We usually talk about harsh light in terms of how to eliminate it with flash or fix it in post. That is important. But there is another way.
We can make any light work for us…
In the edits today I used Filmist, but also tools like Elegance, Natural HDR and PowerFlow which all have presets I’ve designed for sunlight and problem light.
Hard light is not what we think.
As I talk often in my free Shadow Hackers workshop. We often don’t realize that the the biggest problem if hard lights is not only clipping, but how it create hard shadows.
There were a few useful video mentioned however. Including my video of fixing clipping and pixel painting for extreme problems. Why ETTR is usually wrong and using masks to soften hard light.
Any light can me amazing!
You want to stay around for the final tip because it’s not just the lend or the process, How we think about the light we are presented with is often more important than anything.
Look deep as why the light is hard and what the shadows are doing and everything can change in a single frame.
The way we look at the light we are faces with often defines photos more than the light itself.
Do side quests
When you’re under the pressure of a paid session you tend to play it safe. Value your work. But sessions, collabs etc are like a gym for a photographer.
Start trying thinning and making challenges for yourself and watch your photography grow faster than ever.
This video is packed full of real world in camera photography tips and I hope you mad it till the end and found something that helped you.
Gavin Seim
