Natural Light Photography

Natural light photography, sometimes called available or existing light photography, is the making of pictures by the light that happens to be on the scene. This includes light from table, floor, and ceiling lights, neon signs, windows, skylights, candles, fireplaces, auto mobile headlights, and any other type of light that provides the natural lighting of a scene-except daylight outdoors. (Moonlight is considered existing light.) Existing light then is that type of light found in the home, in the office, in the hangar bay, in the chapel, in the club, in the sports arenas, and so on. Outdoor scenes at twilight or after dark are also natural light situations.

The use of natural light may pose a challenge for a photographer. The brightness and direction of the light is often not adjustable, except perhaps for indoor lighting. This will limit the selection of shutter speeds, and may require the use of shades or reflectors to manipulate the light. It can also influence the time, location, and even orientation of the photo shoot to obtain the desired lighting conditions. Available light can often also produce a color cast with color photography.

Natural light, existing light, and ambient light photography; basically, using the light that is there when making photographs, without augmentation, overpowering it with artificial light, or modifying in any manner whatsoever, whatever the source may be. Ostensibly this method supposedly yields the most natural effect but does it really? Many photographers consider available light work far superior to flat or even more sophisticated flash photography or traditional artificial lighting methods used in the photographic studio.

Ambient light

Levels of ambient light are most frequently considered relative to additional lighting used as fill light, in which case the ambient light is normally treated as the key light. In some cases, ambient light may be used as a fill, in which case additional lighting provides the stronger light source, for example in bounce flash photography. The relative intensity of ambient light and fill light is known as the lighting ratio, an important factor in calculating contrast in the finished image.

If you are serious about landscapes, architecture photography, long telephoto shots or low light and night photography, a quality tripod and an even better tripod head may represent your best digital camera accessory. The importance of a good tripod can not be underestimated when you demand the ultimate image quality.

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