I'm a "Natural Light Photographer"...NOT!

There are two sayings we hear at the store multiple times every single day.  Nearly every phone call starts with, "Hey Nick, I just have a quick question for you."  I want to respond, probably not, but go ahead anyway.  The next statement I hear in the lighting area is, "I'm a natural light photographer."  My translation of this statement is:  I don't want to invest in lights and a light meter is way beyond my comprehension.  You are probably thinking that sounds so mean.  That isn't my intention but I would suggest it is probably the truth.  

Lights, good lights are an investment.  We've invested nearly $3,000.00 in lighting in 2013.  This investment will last many, many years and the dividends it pays in beautiful images you could not get with natural light are in fact, priceless! 

Who doesn't like Christmas portraits?  We all take them and so many of them are just not good.  The tree is often a blocked up mass of dark green or black in most images.  The lights are either barely visible, or too bright and the color balance is typically orange, not flattering at all.  Not to make it sound more difficult than it is, but trying to pick the time of day, distance from any available window and blending the ambient light with the background of the trees...difficult at best. It is much simpler taking a studio light and picking the direction that makes sense compositionally, place your subjects and go to work,

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about.  These shots are all right out of the camera, jpegs that have had ZERO post production done to them.  I simply cropped them to fit this blog, and reduced them in size.  I did throw a copyright on them because these are some seriously cute subjects.

First up, our grandson from California.  He is a natural, I love photographing him!  He is animated and adorable, how can I not get a great picture?  Simple, I could try this available light or use an on camera flash, just a little bit better than no light at all.  Both options will be an absolute fail in most cases.  This is one light to my right, and above his head.  Look how beautiful his face is, it looks like there is a light coming from behind him, but its a window way across the room and I'm dragging my shutter just enough to get it and the lights on the tree to work for me.  Shooting wide open with a 60mm Fuji Macro lens to get shallow depth of field and out of focus lights.

Next up, the oldest cousin, also the "Little Mother" to the rest of these guys.

Trying to get the kids to hit the same mark is like herding cats, it's tough.  But thanks to Grandma, they did great.  Exact same light, and predictable results.  I wouldn't change a thing technically on this image.

Next, the middle child, and the boy in the family, Vinnie.  Spirited, ornery, hyper and fun! 

Here the shallow depth of field almost hurt me, he starts to fall out of focus, but trying to focus on this moving subject is no easy feat.  I've had lots of people question how the Fuji X Pro 1 does with fast moving subjects, overall it does pretty well.  In dim light (like this) and super fast action, it still has a ways to go.  But, just look at these creamy, beautiful flesh tones!  Any issues I have with focus, are totally forgotten by the files I get from my camera.  I am a people shooter, so flesh tones are where it's at!

Finally, our newest addition to the family.  She is just about 8 months old and still has the most beautiful blue eyes ever!  Don't believe me?  Take a look...

...I told you so!  This helps me illustrate one of my pet peeves about "natural light photographers" We've all heard the expression, "The eyes are the light of the soul."  If that's true, how many photos have you seen of people that have deep set eyes and they look like Abraham Lincoln?  I am talking total lack of light, just two dark holes.  Please, use a reflector, bounce some light off a sheet, use a lamp, something to get some light in there?  Look how these eyes sparkle, and there is absolutely no post production on any of these!  Which beings me to another issue.  All the "actions" and Photoshop "magic" that can be done, is usually overdone!  Yes there are "Eye Pop" actions, along with every other band aid to make a terrible image kind of acceptable.  Call me a purist, or Photoshop challenged, but I think it's hard to beat jpeg's right out of the camera.

If you would like to know how to get images like this, how to gain control of your lights or better yet, where to start in buying lights, drop me an email.  I've taught many, many people how to use a meter, what makes for a good light and how to build up a great, lighting system that will work for your specific application.  I offer small lighting classes that are hands on, guaranteed to make a difference or you don't pay!

Technical Info:  Fuji X Pro 1 camera, 60mm macro lens, Sekonic L-478D meter (killer), Elinchrom Ranger Quadra with Skyport transmitter, one head with Rotalux Deep Throat Modifier.