Anatomy of Natural Light Portraits A
nyone can use a smart phone to take a picture of another person and end up with a nice memory. It happens hundreds of millions of times every day. No thought or artistry goes into a snapshot. All you have to do is get your finger away from the lens and push a button.
Taking a timeless portrait, however, is different. That requires a skill set, an artistic eye, an awareness of light, attention paid to the environment, and often a lot of patience. Let’s examine the ingredients necessary for
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successful and enduring portraits using natural light. What makes good portrait photography challenging is that you have to think about these factors at essentially the same moment. With practice, though, it becomes second nature. 1. The light. My favorite type of light for portraits of people (and animals as well) is soft and diffused light. You can never go wrong with this type of flattering illumination. Overcast skies are not great for landscapes, but they are the ideal type of sky for outdoor portraits because the light is always soft.
