If you’re wondering how Chelsea and I get clean and consistent portraits when we shoot, then we would say, “Light”.

We’ve mentioned in the past that we are people centered photographers. We do our best to get the settings right in camera, so we spend less time behind our computer screens. We are very careful on the lighting we put our clients in. There are several types of light that can ruin an image. If you know what types of light to avoid, then it becomes easier to find the right light.

Finding the right light is so important. It creates consistent imagery that our clients trust. We’d choose the best light over the prettiest background any day. Bad light can ruin a pretty background. When we shoot during a portrait session, we choose where we shoot based on the light.

As you can see below, the image of Chelsea was taken in good light. The light is even from head to toe, and there is soft light in the background.

We wanted to show examples of good light vs. bad light. Keep scrolling to see examples of bad light situations.

01. Harsh Light: Direct light that casts unflattering shadows on your subject.

02. Spotty Light: Splotches of sun on the the subject and the background.

03. Split Light: Two-tone light where there is an overexposed background behind your subject.

No matter how good you are in post production, if you shoot in these types of bad light, then it will be almost impossible to get the detail back in the image.

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