letting the light shine in :: how to find the light in your photography

it’s all about the light right?

as a photographer, i’ve heard (and/or repeated) this expression a million times.  my guess is that you have too.  but what exactly does it mean?

one of the most frequent (and most cherished) compliments i get about my photos is ‘you always find the most beautiful light’.  these kind words touch my heart because finding the light is the guiding principle behind my photography.  regardless of the subject or style of photography, the light has to come first.

i’ve actually had this idea to write a blog series about this topic for a while now.  and june seems like the perfect time…we are enjoying the longest days of the year.  more hours in the day means more time for finding the light.  and so in this series, i thought i would share with you what finding the light means for me. how i find the light, how i utilize the light, how i let the light create magic in my photos.

to start with, when i talk about light in this series, i am referring to natural light…the light from the sun.  and when i started to get really serious about photography, it seemed only natural that if i wanted to understand light better, i should learn a little more about the sun.  and more specifically, since i am an inhabitant of the planet earth, i wanted to better understand how the light from the sun interacts with the earth.

warning!! science nerd alert!!

i’m sure that you will recall from your sixth grade physical science class that the sun is the center of our solar system.

our planet earth orbits the sun and we make one revolution every 365.24 days – our calendar year + an extra day every four years to make up for that pesky, extra 1/4th of a day.

in addition, while the earth is orbiting the sun, it also rotates on its own tilted axis in a period of 24 hours thereby giving us periods of day and night.

the earth’s tilt, in combination with its relative position to the sun is what determines the amount of light that reaches the earth.  and of course this varies throughout the year which is what gives us our seasons and changes in climate.

in the northern hemisphere (where i live) the earth reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun on or around june 21st which is known as the summer solstice.  and in contrast, when the earth reaches its maximum tilt away from the earth, this is known as the winter solstice which occurs on or around december 21st.  our longest and shortest days of the year respectively.

now don’t say it.  i know what you’re thinking.   does this even matter?  what does all of this have to do with photography?

here’s the deal.  it does matter.  in fact it matters way more than you would even imagine.  because the dance between the earth and the sun has a direct impact on our surroundings.  the quality of the light changes depending on the seasons.  and how i experience the light in this dynamic cycle shows up in my photography.

let’s revisit the solstices for a minute.  remember that those are the times of the year when the earth reaches its maximum tilt toward and away from the sun.  here’s a great diagram of what that looks like to us in the northern hemisphere.

notice the placement of the sun in the sky.  during the summer solstice, the sun has the longest arc giving us the longest day.  but also notice the shadows…with the sun high in the sky, the shadows are nearly non-existent.  by contrast, during the winter solstice, the sun is very low in the southern sky and that causes deep shadows on the north side.

here let me bring this closer to home…my home.

the front of my house faces north and the back of my house faces south.  and in the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, the light shines brightly in through my south facing french doors.  so in my kitchen, which is on the south side of my house, when i take a photo midday, i get strong, direct sunlight on my subjects which creates dramatic light and shadows.

during the summer months, it looks a little more like this.

notice that i still get tons of  bright light coming in through my back doors, but the angle is higher.  so therefore the light it is less direct…less intense.  the light is softer, more diffuse, less dramatic.

same house, same table, same camera, same lens.  but a completely different feel in these two sets of photos!

i’m sorry… i know i’m geeking out, but here’s one more cool example and it’s back to this diagram.

notice the position of the sun as it rises.  in summer, the sun rises at its most northern and in winter at it’s most southern point on the horizon.  back and forth along this path, the sun rises in the eastern sky and depending on the time of year, the morning light finds it way into my home.

usually in early spring the morning sun starts pouring in through our east-facing bedroom window.

and it always seems like in the fall i notice the light coming in through our east french doors and falling on the piano.

i find this to be utterly is amazing!

{i think i’m going to call it seasonal affected photography}

i could go on and on with more examples, but i think you get the picture.  and if you want to geek out yourself, here are some great links.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System
• http://web.gccaz.edu/~lnewman/gph111/topic_units/Earth_Sun/Earth_Sun2.html
• http://www.wsanford.com/~wsanford/exo/sundials/annual_sun_path

truly, for me there is nothing more wonder-filled than to observe how the sun and light move and change during the course of the year. and really…it comes to no surprise because photography literally translates as the study of the light.  photography speaks to the scientist part of me, but in using it to share the story of my life…to convey thoughts and emotions….this speaks to the {A}rtist me in as well.

this is what it means to find the light in your photography.

so if you’ve followed along and are hoping to find the light in your photography, there is no official lesson here.  my encouragement would be to spend the next few days in simple observation.  keep a notebook or journal nearby and document when and where the sun comes up in your neck of the woods.  pay attention to different times of day and the location of the sun.  watch the shadows where they fall.  notice the color and the position of the setting sun.

next time i’ll share with you some more technical stuff, but for now just go out and indulge your inner {A}rtist and enjoy the light.

love, kelly

to see more posts in this series, click here.