Hey there! Are you a mom with a camera? Or perhaps a photographer in need of some natural light tips for your family photography business. Whatever brought you here, I’m so glad you found your way to this blog post. I’m Danielle! I’m a New Jersey family photographer who specializes in natural light photography. Lighting can be such a tricky and complex topic so I’m breaking it down for you in this blog post. I’m offering 3 tips to help you find the best natural light for family photography.

Natural Light Tip # 1 – Schedule Family Photos at Golden Hour

Golden Hour is known as the perfect time time to take family photos. Why? Because the sun is at the perfect angle in the sky to allow the light to spread evenly over the horizon. The light at golden hour is soft & simply magical. Shooting at golden hour really makes your photos look and feel professional. Golden hour is one hour before sunset or one hour after sunrise. Heading out any other time would cause the lighting to be too harsh in your photos. This will cause images to be overexposed and just way too bright. Another pro tip: When shooting at golden hour, make sure the sun is on an angle behind your subjects. Never in front. You don’t want the sun to get in your subject’s eyes or faces. You want to create a nice back light behind your subject.

Natural Light Tip # 2 – Don’t be Afraid of Cloudy or Overcast Days

Another tip for natural light in family photography is to not be afraid if the day you are shooting is cloudy or overcast. These kind of days can actually provide the best light as well; especially if getting out at golden hour is not possible. Cloudy or overcast days can provide a nice light that is diffused. This creates a nice even light around your subjects. If you have a session scheduled at golden hour but the weather is cloudy and overcast, be sure to move up the session by an hour or two. Sometimes cloudy days can be a bit gloomy the closer it is to sunset. Another pro tip: On cloudy or overcast days, it’s okay to turn your subjects toward wear the sun would be. Just as long as your subjects are not squinting.

Natural Light Tip # 3 – Find Open Shade

If heading out at golden hour simply isn’t possible, then try and find something called “open shade.” Open shade is when your subjects are standing in the shade but when they look up, they can still see the sky above them. This could be shade from a building or tree. You don’t want to stand your subjects directly under anything because this will cause your images to look dark and heavy. Instead, stand your subjects next to a house or a building. But again, when they look up; there should still be the sky. Again, use this lighting trick when you are out in the middle of the afternoon or when the sun is still a bit too high in the sky.

And there you have it! I hope you found these quick 3 natural light photography tips helpful. If you’d like to learn more photography tips and tricks, be sure to give me a follow on Instagram where I share plenty more. You can also download my FREE LIGHTING GUIDE to continue learning more about natural light and how to use it the right way in your photos.

Have fun!