

Book some portrait jobs, build the portfolio (blog or website), book more jobs from the portfolio and keep racking in the $$$. With money you can start to upgrade your equipment. You will know what you NEED (not WANT) simply through remembering the struggles that you encounter when doing your portrait assignments. It is a slow process but a worthwhile one since debt sucks!

Available lighting... Use it!

Thanks for stopping by!
Michael