5 Types of Outdoor Portrait Lighting

Gary L. Friedman
Sep 1, 2018 · 4 min read

Today I’m taking pictures of a 1-year-old. And just to add to the unpredictability, I’m going to light him 5 different ways.

1) Outdoors, in the sun.

Nothing wrong with this; but any iphone could have taken it. If you want unique results, you need to experiment with better kinds of lighting.

2) Open Shade

Shade is better than direct sunlight, as it doesn’t cause harsh shadows which look OK to your eye but can really stand out on the camera. But open shade can look kind of bluish (your…

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Gary L. Friedman
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