The Natural Light Difference
The Natural Light Difference
Studio Portraits Difference
It’s the light. Actually, it’s the lack of artificial light.
We have, as far as I know, the only all natural light studio in Ventura County, the state, the United States, and quite possibly, the world.
Now, we do have a flash or two, somewhere. It might be in the closet, the one under the stairs, tucked back in the corner, gathering dust. Maybe someday I’ll get it out and sell it on Ebay.
It’s just that natural light is better.
It’s softer, more flattering. It’s faster.
It’s how photography studios back in the 19th century. Studios were built with a glass roof. While the technology has changed a bit over the years, the idea that natural light makes for natural portraits has not changed. Today, instead of a glass roof, we have 4 skylights, a huge natural light door and enough reflectors, scrims, mirrors, blackout cloth... to create just the right light. It’s like I’m the MacGyver of natural light portraits.
Also, natural light is much faster; if needed, I can fire off 8 frames a second to get just the right portrait. With a flash, I’m waiting for the flash to recycle. While I’m waiting, I’m missing the right moment.
Flash scares babies and kids and the big flash boxes can be intimidating. With using natural light, the studio looks and feels a lot more like your home than a studio or a doctor’s office. The baby or child feels more natural. If the kids feel natural, the portraits look natural.
Location Portraits
It’s the same idea with location portraits. Whether we’re creating at your home,the beach or a park, we’re using either just natural light or a reflector, not flash.
With location portraits, we’ll choose the time that the light is best, usually the last hour before sunset.
Weddings
With weddings, natural light is more flattering and more real. Once the flash goes off, people are either running towards or away from the the camera; any real photographs are gone.
Now, sometimes with a wedding - a night reception outside or a reception in a big ballroom, we have to use flash. However, if we do use flash, we use multiple flashes to create a natural light look. It’s not our preference, but it looks much better than just a flash on camera.