The best times to shoot outside and the best times to shoot inside



Today's post has to do with light and when you should utilize it to your advantage. For some photographers, they don't think about light at all. In fact, when I was first starting out, I took any shoot I could get and didn't even consider lighting. That was a huge mistake when I eventually learned that shooting outdoors at noon on a sunny day can make for awful pictures.

So when SHOULD you shoot and Where? Here are some tips depending on the light available to you (and assuming no flash photography).

On a Sunny Day:  

For shooting portraits, you want to avoid harsh, contrasty light. Therefore, shoot OUTSIDE in the early morning or early evening hours when the light is softer and the sun is lower in the sky.

When the light is high in the sky and harsh and contrasty, move your subject indoors and use the brightness of windows to get a nice soft light. Sure, you can put people under trees and in the shadows of building and such, but shooting in shade only, can limit your options. However, if you have no choice, at least shade can produce consistent lighting and eliminate harsh shadows.


On a cloudy/overcast day: 

 Overcast days can be deceiving. It looks like you have "even" lighting, but in reality you have just softer directional lighting. Its not much different than shooting in shade, but be aware that softer light isn't always perfect light. i find that overcast days can make shooting easier, but can also produce some ho-hum images. In any event, shoot OUTSIDE on overcast days. Inside light from a window will not be strong enough to use very well on an overcast day (depending on how overcast it is, of course).

Exceptions:

Of course, there are ALWAYS exceptions to the guidelines above. If you enjoy black and white photography, you may benefit from shooting in mid-day harsh sun, where contrast favors your images. In fact, sometimes when I want to shoot randomly at the beach, and the sun is too high in the sky I just switch my camera settings to Black and White and shoot away. Almost any digital camera can shoot black and white these days (check your manual for how), and it's so much fun!

I hope that these tips are helpful. If any of you all have a topic or question that you'd like me to cover on here, feel free to send it in! I'd love to help you out!

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