You may think that
to take professional
images you need
loads of expensive
lights and large studio space;
however, this is simply not
the case. Daniel Carson is a
photographer based in London
and for the past four years he
has been shooting professional
portraits out on location using
just natural light.
I wanted to add some words about editing and what goes into the process. So you have a better understanding.
Culling images is simple. The importance of it is often overlooked. Even with the best retouching methods, if the right photo to edit wasn’t chosen, the results won’t be exciting or pleasing to the eye. Choosing 3-5 images out of 500 from a photoshoot is hard. In fact, it’s an art form. I’ve found the best way to narrow it down is to select 35 images and then show them to friends and family and let their instincts help you.
Another important thing to remember is that it is always best to go with the more natural poses. While creativity is important, it is equally important to not overdo things and try too hard. There is no technique for culling. It is all about finding an image that is pleasing to the human eye. And that is what makes it the most difficult because there is a tremendous amount of subjectivity involved. That is why it is best to share it with as many people as you can. Forget about a technically perfect image. Find an image that speaks to you and your friends.
To cull images:
Open adobe bridge - navigate to the folder with images - hit the space bar and use the arrow keys to navigate - hit any number between 1 -5 to rate the image - hit the space bar again and then press enter (this opens the image in CameraRaw or Photoshop).
People often confuse Camera Raw as the place where special effects and filter adjustments are made. However, CR helps create a foundation for which to continue editing on Photoshop. CR is not where amazing results happen. It’s used to make RAW adjustments like bringing back some detail in the highlights, adjusting the white balance. With that in mind, it is important to avoid making global adjustments like using the exposure and contrast slider. Adding contrast is something that can be done manually in the editing process, if you add contrast in CR you will notice toning issues on the skin and eyes becoming dark and unrecoverable. If there is something small that is bothersome, for example, the skin is on the darker side, there are methods to brightening that without using the exposure slider which over brightens the background in the process. Hit up the luminosity slider, the orange and red slider can be used to brighten the skin and leave everything else alone. Clarity is frowned upon but about 10 usually makes the image pop and makes dodging and burning easier. It will make flaws such as pimples stand out more but that’s ok since you will spot heal that later anyways.
Spot Healing
We started with the spot healing tool in photoshop to remove blemishes on the skin, you can use this for stray hairs on the skin as well. Using the patch tool for the bags under the eyes. This is a huge nono since you mess with the textures. I will explain in the next section of this article how to fix bags.
Dodge & Burn
Dodging and burning is probably the most important part of your workflow. It’s the hardest to master but also the most rewarding. The tools and methods you use to dodge and burn is simple and actually isn’t important. Understanding where and how much to dodge and burn is the key to success here. Check out this article I wrote last year that will help clarify where to dodge and burn Again, there are dozens of ways to dodging and burning, so don’t get hung up on the tools to use. Concentrate on understanding where to do it and how much. Just follow the techniques used by makeup artists. They understand this best. I keep it simple by using a new layer set to soft light and filled with 50% grey. Then use a brush set to 5% opacity and brush white to dodge and a black brush to burn. This is a method I saw in Scott Kelbey’s book called Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it.
Eyes
I’ve already written the perfect article that will help you make your eyes pop and still look natural. To sharpen the eyes duplicate the layer, go to Filter > Other > High Pass, set it to 30. Then set the layer blend mode to Soft Light. Add a black mask. Use a white brush at 50% opacity and brush the eyes. Make sure your mask is selected when you’re painting.
Toning
Before you move on take note: If you aren’t happy with your image at this point then the toning portion will not change how you feel about the image. The toning will never completely change a photo and a lot of people out there blame their lack of post-production skill on the toning portion. Toning will only add a little bit to an already solid image. Before we jump into toning the key thing to keep in mind is toning is not about throwing on random colours and filters. this might work one out of 20x. if you want to nail the toning portion you need to have a clear understanding of complementary colours. This goes beyond toning though. It’s critical to keep this in mind when picking wardrobe and location.
When taking portraits with natural light, often times, there is one key aspect that is overlooked. This facet of naturally lit photos is far more important than things like shooting at a specific time of day. Before diving into what makes a naturally lit photo a spectacular one, it is important to know and understand the difference between artificial lighting and using natural light.
The biggest difference between using strobes and a natural light source (i.e. the sun), is the directional light. Directional light is when you have a powerful source of SOFT light coming from one specific angle. This is often called the key or main light. The reason this is important to have in a portrait is the depth it gives the skin and the way it highlights features. Without that directional light, your subject’s skin and features will look flat and unflattering. While the sun is technically considered a directional light source, the lighting is often direct and harsh on the subject. When using artificial light, a photographer can use things like modifiers to perfectly illuminate the subject’s skin in the proper areas. The light should wrap around the skin smoothly and evenly. In most cases, when using natural light in the open, the subject’s skin can appear to look flat because there is light bouncing off surrounding areas from all directions. If you are in direct sunlight, well it’s a given that the light will be far too harsh with unwanted harsh shadows.
Contrary to popular belief, although the sun may be harsh during midday hours, if you are conscious of directional light, chances are you can find it any time of the day. Obviously, it will not be in an open corn field or in a park midday, nonetheless, there are far more opportunities then you can imagine. Personally when I’m walking the streets looking for that perfect spot to shoot I’m concentrating mainly on that perfectly soft and directional light. One example is an alley, they are dark and deceiving but the light coming from either end is extremely soft.
A quick note before I show you a few more examples of great locations: just as it’s important to find softer, directional light, it is also just as important to find an enclosed space that will block the light from the sides. This enclosed space could be nearby buildings, narrow alleys or right inside a doorway entrance. The subject needs to be lit properly however, it is crucial to cast shadows on the sides of their faces in order to add depth in lighting. Shadows are important because it accentuates the directional light source.
Alleys, narrow streets with tall builds and underpasses double as more than just one directional light. There’s a second light coming from the other end that will highlight the back of your subject’s hair. An example of that is the cover image of this article and the one below.
This one tip cannot be stressed enough and I will not even turn on my camera until I find that light I’m looking for. Other examples of naturally lit images can be found on.
