Taking beautiful images requires a variety of elements; nothing, however, is more important than light. 

The use of light heavily influences the style and mood of an image.  Most photographers use natural light since it is inexpensive and provides a wide range of skyline shades.

Landscape and portrait photography benefit from the use of natural light.  Here are a few pointers to help you take better images. 

Make the most out of sunlight.

Sunlight changes its colour over the day. The best time to shoot is either during sunrise or sunset. Both mornings and evenings offer the softest light and are dominated by different hues of orange and yellow colours, and these hues can act as a perfect background for the photos too.

 

The last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise is called the “golden hour” as it provides a perfect light to capture amazing photos.

Shooting with hard light

Hard light refers to the bright light that can cast harsh shadows. This hard light offers an opportunity for the photographer to play with these shadows. These shadows can prove to be an amazing compositional element and help click interesting photos.

Shooting in diffused light

 

A diffused light may appear from the sun during overcast days resulting from the cloudy sky, fog or snow. Some amazing photos can be clicked by utilizing the diffused light. It is a perfect time of day to click portraits.

Shooting with window light

Natural light coming from the window can work wonders in indoor photography. It can be hard as well as soft. The photographer has the flexibility to control the flow of light coming from the window. They can easily adjust the amount of light they need to click the photo.

Use a mix of artificial and natural light.

Photographers can choose to use artificial light to enhance sunlight. A reflector can be used to direct the sunlight towards the subject.

Whatever be the technique, the end product has to be an amazing collection of photos.